The Genetically Insane

Whoop!

2012-02-11T11:37:00.000+13:00

Totes just got my first Troll. Does that make me an internet-adult now?

In other news, today is Thieves Alley Market and I can't wait to go hunt for gems. Probably won't buy anything, but a gem-hunt nonetheless. Whoop!

Kei te pai

2012-02-10T09:28:00.000+13:00

Country art by Jerod Gibson, via. I find these disturbingly beautiful. Melting? Decay? Blood? Fracturing society? Perhaps it is just the colour combos and dripping effect which I find unsettling...

Creepy-cool with crazy-beautiful detail, anatomical sculpture by Maskull Lasserre, via. I'm thinking my taste is a bit macabre this week.

And back on the V-day track ('V' stands for 'vom', by the way. Vomit-day. Yep.), I actually kind of love this duct tape rose, and the tute makes it look easy - anyone got some duct tape for me?! And wire. And don't feel like it has to be nasty-lovey-red coloured either. Make!

Yesterday I ran across this, I can't even remember how - but I'm sending the pattern to my lovely Nana post-haste. Must. Have.

And I can't decide if I like the chunky-red, or warm brown better. The massive pompom is a must, however. Love, love, love.

Last week I ran across these lamps, which, while being sacrilegiously carved out of beautiful old books, I actually kind of really love. I think its the replica bulbs. Beautiful. My fav's:

And after our swim yesterday, we had tea at TCO's sweet house, where she has a wee cupcake book innocently sitting on the shelf. One of the ideas was thus:

...

Ok, so I can't find a good picture - but it was cupcakes made in wee clay pots, lined with baking paper and slightly spilling over the tops. I think a dark batter, a bit of silver dust on top and some white ribbon around the outside and they would be perfect take-home wedding cakes. Gorgeous. I was also thinking you might get a sweet scone cooked in a slightly bigger version - my Dad has always made his own bread on holidays in his old clay bread pots, surely it would work on a smaller scale?

Kind of like this, but different. Yeah.

From here.

---

Final move-out day today. Joy.

Is it strange?

2012-02-08T19:13:00.000+13:00

Occasionally I go back and read some old stuff just for kicks - and I spontaneously laugh. Am I that funny? Or that stupid - that I can forget something I wrote and find it surprisingly funny 2 years later?

It was probably him. Yup.

I'm always going to be the kitten shitting himself with laughter at the front. I can't even keep a straight face long enough to dump confetti down someone's top at the Bog Quiz on Monday (reunion tour - The Canadian one was back in town for a flash visit. Flash because he wore a kilt. (for a wedding, but still! Mad props!)).

We came 7th, in case you were wondering (Though Homeboy insists they did not award us our second double-up). I miss the days when the dream team-Sharktopus was at its peak. Good times. (winning = good times, you know it). Still, talking complete smack with my boys at the pub will probably always be a fav pastime, winning or no.

I am almost completely moved out of my house, the truck came this morning and we loaded up all my shit - all 11 cubic metres of it. And that's just the stuff too precious to let go of - I've sold everything else. So - two nights more on my mac-daddy airbed and then I'm shifting into The Married Ones' spare room.

MacDaddy

Though I swear those are midget people - my feet hang off the end and with two people you would be comfortably snuggling. (Comfortably - but snuggling none the less). Photoshop?

Shoved my rewritten Intro at the supe on Tuesday, all 51 pages of it, and I have set up flies to lay to start one last expt. Did I say that last time? I mean it this time. You hear me, world? I mean it this time!! So you know - same old.

The Frozen Planet watching sitch has evolved into a tradition - the Mini One and I make desert and we watch it at hers with flatmates, waifs and strays (I fall into the 'strays' category, hardly 'waif-like' am I?!), and the desert is planned and coordinated early in the week. I am looking forward to being able to bake a substantial contribution in the coming weeks - with baking equipment and a fridge and so on. Oooo how I cannot wait to bake again. The Married One Part II is off at a job interview from today/over the w/e so I am going to bake a cake, in his kitchen, for his return on Monday. And I'm baking for my lab peeps morning tea. And maybe a special friend or two. (I'm struggling to find reasons to bake - but it will happen regardless). Baking Therapy Baby!

I've been going for my daily constitutional at the pool since Trouble abandoned me for a life of leisure, Eukanuba and being kennel/chain free in the glorious Ohope, and have found that Mufasa has grown beyond the capabilities of my old swimcap; I have upgraded to one specially designed for long hair. And you know what? Its still a bit on the small side. How 'bout one for big, long hair?!

Perhaps not in a grinning mood.

So my plan for the near future is late nights at work, post-dinner visits to the pool and Frozen Planet to keep me happy.

Ok, there we go. Is that a grin?!

I miss my boys. (The animal ones, though occasionally I miss the other ones as well...). And my house and my Kenwood and my springform tin and my perfect spatula set and my measuring cups and my bed (which is gone, forever) and by books and my old desk and...and...waaaaaaaa!

Awwwww....*sob*

I might have to go ring my Mummy and force her to give them treats. That will help.

On Repeat

2012-02-08T16:54:00.001+13:00

Mostly because of the Frozen Planet ads on TV, which use the chorus.

Its inducing anticipatory chills in my spine! Freaking love FP!

Rex and beautiful tubes

2012-02-06T17:52:00.000+13:00

The Mini One prodded this in my direction today and I fell in love:

From a Tumblr called T-Rex Trying with art by Hugh Murphy. Completely, simply beautiful stuff.

And I first saw this on Homeboy's Girl-half's Pinterest (these pseudonym's are just getting longer) and then its been making the rounds of my fav blogs today and over the w/e.

Test tube chandeliers. Gorgeous. You know I'm going to make one when I get back. Love!

Knitted Dalek, improved.

By Feather and Fan. Love so much I squee'd a bit when I saw it.

Everyone tries to do the pin-in-the-map thing and look cool for having been so many places, with us normal plebs feeling stink for our few precious pins - well I say claim it!

Places I haven't been by Evan Cook. Via. Bigups bro.

There's a wee blog I watch which presents designer packaging ideas, and these delighted me:

"You smell like sweet seduction, thanks to us". Also 'Devine' and 'like Lemon'. Brilliant.

Even the pressed cake is lovely.

Love it!

2012-02-02T18:00:00.000+13:00

Both of these popped up in my feed stream today and I love them. Via and via.

A capella Simpsons:

At about 40s shits gets real.

And this, which makes every girl remember how much they like being crooned to, no matter the sitch:

Ngwaaw!

Argh...?

2012-02-02T08:44:00.002+13:00

Okie, so I kind of love ThinkGeek, and blood-filled zombie chocolate brains is actually kind of romantic. I'd totally say yes to a dude holding a box of those.

But then, you would too, wouldn't you?!

This might actually turn into a series, I wonder what other V-day crap Gmail/spambot has in store for me?!

Holy craptasticals Antman!

2012-02-01T18:00:00.000+13:00

This is nuts:

Not only because of the destruction of life...

Also, this - which is blowing my mind:

Anatomically correct paper scrolling by Lisa Nilsson, via. Beautiful.

And because everyone loves Lego as much as I do:

Via. By Bruce.

I want to be Iron

2012-01-31T12:19:00.000+13:00

Saw The Iron Lady with my homegirl, (The Old One) on Sunday and it was brill. I had a right old cry about Dennis, but then so did TOO, so it was fine (we both agreed that loving someone that much is pretty much a dream of both of ours. Pain, people, pain.). I have ordered two of her books, and can't wait to dig deeper into her character.

I want this. (in case you hadn't picked it up yet)

Had dinner with one of my fav homeboy's and his fabulous other half, at Korea House which was brill. Definitely taking my other peeps back there soon. I love that couple.
Incidentally, I saw Melancholia the previous Sunday with Magic Postdoc, and hated it. One lady walked out and I would have too if I knew I wouldn't have been tortured for the rest of my life wondering if it might have gotten better. Homeboy's other half loved it. I just don't understand.

Sweet eye-screen bro

Sunday night I finished Extras (started the series before Chrissie, not inducing of the fastest reading speed ever, but still a good story), the final in the 4 book set 'Uglies' by Scott Westerfeld. I think it was second best, the first was brill and then the next two faded a bit, but the new characters and plot in the 4th rejuvenated the series a bit. Its set in a future utopian society after the collapse (self destruction?) of our own modern society and explores an alternative method of controlling humanity.

In other news, we were all excited by the prospect of seeing the aurora over Dunedin last week and TCO and I traded off hours one night to keep getting up to check if it was out/visible. It never was - but this, this is what I'm looking forward to on my future travels (which will happen, godamnit).

More here. Beautiful. I hear from the Married One that there are supposed to be more tonight, fingers crossed!

I had some other stuff I was dying to share with you, but Chrome crashed and deleted all my shit, so...yeah.

Oooo - my flies are dying! Whoop!

Arghh!

2012-01-31T08:44:00.000+13:00

Really? A valentine they'll open every day?! Everything their heart desires? Everything?!

I hate you Apple. Thinking that you have man's hearts desires covered in your stupid tablet, honestly.

For godsake

2012-01-27T09:39:00.000+13:00

Already? I would have thought with Google being all smart and shit these days that they would know not to send me this stuff. You know, to magically screen the mail from companies I have signed up for, for unpalatable content...

Yep.

A signed copy of 'Love Poems'? Really?! Yay!

Its a pathetic time of year - when all the coupled up people pretend to not like it but secretly, smugly love it and all the bitter single, lonely people loudly declare how shit of a celebration it is - materialistic and bollocks when really, deep inside - its jealousy. I'll admit it - I'm not afraid of you (well, not right now...) I am a bitter, haggard, cat-weilding, lonely old crone

Note the hair resemblance

And I hate Feb 14th. I wish I didn't, some years I pretend, but really... Yep. There it is. You know, you feel me. And the couples are blinkered for the day, oblivious to everyone else because society is forcing them to expect something special, some engineered romance from their partner on this particular day.

Again, note the hair resemblance

I think secretly, deep inside my cold, dead, black heart, protected by a crispy layer of frosted black-matter is living a wee, scared, hopeless romantic (HR). Its not something you can be proud of these days - strong independent woman, intent on a glittering career in academia, secretly wanting nothing more than a partner to cook and clean for, to be all gross and cherishing with.

I fail you, and I am sorry

Equal division of household labour, babies put in day care at 6 months, late evening paper-writing, equality and progress and feminism at its best, yet the sneaky HR is sitting on my hearts left shoulder asking if my hypothetical man has had enough to eat.

I get Homer's pain

Also, since it's obviously a ranting day - I've been rocking the 80's playlist lately, all the stuff I grew up on from the parents love of it. It is disgusting how much of it is sappy love bollocks. Seriously. And yet you can't help singing along. Godamn.

And just to belabour the point, when I do find someone capable of loving me, I'm going for the whole spontaneous romance thing - I promise I will never cross over to the other side (see how the nasty HR doesn't give up on finding said man), I will never blinker myself with expectations and will instead go for a fucking drink with my single bitches and celebrate our awesomeness in epic company.

Probably with pate.

Roar!

Totes a roar, and not a yawn

Distractions

2012-01-25T08:47:00.000+13:00

From my pitiful life at present (stay tuned for "Lament of the Thesis". Just kidding, I couldn't be bothered)

An art installation by Do Ho Suh, 180k little plastic men (holding up the 1%?! Ooooo! See what I did there?! Current event reference= 1 point). Via.

This made me groan:

The actual paper is pretty cool, if you go a smidgen over the threshold the worms drop dead. Tech blog picking up my shiznizzle - brill.

BBC has released some new bird footage (for Earthflight), which I loved, and then - the narration voiced over and it was my doctor. Yum.

Speaking of documentaries and the BBC, we have all been watching Frozen Planet, and it is brilliant. Last night David talked about this wee beast, Pyrrharctia isabella, the Wooly Bear Caterpillar, which freezes solid every winter until it has amassed enough weight during the short summers, to pupate. It freezes solid and then comes back to life; the individual featured in FP had frozen for 14 winters. Fourteen!!

And this video is brill, classical music roller-coaster. Love it - the heart soars and drops and speeds up and slows along with the combined aural and visual assault.

ZKO Rollercoaster // GREAT EMOTIONS from virtual republic on Vimeo.

That will do for now. Rock on my pretties. (I feel like I miss you a little bit - how have you been?!)

Completely lovely

2012-01-24T08:00:00.000+13:00

I'm going to start a folder of things to do when I retire. You know, when I have plenty of spare time.

By Vendula with an Etsy here. Via Squiddy.

Also - squee!

Finished product

2012-01-23T09:58:00.001+13:00

House was finished last Monday (Fam left that Tuesday), so look (click for close-ups):

The original paint was in a horrific condition (though this is perhaps slightly exaggerated - post scraping and sanding).

Lovely Mother is laundry-waving at you! Soo much washing. Dad working hard, of course.

Complete transformation. (including anaemic garage door - roof paint was only available in 10L pails, so it got the white treatment too).

My heroes.

Weekend bright spot

2012-01-23T09:52:00.000+13:00

Market for breakfast crepe and lunch fixin's

Ooooo yeah.

Smoked chicken, delish crusty baguette, Big Fat Cherry company cherries, beaut strawbs (overpriced, but worth it) and cheese from Evansdale.

Of course - the natural progression, dinner.

With Barkers ploughman's relish and garlic salted egg. Can't wait to do this on the side of the road picnic-styles somewhere like, I don't know - France. (the little things are keeping me going, people).

Waaaaaaaaa

2012-01-23T09:45:00.002+13:00

I miss my baby doggy! And my bed was sold/collected on Sunday so I am now sleeping on an air bed on the floor - a new air bed which went floppy overnight, was freezing cold and too short. Queen size my ass. Off to Mega this avo to try for an upgrade.

Not happy.

Best Banner Heading

2012-01-23T09:43:00.001+13:00

Oh NZH, you punny thing, you.

I don't want to talk about it

2012-01-18T10:45:00.001+13:00

My house is empty and quiet and sad and empty and last night I threw a piece of meat on the floor and just stared at it - Trouble never came to get it.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

But then Frozen Planet was on TV and I was on my third glass of red and it was the best thing I had ever watched.

Booyah.

Oh! The insanity!

2012-01-15T17:16:00.000+13:00

Brain...too...over.....whelmed...

This is babycuz, isn't he just gorgeous?! A face only family could love...

Our attempts to get the dogs sitting in a row - wee Jimmy didn't want to have a bar of it. Bigsib's Harry on the left, my Trouble in the middle and wee Jimmy off doing his own thing. Bigsibs fiancé's head in the first shot too, of course.

Lovely rotten floorboards (from the 1930's?!) and my handy-dandy father being all DIY'y

The trifle I made on my birthday, in my lovely Chrissie bowl - complete only with a choc hail Drosophila on top (with fresh cherry eyes).

And finally, while I have time - Dad popped off for a sneaky kip after lunch today (he has been working rather hard), and wee Jimmy decided it was a brilliant idea to copy his Dad. Jasper then decided to get in on the napping action too. (Oh my, isn't that a pretty quilt?!)

Potential

2012-01-12T09:21:00.000+13:00

You know the buzzy feeling when you are completely infused with potential energy?! Like potential for a job, potential for future, excitement about what's coming and what's possible - meeting new people who you find you really, really like, open awesome job opportunities, I guess a bit of excited hope for the near future. I'm sitting in a bubble of fizzy, bubbling excitement right now. Maybe I'm just in a good mood...

Had Mufasa trimmed on Tuesday, just the ratty ends, and had some foils put through to keep the excellent fruit salad effect (shuddup - I love it). In my old age I'm avoiding the whole-head-colour, since regrowth is just too much hassle to bother with - and my godamn hair grows so fast I have to get it redone every 5 weeks, and still look like a skunk for 3. So, new colour from underneath, old colour from half way down, (poo)brown from the roots, and lets not talk about the completely white hairs growing throughout my cowlick (Bad Mother! Bad! Its all your fault! Grey at thirty five, honestly.). Despite the trim, its looking longer than ever.

Nothing like a bit of gratuitous photo-shopping to start your day

Its the Married One's birthday today, I'm not even sure if she's coming in to work - all thesis writing and so on. We had our haircut at the same time and my family (called in for a cuppa) could not stop going on about how lovely her new style and colour looked. No word on my hair, of course - but The Married One - wow! grumblegrumble

Bigsib, her fiancé and their first child (Harry the schnauzer) were here Monday-Wednesday and got the final coat done on my house - and the dogs all played the hell out of each other. So cute together! Eventually I will have a mo to take the photos off my camera, so hang tight till then. So. Cute. We went to Paasha for dinner on Tuesday, a bit of a tradition when anyone is in town, and as usual it was gooood. Also, I don't know what it is about the blood in our veins, but whenever we all get together, the convo's are hilarious. God I love my family.

I also love my friend-family - TCO gave me a necklace for my birthday which I completely love, love, love, and a beautiful flower arrangement out of her garden, in an old Agee with lovely white ribbon. That girl gets my taste.

The Old One also got me a necklace - pressies from Syd always rock - a wee robot with sparkly gem eyes. Cute. The birthday time of year is always excellent for the warm fuzzies.

I've been interviewing property management companies this week (busy and stressed much?!), and the whole process is very... interesting - more once I have chosen someone else to, once again, own a portion of my soul.

Don't know if I have said it enough yet, but the house looks amazing. My Dad (and Mum- many painted houses in their lifetimes) is a demon with a paintbrush - and you can see where I inherited my pedantic attention to detail and the love of quality work done well with skill (not enough qualifiers, I'll think of some more later. 'achieved amazingly greatly with love and care, cleverness and pride...') . My dad has skills. (not nunchaku, unfortunately, but probably everything else).

Babycuz has also been working hard, through probably not from choice the whole time... teenagers eh? Little bugger eats so much - I made two double batches of bikkies in three days (plus 4 cakes - different story), and owe him another in the next day or so. Such a good kid.

The thesis writing has not been...going. I'm trucking along with my fly expt, but the writing has been not...going, while I sort out my house - I have only this month to get it ready and rented out, and only 4 more days with my families help. Something's gotta give, right?

When I've not been ridiculously busy organising carpet layers and builders, painters and movers, packing and cleaning, flies and fly food, lab jobs and birthday pressies for other people I've been being overcome with the most horrible heart-wrenching homesickness - pre-emptive homesickness for my house and my animals and my life as it has been for so long now, my wonderful, amazing, beautiful friends... *wee sob* Lets not talk about that right now.

However, speaking of tradies, TCO's completely lovely partner is a magnificent builder (with) and fixed the broken floorboards in my hall - there is now an island of super sturdy, even flooring, surrounded by old-house-creaky-floor-boards. Its brilliant. I was also having trouble finding a carpet layer to come and put the carpet back down in the hall - all the main ones are not at all interested in small jobs. However, I got a hold of Dylan, from here, who, despite being on holiday - came out to my house yesterday avo and fixed the carpet back down for me. He did a beautiful job and it looks better than it did before. I am not kidding - amazing mad skills. I hope he's still in Dunedin, and working, when I come back with bags of money and do up my house in ~10 years.

Um - nap time?!

Back

2012-01-06T09:53:00.000+13:00

Back at work, back at my house, back in Dunedin - which is actually putting on some nice weather for me.

Which is good - because the parents and baby-cousin arrived yesterday to help paint my house.

We might just need some fine weather.

On an up note - the bigsib and her fiancé flew in on my birthday and are coming down on Monday for a visit, which should be epic. They also brought be two packets of Jaffa Cakes from London - best bigsib-plus-one ever. Baby-cuz had never tried one but managed to inhale half a packet for supper last night, either he has good taste - or is in that eat-everything-that-moves teenage phase (the parents picked them up in Chch on the way through).

I flew in on the 3rd and the parents drove down, arriving on the 5th - which means I had two full days of Trouble walking around the house in a sulk - missing Jimmy (Mum's schnauzer), the parents big house with lots of beds to jump all over and their huge garden, including Dad's vege plot with sneaky berries for industrious dogs to steal off the low hanging vines. He is ridiculously happy now, though I was woken up at 2am by Jimmy scratching at my door - turns out the easiest way to get them both to shutup is to have only 1/3 of my bed to myself. Lucky the cat is still up north or it would have been WWIII all over my duvet.

Bigsib-plus-one are bringing their schnauzer too, so its going to be dogs all over the show at mine next week. Fun.

So - being in the lab is that much harder - knowing the family are slaving away on my weatherboards with scrapers, waterblaster and sanders...

Ok, so maybe I lie just a little bit.

I have a batch of fly food made already, and just have to finish off my dead counts before I can head back to help out. No internet at the house 'cause I didn't want to fork out for the whole bill on my own this month (flatties all goneskis), which sucks. Have I mentioned that yet? It sucks. Lab is still lovely and quiet though, most peeps are back next week. Good stuff.

***

In other random note - found this piece about clothes fitting and advertising images, which is a lovely, though troubling read.

"and then I thought that in elementary school, there should be a class for girls where they sit you down and tell you this stuff before you waste years of your life feeling like someone put you together wrong."

***

Also, this - which made my day yesterday.

Amazing.

Tired boys

2012-01-01T14:22:00.002+13:00

All tuckered out from running on the beach (half of which is still stuck in Trouble's coat, I swear). (and yeah, the dogs own the furniture in this house).

Also - the 'hootie out front, the back one had its flowers forcefully shed by the last storm before Chrissie.

Completely lovely.

You can sing now

2012-01-01T14:11:00.000+13:00

if you want. You know - the Happy Birthday song.

hint hint

Yeah, I'm old and it feels like just another day. Mum & Dad gave me 6 wee beautiful glass bowls to match the big one I got for Chrissie, will use them for Birthday dinner tonight.

Anyway - piccies of Trouble with his Chrissie pressie from his Nanet:

That's the baby brother, who Trouble just adores (along with every boy; I think I have a sexist dog...) and Trouble deciding he needed help to open the packet properly. Both dogs have played the hell out of that thing this last week - its brown and dirty and its face is open, showing stuffing (I think it was a zeebra), its hard to believe its only a week old. Good present.

The Married Ones popped in for a quick visit and a cuppa, have been camping near the parents town. Its amazing how a little holiday can make everyone look so relaxed and happy.

Last night we had family friends over and I cooked a New Years/Birthday Eve dinner - honey soy chicken kebabs on feta and apricot pressed couscous cakes, salad and an extremely sinful chocolate tart. We had a break between dinner and desert and played a round of Catan - I'm spreading the Settlers love. The newbies won too - the first time I have not won this week - since I brought it home as a present (and its been played a lot). Watched Kinky Boots after desert, a fav of all the olds - and then greeted the new year from within the shower before bed. God, but I kind of love being old.

Oh yeah - the cat was the first to give me a pressie too - left the good bits of a sparrow on my bathroom floor at about 11:45pm. Such a kind, sharing soul. (though I suspect the bits I think are good, might not be as desirable as the brain, beak and entrails in his feline mind).

***

The dinner tart was basically chocolate, cream, eggs etc, cooked in a filo pastry case

and then piled high with choc-dipped strawberries and blueberries.

The white choc was a bit tricky and its been so hot here, it took ages for everything to set. I dipped the strawbs all carefully and got sick of the little blueberry bastards about 10 berries in - so dumped the lot in the choc, rolled them around then dumped them back out onto the baking paper. Not nearly so pretty as carefully individually dipped berries - but a hell of a lot easier.

The tart was sinful and coma-inducing, but still I think not a fav; I doubt I'll make it again. Kind of the so-sinful-you-want-to-puke variety. The choc-dipped berries, however - mmmmmmmmm.

The tart in the recipe was a beautiful dense smooth slice, mine cooked out a bit like a baked cheesecake. I think I whisked the eggs too much - too much air in the batter. And I also only used filo because the supey has sold out of sweet short. Crazy.

Wee bit of a side project this week - the maternal grandmother is moving down to the beach to be closer to the family and the parents have been back and forth from the farm helping to clean out the old house. Dad found a bunch of old brass sheep ear tags in amongst the detritus in the shed - I polished up a bunch and shall get them fitted on some sweet silver chains - one for every member of the family still alive. Nans moving off the farm is going to be a bit heart wrenching, but its past due.

Imagine - a farm in a time before plastic ear tags.

Also feel compelled to mention - polishing up old brass is one of the most rewarding elbow-grease-using activities ever (OCD soother?!). I kind of love it. Dad bent them shut after a first polish and then gently ground off any sharp corners (he has a tool for everything, I am not kidding). The parents have fitted outdoor power jacks on the new deck, so we both sat at the table with a bit of Whitney blasting through the sweet, sweet speaker system. Good times. (shall I confess to having been procrastinating? is it obvious?! Was supposed to spend the whole day thesis writing, but spent a good three hours polishing brass).

And that is all. Venture forth into a new year with fortitude, my loves.

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 12

2012-01-01T13:28:00.001+13:00

Christmas Breakfast. (yes, it has taken me this long to get the photos off my camera)

and the sneaky pre-steal attempt. Lots of smacked hands.

We do a bit of a champagne breaky: croissants baked with brie and bacon (and avocado if it floats your boat - not a fan), bubbles and big bowls of berries with yoghurt.

Delish.

Water rose

2011-12-29T10:47:00.000+13:00

So lovely. Far too cleaver for me (17 photo composite?!). Anthony Chang, Here, via.

On Repeat

2011-12-28T12:48:00.000+13:00

Watched The Bodyguard with the fan-damily last night, and this song is subsequently stuck in my head.

Epic pipes. Its on repeat while I belt out off-tune "Iiiiiiiiiii will always looooove you, Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii..."

Good times. Love the parents built-in sound system - inside and outside *naughty grin* (shhh - don't tell, but I'm pretty sure their neighbours hate me and my music, but only when the parents are out. Heh.).

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 11

2011-12-28T10:42:00.002+13:00

Shower Pressure.

I am not kidding - the parents house has the most amazing shower pressure. My house in Dunedin has probably the worst. You know how much hair I have - you can imagine how long it takes to wash it at home. Here? About 10 seconds flat.

Its a beautiful, beautiful thing.

12 Magics of Chrissie: 10

2011-12-28T10:38:00.000+13:00

The magic - everything. The beach, the family, the food, the sun, the holiday...

I know, I know – I’m late. However, the rule reads that Chrissie lasts untilNew Years Eve (which is also coincidentally my-birthdays-eve, and *that*particular rule reads that my birthday lasts a week on either side – including correspondingno-dishes-privileges) so I’m ok to continue.

I’m only late because life is good – I havehad…6?! Holy craptesictulars Batman – has it really been 6 daysalready?! Ok – six days of beautiful holiday including a wonderful Christmas dayand I haven’t been able to contemplate touching my computer let alone pullingit out of its bag. Broke the sealyesterday to start work on my thesis once more – I cried myself to sleep (notactually – I read myself to sleep,Chrissie books! Whoop!).

So here I am warming up my fingers forthesis, cup of tea at my side in my favouriteMum-china mug, a magnificent view of the parents garden,including berry vines and veges for Africa, and the ocean twinkling blue in thedistance. It’s not too hot and there isa bit of cloud (prequel to the horror coming tomorrow, countrywide stormsNZ? Really?) so the glare andoutside-pull factors are restrained. Ihave two tired doggies sleeping at my feet and a quiet house – Mum has clearedthe nana, uncle and cousin off to Tauranga for the day (with the promise ofmore berries from the farm on the return journey), and Dad has popped out tothe dump/recycling (did we really drink thatmuch?!).

Presents, you ask? A few wee beautiful things from my mostfavourite people. With my being hopefulof leaving the country this year the scope for stuff was limited – and I really could not think of anything Iwanted that I did not have or could not procure for myself (you know, apartfrom the wishes – a man in my life, a job, financial security, the health and happiness of my family andfriends, a thesis, a man in my life – blah blah blah (maybefor my birthday, magic-present-making-god?! Yeah?!)). Mum and Dad got me a beautiful glass bowl,Mum has been trying to replace my beautiful strawberry bowl that a negligentflatmate once tried to bake a soufflé in – a hand blown glass bowl with decorative bubbles worked into theglass and hand forged glass strawberries on the side, which I got for my 21st. No one has ever been able to find anotherlike it – and we have all been looking. My little baby brother has a new girlfriend who helped him shop thisyear, and the two of them did a remarkably good job. Probably helped along by the fact that thebro now has a job. And bigsib wowed and surprised everyone withbeautiful things from England.

The dogs all have a silicone DNA toy nowtoo, so all the animals in the family are sufficiently scienced. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for theextendeds – a favorite dinner time entertainment is ‘rile Sarah with claims offaux scientific or religious argument’.

“Sonow that you’re almost a doctor, Seerious, tell me – is this atheletes footgoing to heal on its own?” *foot thrust in my face*

“Sotell us, Seerious, which came first – the chicken or the egg?” “How do you explain Noah’s arc?” and so on. Littleshits. I find the best rejoinder is toask if the boys are planning on marrying their girls. Ever. Have they thought about it? Whatabout babies? Then of course Mum andNana jump in with exclamations of delight and my work is done.

The boys went fishing on Boxing Day andbrought back snapper etc for supper, I’ve been getting creative with salads atdinner and whipped up Chrissie ham and cheese scones for lunch yesterday –about a million of them which disappeared in about 10 minutes flat. Apart from Mum making fresh batches ofmincemeat pies, that’s the extent of the cooking/baking sitch this week. So relaxed its amazing. The last of theChrissie pud disappeared last night with custard and icecream – I’m a bit sadabout that.

Logan has been off exploring all days, comesin at dusk for a feed and then is off again for the night. Super happy, jumps in my bedroom window,jumps on the dog, has a wee neck rub with him then tries to steal my water –gets angry when he finds I have covered it to prevent such action, jumps on myface in disgust and then yowels at the door to be let out into the hall. Heaven forbid he jump back out the window andthen in the dog-door to get to his food, not when humans can open doors for him. He’s scoffing a full packet of meat a day – more if he sweet-talks mybrother into a second feed, whereas in Dunedin it takes him 3-4 days to getthrough one. He is still unsure of myMum's dog – Jimmy does tend to have a wee bark at him, but then Logan did swipe his nose on first meeting, sostays to the downstairs part of the house. I think in winter he will start moving up into the top floor for warmthand company. It’s quite funny watchingthe three animals interact, Trouble joins in on the barking fun with Jimmy butthen cries and whimpers at the fence for 10 minutes when his kitten runs awayover it. Very cute.

Alright, fingers are sufficientlywarm. Wait – what time is it? Oh – definitely time for another cuppa.

Santalek

2011-12-18T21:17:00.001+13:00

Whoop!

Here, via.

Lovely wild art

2011-12-18T21:05:00.003+13:00

This work make my eyes happy:

So strangely beautiful. By Zander Olsen. Via.

Low Point

2011-12-18T21:03:00.000+13:00

Watched The Holiday last night, and I can honestly say; before then I never saw the appeal in Jude Law, but now...

now - oh yum. Sensitive Jude Law with glasses?! Oh yes!

And I love Kate Winslet, but only since I saw her on Graham Norton and she was normal. I also like how the brit chick doesn't jump into bed with the guy straight away, but the yank does. Hmm.

Anyway - the gas-sniffing then window-face-slapping scene cracked me up. Had my own 'low point' today - cracked a wish bone by myself, with a wish in each hand.

...

It was actually kind of awesome.

***

I have finished all of my Chrissie present making and wrapping - simple one this year, much less stress, even though most of it I did make myself, and I did leave it till the weekend before Christmas...

And just because I can't hold myself back, but am pretty sure the receiver won't read this now - I made this, which turned out so, so much better than I expected:

We ended up with spare wrapping paper in the lab at some point - beautiful black inked flower detail on rough-textured hand made paper. I took it home and went nuts with my water colours, kind of like being a little kid with a colouring book - awesome.

Found a sweet shadow box frame which I lined with heavy art paper and then loosely fixed the painted wrapping paper on top - so that the weave buckles the paper and throws shadows behind it.

More spontaneously impressed with myself than usual.

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 9

2011-12-15T14:19:00.000+13:00

I'm all about the decorations right now.

These:

The Doctor, under my tree? I've been such a good girl this year, Santa!

Here, via. (expensive little suckers!)

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 8

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000+13:00

Ooooo, Whovian papercraft for Chrissie! Cheap, fun and completely lovely.

Tardis:

Cybermen:

Dalek (fav!):

How-to's, other geekery and templates here. Via.

12 Magic's of Chrissie:7

2011-12-14T12:16:00.001+13:00

I love the internet.

Look! The Burrow! In gingerbread!

Plus Weasley Jumpers out front.

Magic.

Via.

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 6

2011-12-13T17:58:00.000+13:00

My peeps.

Magic.

Today I had a massive expt schedule, but it was a beautiful (too hot in the lab) day and my peeps went out for ice cream - and carted me back an ice-block.

Which was delicious.

Love.

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 5

2011-12-13T09:10:00.002+13:00

This has to be magic - and I don't even watch the classic ones. Santa was totes behind it.

Here.

I wish The Doctor (DT, of course....actually, MS might be ok too :D) would magically visit me for Christmas.

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 4

2011-12-12T12:23:00.001+13:00

This:

Instructions for making it yourself here. Via.

Magic. (Does anyone else see a themed tree in their future?!)

And these:

Beautiful. Here, via.

Door crumple-bastard

2011-12-07T22:37:00.001+13:00

So, last night I popped out to the supermarket to get packing tape and a vivid to seal up some boxes (trying to do a couple of boxes a night to be ready for the truck in early January, and I leave for Mum & Dad's in a week and a half...also, remember - I nest like a crazy...lots of beautiful things I can't bear to part with), and some asshole tried to pull a u'ey through my car. Through my car!!

I was driving down the main street (in South D...) at a moderate to slow speed, it was raining, I had my lights on, he didn't indicate and just smashed into my passenger side. My car jumped over a bit, there was a big noise and I proceeded to freak out a wee bit (in my normal understated way. Godamn - where is the ability to be hysterical when you need it?!). I've never been in any kind of car accident before, and this wanker just ruined my perfect record.

And - the bastard had no insurance, and no license, and proceeded to text me all night and the next morning asking me not to report it and to give him a couple of days to 'sort something out'.

I don't bloody think so, buddy.

So I never replied, rang my broker first thing this morning, filled out the claims form including a transcript of each of his texts (which culminated in his asking for my address so he could come over and we could talk), submitted it, visited the panel beater for an initial estimate and filled out an accident report form at the police station this afternoon. Unfortunately I didn't get his registration number since he completed his U-turn and parked about 100m back up the road, and I was too freaked out to even think to ask for it, so I have little hope the little wanker will get what's coming to him (you have to have a license to drive for a reason. God.), but at least there is a small chance.

In the mean time, my broker is brilliant and the panel beater was lovely - estimate of $2000 damage, will need to replace both the doors and should only take about a week. Brill. Still - I have lost at least a full day of thesis writing in having to sort it out, and I still need to get it actually fixed. (and again, I leave in a week and a half for 2 weeks).

After the fact, I continued to the supey, parked and rang my mum for a wee cry on the phone. When I stopped shaking I went in for my godamn packing tape and vivid, and apparently chocolate was on sale, cause I ended up with two blocks - one of which I randomly carried in to The Crazy One's house where I went for a cuppa next, and to have her experienced dad-is-a-mechanic-and-she-used-to-be-a-girl-racer eyes have a look at it. Weird.
---
EDIT: Ok, so TCO's Dad is a panel beater, not a mechanic, 'cause they are different things. Apparently.

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 3

2011-12-07T22:17:00.001+13:00

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod - Jaffa Cakes!

So I did an exchange with a school in England when I was 14 and I fell in love with Jaffa Cakes - in wee New Zealand you can only get the delicious little suckers from 'English' speciality shops and very occasionally the international food isle at New World.

Today, while at the cop-shop reporting my wee car accident (hang tight for deets, peeps) a woman came in to report a lost wallet or something (I didn't start eavesdropping properly till later) carrying two massive boxes of heaven. The police receptionist had a chat with her about them, because she loved them too - and the woman said about how she had only just gotten them at the New World up the road, for a measly ~$13 each.

So, of course, I dragged The Baby One there after our visit to the panel beaters. There were none on the shelves - but a lovely young woman snuck two boxes from storage out the back for me. And then the chick manning the self-checkouts was like, "omg, I love those! I didn't even know we sold them!"

Spreading the Jaffa Cakes Secret Love. Hooking all my peeps up.

Whoop. Logan's on duty, they're safe.

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 2

2011-12-07T20:59:00.000+13:00

The Dinosaurs Night Before Christmas

With CD, and my fav clip: The Allosaurus Chorus. You can hear a bit of it behind this trailer:

Santasaur! Whoop!

Via The Oxford One. Love.

One of those days

2011-12-06T21:14:00.001+13:00

My last control line have been hatching since Sunday so I've been back sorting and counting flies (on top of daily dead counts) which is soul destroying, and blah blah some other stuff blah blah -

and then; some bastard smashes into the side of my car!

More on that wee disaster later (Argghhhh!!!), but in the mean time I have been trying to pack up a wee bit of stuff each late-evening, and this represents about one third of my library (in the banana boxes) and my linen cupboard...yup, I have a well stocked linen cupboard. (like generations of women in my family before me).

Packing sucks.

12 Magic's of Chrissie: 1

2011-12-06T09:27:00.001+13:00

I'm going to immortalise 12 epic moments of epicness this lead-up to Christmas; first - The Old One's Aunt's amazing house.

Seriously. You have no idea how much I have fallen in love with this house - after spending only the one evening in it. (helped along by the beautiful people inhabiting it, of course, and a glass or two of red...)

Amazing little (and big) beautiful things, hiding in ever nook and cranny, every surface and hangable-protrusion. And of course, a splash of kiwi. Crystal and glass, glitter and gilt - ah-maze-ing.

And then the themed rooms, and the embellishments over the staircases and fireplaces and so many beautiful trees.

And the best, most beautiful room, for last:

Swoon.

Good day

2011-12-02T19:30:00.000+13:00

Its completely beautiful outside for the second day in a row - I've said it before and I'll probably say it again, but when Dunedin does good, it does good.

Sweet quiz with primo questions to find out just exactly what dinosaur you would be - I know you all have been wondering forever about that.

Brilliantly, because it has my name in, I'm:

Boo Yah!

And its National Jandal Day here in NZ, represent!

Love how tan the camera flash makes my legs look

Of course I have lab-suitable shoes in my bag ready for normal lab duty. *sigh* such are the sacrifices we make for science.

No time, plus Books (wait...what?)

2011-12-01T20:00:00.000+13:00

Life is such crazy shiznizzle right now. So - a segmented mish-mash of random.
---
First - the thesis-pill of choice this week is M&M's, which get eaten in colour order - yesterday: Blue.

No comments on my posture thank you, Mum

Today is green, and The Mini One went and sneaked a red one into the middle of the pile, you have no idea how quickly the bottom dropped out of my world. But its ok, because the office is full of volunteer M&M disposal units.
---
Flies on weekends think thus:

Yes, that is a scientifically accurate diagram of a Drosophila

---
Last weekend when grocery shopping at half 8 in the evening, I splashed out for thin sliced corned beef - and have been having epic sandwiches all week - with caramelised onion relish. Life is good.

Related, just wait for it - this photo of an old, and much ~~loved~~ hated lab member has become a bit of a lab ghost - turning up in the most unexpected and surprising places. A couple of days ago The Crazy and Mini ones' snuck him into the middle of my beautiful sandwiches:

It was hilariously unexpected enough (no one had seen him for months) that I forgave their molesting of my lunch.

---

And just because I can, this:

Let me know if you need some hair, I have some spare

---

The cats manky wound is fully healed and now he has what looks like a random shaved-chest-patch. He and Trouble ran backwards and forwards from my room to the kitchen for about 20 minutes last night, the cat leading the dog and then swiping him in the face when he dared to try and overtake him. I'm not sure what the rules where exactly, since it wasn't quite 'chase', perhaps we could call it "Logan always wins", that might be the most truthful.

Its been so hot lately (ok, ok - by Dunedin standards at least), my quilt has been thrown on the floor more often than not. Tidied up my room the other day (disgusting, its just easier to throw everything on the floor and worry about it later...like post-thesis) and I found an old bone lovingly poked into the middle of the scrunched up quilt. Obviously quite a safe place for hiding things is my quilt/bedding/pillows, but Trouble was most upset when I told him off and threw it out the door - before shutting it and telling him to go to sleep, so he couldn't even re-locate it that evening.

---

Its officially December (yeah..like, the first day of the month?) and Chrissie is officially allowed in the lab - I'm trying to sneak in the x-tunes on the lab music-vomiting-machine as often as possible - The Old One hooked me up with a Frank Sinatra Chrissie album which is my fav these past 2 days - love it. People are all planning Christmas parties and so on - the panic is settling in deeper. Double edged sword this Christmas is:

That's a mouldy old thesis, in case you were wondering

---

Movies: Saw Breaking Dawn P1 last Friday with the Married One - absolutely hilarious. Brilliant stuff. So, so funny. Will take my Mum at the beach if its still on in a couple of weeks. (hear that Mum? What a treat!)

---

Books: Finished The Magicians a couple of weeks ago, I can't even remember when, and it took me a couple of weeks to get through it - not too riveting.

And for all the calls of it being 'the adults Harry Potter' - a pox on your soul sir! I say. The end did redeem the book as a whole, but there was a shit-load of unstructured waffle to get there. Read it if you have nothing better to do, otherwise - one to miss.

---

Books: Heaps (and heaps bro) of peeps kept telling to to read The Hunger Games books, which I finally got around to doing this last half week - Saturday late evening after a soul-crushing day of fly work I read the first one straight, took only 5 hours (these are YA fiction novels, not too long or difficult to read) then I chewed through the second on Sunday and the third Monday and Tuesday late-evenings.

The Married One has them now and has abandoned her current read for the first - as good a recommendation as any. Good, good stuff. And I totally feel the metaphor - guilt for being soo Capitol. If you haven't yet (and I might be the only one in the world who had not) definitely go and read the suckers. Brilliant.

Coincidentally - it is being made into a movie, comes out next year, and its doesn't look too horrific, but I don't see how they can fit everything in.

---
That's all. See you in...a couple of days?!

Love

2011-11-28T19:30:00.000+13:00

Love, love, love this photo from conf. dinner a couple of weeks back. It makes a shit-eating grin break out on my face just looking at it. Conference dinners are always a rip-roaring good time. I think it's just the epic group dynamics. Photo credit: TCO.

I love my peeps.

I also love my hair right now, it might be the only part of me I am a wee bit vain about. Little bit more length and it will be brilliant. (only then I'm sure I'll want it short all over again *sigh*).

Oh yuck, kitten!

2011-11-27T08:00:00.000+13:00

So last-last week we had the conference of the-people-who-own-my-soul, and right before running out to the conf dinner (after a day of comedic errors, which I shall not get into in depth - but including the destruction of the pair of pants I was wearing and the required run to the shop for emergency-pants; Just. Don't. Ask) I threw myself down on my bed (had been running between conf and my fly room amongst all the errors) and stretched out an arm to scratch Logan under the chin. He enjoyed it for a few seconds then decreed it was dinner time and got up - and stretched. During the stretch, I got a flash of fleshy pink, I grabbed his scruff, probably none too gently, and ruffled through his fur - he had a massive gaping wound-hole on his chest. The skin was missing, about the size of my thumb nail, and the viscera was showing through, all pulsating-like.

I threw the window shut and slammed the door before he could escape and rang the vet. Luckily my vet is awesome and we popped in for a half 6 appointment. Turns out - they couldn't explain it. They even took photos for their own records. They think it could have happened in a fight - where some hulk-cat took a mouthful of flesh and fur from him, or he could have caught it on some sharp-bit while jumping over a fence or such like, or it could have been a ruptured abscess. The edges were a little healed, so he had had it for a wee while. But, the little bugger, he was completely unconcerned - his temp was normal, he was eating and drinking like normal, beating up Trouble like normal etc etc, no indication of anything being wrong with him at all.

So they shaved his chest (its ok, I like my boys with hairless chests - got Trouble's done last week) shoved a finger all up inside his gaping wound with cleaning fluid - through which he just chilled the fuck out, -obviously living with Trouble has made a trip to the vets seem like a kitten-holiday. He didn't even mind the shaver or the ahem, thermometer. The vet-nurse was a bit shocked. But my boys are awesome.

He was on antibiotics for a week and anti-inflammatory/pain meds for 4 days (not that he needed it, such a kiwi bloke) and the hole was closed 4 days later. That is some impressive shiznizzle.

I'll admit to a wee freak right after I hung up on the vet, of the cat-cancer-I-can't-cope-without-my-boys-don't-leave-me variety. But the mother and The Married One both dealt with my slightly hysterical texts with aplomb.

And - I still made it to the conf dinner that night. BooYah.

On Repeat

2011-11-26T08:00:00.000+13:00

Joni, my love - you get me through the most trying of ovary-induced sadness. (yeah that's right, you love it when I say 'ovaries')

Yay! Friday!

2011-11-25T16:49:00.001+13:00

Not that it really matters - will be in the lab first thing to take dead counts like normal anyway.

I've been a zombie all week, in part due to Dros-induced-insanity, part due to tiredness, part due to thesis stress and in part due to my ovaries screaming out to me in their little hormone voices:

"Don't waste another egg SM! Why do you hate us so much?!"

Because the ovaries are the original home of passive aggressive emotional manipulation. Fuck you ovaries! Find your own man! Why do I have to do all the work for you?!

ahem

Yeah - so, in other news - last night I cleaned out a couple of shelves on one of my book cases, due to the whole encroaching moving-out thing, and threw four years of accumulated undergraduate lecture notes, exam scripts and assignments in the recycling bin (recycling of paper, not recycling cheating of undergrads!). You need to understand - I am a copious note taker. I am also a prodigious doodler and some of those suckers have become art - a precious record of a time and friends gone by.

So that was hard. (and I shall confess in a small voice, least Mum gets annoyed at the extra stuff to store, that I did save the most precious). And it was amusing to re-read some of the comments left by lecturers during my undergrad years, whom I now know quite well - hindsight eh?

Again in other news - today for lunch (end of the week, end of the fridge-mining capabilities) I had a caramelised onion scone scroll, which might just have been the most ugly-looking scone in the world - but it was, surprisingly, delicious.

Already slightly picked apart.

Shall re-create on Sunday and pop in the freezer for emergency lunch occasions in future.

And finally, because its home/dinner/I-miss-my-Trouble-time and we are going to see the newest Twilight movie tonight (I am anticipating the most awesome of hilariousness) I'll leave you with the fridge:

Mmmm ghost chips for dinner...

(Also, Sugarplum asked why the 'e' and 'x' were so close to each other, all the time - I'm sure you can guess the most frequent word The Authoress and I have up there, just from that).

Its Tuesday, and I no longer care what time it is

2011-11-22T17:20:00.001+13:00

Count for the day: 1150

I'm about half done with the count and sorts, and the remaining ones are being slow and crap for eclosions.

Fuck this, I'm going home to bed.

Balls

2011-11-21T19:30:00.000+13:00

My lovely mother and a family friend found/somehow acquired a bag of truly hideous Christmas-themed pompoms and decided to sneak them into a parcel for me at some stage.

I decided to utilise the awesomeness that is my craft suitcase:

Mod them up, and send them right on back. Conveniently enough, I had some ribbon, super glue and some polyester balls ( I say conveniently - but of course I had random shit lying about perfect for the task):

The result:

I figure they'll adorn either side of a doorway or some other- I don't mind too much, it got rid of some shit out of my jam packed craft suitcase!

And in other news, Trouble is getting in the Chrissie spirit (and is such a poser):

On second thought, I don't know if its 'Chrissie spirit' so much as 'my doggy soul is shrivelling and dying right now'...

Its... almost 6pm on Monday

2011-11-21T17:32:00.001+13:00

Fly count for the day: 2000

Poor form - but the first batch of eclosions is coming to an end and I had to throw out a batch of one gene.

I am so tired - I feel perpetually 10 minutes away from hysterical tears (though such a thing could never happen; do not trouble yourselves overly much), why is time passing so quickly?!

It 6pm on Sunday

2011-11-20T17:38:00.001+13:00

And I'm still in the lab (again, since 8am).

Fly count for the day: 4200

One line is fully set up, 7 to go.

Its 6pm on Saturday

2011-11-19T17:52:00.001+13:00

And I'm still in the lab (since 8am).

Fly count for the day: 3300 individuals

That's sex-sorted, counted and put onto diets.

And not including the diet making, dead counting, lay-turning and old adult emptying also done.

Home time?! Oh please let it be home time. (Its games night - The Married One's made stew, The Mini One raided the staff shop at work (Cadbury's) and I stocked up on fluffy fresh breads, then - Catan and Ticket to Ride, with no expectation for success since I can no longer, apparently, even type (that paragraph took three run-throughs for spelling)).

Day O'Fun

2011-11-18T19:30:00.000+13:00

Its an annual tradition in the lab to go for a Day o' Fun at the end of the undergraduate year, since the ~~minions~~ honours students have usually left by the time the Chrissie party organises itself; it evolved as a way to say kaythanxbye.

This year, it was coffee and pastries followed by curling followed by lunch (followed by lab work).

The curling was excellent. Only ~1 of us had done it before, and while I was expecting it to be fun, it was so much more. Of course I think it greatly depends on the group of people, and the lab cannot go anywhere without great spirits and ensuing hilarity.

Brilliant good fun.

Of course about half of the group were inducted into the illustrious teacup club (bits-over-teacup, as it were), with TCO inducting herself about three times - one spectacular swan dive which involved bouncing her chin off the ice.

Conveniently enough, this occurred with photographic evidence:

And the resulting bruise:

Awesome.

My team won (final score of 3-7), through no short stroke of luck - and the sneaky Old One dropped a number to alter the final score in the photo - lies, I assure you.

So if you ever get a chance - go curling, but don't be all worried about winning, that shiz is hard.

Fun fact - each stone is worth something like $1400, I shit you not. Crazy huge investment.

Fridge message evolution

2011-11-17T19:30:00.000+13:00

I don't even know how it came to this:

On Repeat

2011-11-16T19:30:00.000+13:00

The Crazy One threw two new CD's onto my desk last week, Florence's Ceremonials and Gin's Gravel & Wine. I mashed them together and had the playlist on repeat over the weekend. Friday I hated it - same old stuff from both, screechy angry women. By Sunday I was rocking out as I cleaned the bathroom and washed dishes. Probably won't last, but for now - its on repeat (see what I did there?! Yeah? Yeah!)

Quilts

2011-11-15T19:30:00.000+13:00

I have been exam supervising this past month and the Supervisor-In-Charge of my room is an avid quilter. I'm working on my second bed quilt - to send to the bigsib for homesickness in the UK, and then one for myself to take over and I definitely appreciate the skill and time/effort/passion involved.

Margaret won the Hoffman challenge a while back, this competition involves making a patchwork/quilted artwork from a specified meter of fabric. There are other rules - like it cannot be bigger than 1 meter square and cannot be either square or rectangular in shape.

This was her winning piece:

Photo credit: Margaret & Mike O'Cain

Completely sublime, and you cannot even see the epically detailed stitching in this piece from the photo.

The year after Margaret's submission was this:

Photo credit: Margaret & Mike O'Cain

This one is my favourite, and completely beautiful. I just love the colours and the elegance of the neck. You can't see but each wee piece of fabric in the tail is individually stitched on. I have seen the beginnings of her submission for this year and it is looking gorgeous already, sans stitching.

In other quilting news, this popped up in my feed last week, a quilted version of the Crab Nebula:

By Jimmy McBride and via. Worth about USD$12k (I shit you not) and available on Etsy.

Loving it.

Get some culture in 'ya

2011-11-14T19:30:00.000+13:00

Went to the Ballet on Saturday night with The Crazy One and an old family friend of hers who hooked us up with tickets (he son was Puss in Boots).

The ballet was Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty and it was lovely - absolutely gorgeous costuming and the set was fantabulous. The dancing was a bit repetitive at times and came across as a wee bit boring, though I hesitate to use the word, since if we were just watching the dancing it would have been a lovely portrayal of their skill, but in context of the story it was a bit...slow. Not my favourite, but not my least liked either. The Regent was packed full and the atmosphere was delightful - I love that people still dress up beautifully for a night at the theatre. The orchestra always gives me a spine tingle - there's nothing better than live music, its always a wee bit of a let down when the music is piped in. (not that happens too often, especially since I've been in the South Island. Perhaps Napier is just too small a draw for a full orchestra, all the time). Lovely night out with my homegirl at any rate, and the costumes...yeah.

And I must say - Prince Charming's butt was like a symphony in marble. Think Adonis statues of old, prancing about the stage in a costume sinfully painted on. (and I dare you to google image search 'marble adonis butt'. Go on, its not worse than the hot tub incident at any rate...)

Lovely.

Happy eyes

2011-11-12T19:30:00.000+13:00

Just look.

Long exposures in the outback by Lincoln Harrison. More beautiful stuff on his site. Seriously - click through.

Blows my mind. Via.

They will come for you

2011-11-11T19:30:00.000+13:00

And you will thank them for it.

Pavement chalk art by Leon Keer. Amazing. The perspective logistics make my brain hurt. Via.

Pre-Christmas

2011-11-10T08:12:00.002+13:00

In my 'house' at least - first of November - that's the rule.

So, at work I have a wee tree on the filing cabinet and a plethora of red and green LEDs around my desk - plus a wee fibre optic tree. Beautiful USB ridiculousness. Note the star made from pipette tips, a falcon tube and parafilm:

Those canes are about...4 years old

Lets not look too closely at the mess.

And at home my tree is resplendent in tinsel and glass ornaments. Makes life more exciting when you have a cat and a dog intent on catching everything hanging from it.

See the dinosaur shadow by Santa on the TV? Good times. Plus of course the TARDIS on Santa's other side.

Man, I love Chrissie lights and tinsel

The bigsib sent a wee parcel from the UK which arrived this week - it is perhaps the best advent calendar ever invented. It got a bit mixed up en route, but I can't wait for the first! (I hope the chocolates are in shapes...)

I love Christmas.

Gotta make more Time

2011-11-09T08:20:00.002+13:00

This week feels like it has been going on forever.

Forever.

Supervised two exams on Monday and one Tuesday afternoon, and now I am all done with that - hopefully with enough extra cash to last the 'holiday' season, and then I'll be applying for jobs proper.

Joy.

Its obviously going to be one of those days - and I seem to be having a disproportionate number of them lately. (but it will all be worth it in the end!... yeah). So I brought coffee on the way into work, long black 'cause apparently that's how I roll these days (when did that happen?!) and due to the supernova hotness I have been just breathing in the delicious coffee air off the top of the cup for the last ten minutes.

I seem to be in a 'type out the numerals mood'. Strange.

So the coffee is good, Alterbridge is blasting out my ear drums (who needs good ears when you have an audiologist for a bigsib?!) and I am in a writing mood. Which is lucky cause my needles still have not arrived and I am not due to turn my fly-kiddies till tonight. Writing it is.

Joy.

We went to see 'In Time' last night, The Old One (heh) and Mister Married One and I - good stuff. JT is looking pretty fine these days. (Its probably his pretty eyes).

Gotta love a man who can rock a bow tie. Yum.

Massive parallels with The End Specialist, which I talked about a wee while back. Degradation of society as a result of people wanting to live forever. This concept was a bit different - 'time' is now money and the rich keep the poor dying off by raising the cost of living. After all - 'many must die for a few to live forever'. Of course JT is the hardened streetwise kid from the time ghetto who meets up with the time-rich pretty kid, they fall in love and try to save the world. Because you know, 'we were never meant to live forever'. And immortality is "not worth it if even one has to die".

What is this "meant"?

There is no mention of people going insane with old age, and the ones who get sick of it can simply 'time out' (fancy future slang for suicide), so if one can, what is this meant?! And there is no mention of GE to make everyone beautiful, yet the time-rich people all are. Did the GE-birth take care of all ills and deformities? The only way to die is by 'violent accident'?

Anyway - complete sidestep on the background scientific development. Apparently everyone is genetically engineered, no option, no alternative - you just pop out of your mother with a glowing green clock on your arm. At the age of 25 you stop ageing and your clock starts, and you have 1 year to make more time. I found it funny when the rich girl tells JT that she is 2 at 25 while he is 3 at 25 and they have a little moment - like it matters finding a partner close to your real age in an immortal world?! And everyone in the time ghettos live one day at a time and run everywhere - no time to spare walking.

Do you think I can put this and the earlier book in my thesis? So totally relevant...

Its in the blood

2011-11-07T19:30:00.000+13:00

The urge to knit and sew and cross-stitch and embroider and bake and cook and make and craft and make.

And things like this, make me glad to be alive in a world where such things are sill made:

Gorgeous (more at Etsy)

Oh yeah, hows the thesis going? Arrggghhhhhh! I'm existing on a plane of sustained low level panic and anxiety. Don't look at me(/my thesis), I'm hideous.

But to cheer ourselves up, my lovelies: more!

Love it!

Aww - look at me all empathising with the pink bunny. Why do I feel like he's going to let it snap back into her face?!

Its like looking into my future

2011-11-05T19:30:00.000+13:00

Amazing effort. The kids must be sooo stoked, and I bet they put multiple cars on and watch them go all day. I would.

Aw - but mine is all black!

2011-11-04T19:30:00.000+13:00

Soooo cool - and cruel and probably gross after a day; see his tail all broken and down pointing?! My Trouble's only does that when he thinks he needs a treat else the world will end and/or he might be dying.

And you can't really dye a black poodle anyway... Oh well.

Better effort than the ugly-puff cut.

Via BB.

Hallows Recap

2011-11-03T19:30:00.000+13:00

Love the slow-mo, love the destruction:

Flamethrowing Jack-O'-Lantern from Randy Sarafan on Vimeo.

Wish we had cheap big pumpkins...but without the tacky american commercialism/consumerist Halloween culture. Via and others.

My fish died

2011-11-03T08:25:00.000+13:00

And I'm not coping very well.

The little bastard was about 3 years old, I brought him when I brought my house - and now that my moving out is imminent (give or take a few months...I'm not in the mood for your nitpicking, all right?!!) he has left me...

...all alone...

...like everything else.

Ok, so I wish I was that melodramatic and theatrical, but I just can't pull it off with a straight face. Like sometimes I wish I was stupid, and some stupid man had fallen in love with me ('cause god knows I scare off all the intelligent ones - why? why can't such a big world produce one person to love me?! Am I such a horrific person? Why?!! *falls to the floor weeping bitter tears of a broken heart*) and we grew old together with a hundred kids, ignorant but blissfully happy. And then I could be the type of woman who doesn't need to think for herself or worry about who to vote for in the next election or worry about the state and future of our country, or writing a thesis, or having a career, or caring about equality and sexism and racist factions of society. The type of person who can get in a bad mood and throw her phone at the wall or go on a bender and trash a room or turn up to work drunk and get away with it all, and still end up blissfully ignorant and happy.

But I'm not. Sensible, reliable and 'common sense' seem to be hard wired into my psyche. I blame my ever practical parents.

Curse you!

So - back to the fish. Every time I put a new fish in the bowl to be his friend - they died. I like to think Fugs ('cause he was f*ck ugly) was a killer-badass-fish-of-doom, but more likely he was just a loner who had built up resistance to my bowl cleaning and fish-feeding habits.

A loner....

...like me...

...but not by choice.

Ok, ok, I'll stop. Couldn't help myself.

But now I walk down my hall and look at the bowl (still full of water and fishy things) and feel sad. I know I'm displacing thesis-zombie-stress onto anything and everything around me, but that doesn't automagically make the stupid feelings go away - you just intelligently recognise how stupid you are being, which takes away any satisfaction from acting stupid.

Curses.

***
Just found out my uncle passed from cancer at 4am this morning.

Beautiful Dream!

2011-11-02T19:30:00.000+13:00

I love dandelion clocks and am always tempted to let the weeds grow in my 'garden' so that I might delight in such youthful joy - but this, this is amazing:

I want to lie on my back in the middle and dream

"Regine Ramseier's "Windstille" installation involved hundreds (thousands?) of fluffy dandelions, sprayed with fixative and hung from the ceiling of a tall, narrow white room. The result is both exuberant and calming, a kind of preserved fragile moment poised on the line between stillness and motion"

By. Via.

Fright Night!

2011-11-01T19:30:00.001+13:00

The Old One (hugs!) and I went to see Fright Night on all Hallows Eve and ended up being the only two in the theatre - which worked out perfectly since were were anything but quiet.

Brilliant movie, loved it.

Firstly - one of my most favourite actors; My Doctor:

Who was absolutely superb, as usual.

And every bodies favourite delicious badboy:

Mmmmm...mmm

I'll give you a minute to collect yourself. (and admit to TOO and I yelling at the screen "take your damn shirt off!" one too many times). And we all know I have an unnatural (but totally cool) fascination with vampire lore.

The wee squick of teen romance was revolting (I'm so anti that shit at the moment) but the entire movie was hilarious, and Toni Collette was the Mum - come a long way since Muriel (1994?! Holy shit!). Several good frights, though I find it hard to jump when I'm belly laughing and the both of us are yelling "He's already downstairs! He's right there! There! Take his shirt off!".

3D and worth it for about 3 scenes, otherwise, as usual - 3D not worth the ridiculous twenty dollars.

Ahhhhhhh, escapism is my friend (you know who I wish was my friend? Colin. In case you didn't pick that up already. You know - for the benefits of friendship. Yum.)

Not all girls

2011-10-31T19:30:00.000+13:00

Would be so horrifyingly unappreciative.

Via.

Weekends

2011-10-31T08:29:00.000+13:00

Urgh.

I have a bit of a head cold, so I am perhaps not in the best of moods.

Don't get me wrong - the weekend was not bad.

I baked some cakes! The Clementine recipe from before, only I boiled up 5 very anaemic early NZ lemons, upped the sugar volume and baked for longer (over-boiled, so the fruit were swimming in the most lovely reduced lemon syrup - threw that in as well). Ordered a kilo of ground almond from here at the advice of the homeboys awesome girly half. (who I saw Footloose with last week - hilarious).

Very good.

I am exam-supervising all week and was going to take the smaller cake in for Neil's birthday, but decided my freezer deserved it more. (12 eggs, come on!) Lets keep that to ourselves, yeah?

Again no piccies cause I've been lax with the photography lately - for example last weekend I made 4 batches of cookies for the RWC final: jam drops, coconut brownies, anzacs and seed cookies. They looked lovely, but - no photos. (I think I did take one of the very first dough batch...not sure). I do have a lunchbox photo for you though! Happy Day! (not even a bit sinky in the middle, rejoice!)

Mmmm, bitter lemon to even me out...heh

And look! I did take a dough shot. Used massive coconut shavings instead of peanuts for the brownies; not a big fan of peanuts. Love coconut.

Yum.

On Saturday I made spinach cannelloni for TCO and her boyish half, not as good as I remember the bigsib making, though I swear I used the same recipe as her. Paired it with garlic bread 'cause I was feeling lazy, and you can't really top spinach in the vege stakes, right? Threw a bit of herb salt in the butter mix to jazz things up, came out too salty, though no one else seemed to mind. And there is no way to make cannelloni except to stuff the little buggers using your fingers. FYI.

I've been feeling exceptionally old this weekend, strange things building up, like suddenly preferring red wine to white, long blacks to lattes, the birthday in 2 months tomorrow - 26 and crossing the barrier towards 30. (I know my loves, you are all older and more awesome, let me have 2 seconds of pity party, yeah?). Trouble is over 2 years old and appears very well behaved to strangers (how did that happen?!), the cat is more affectionate and my old-man keeper (he keeps the dog and myself in line), the thesis will be done sooner rather than later (think long term, months not weeks - least you get your silly little hopes up too high), the house needs paint 'cause its been so long and I have been enrolled at Uni for nine years (the 9th soooo doesn't count...)

How did this happen?!

***

I spilled my coffee about 5 times on the short walk from GE to work. I'm not complaining - it was very pretty:

And Allie is back, whom the whole internet loves, and has drawn the most apt depression progression I have ever seen. That woman is a brilliant person. Hugs.

My Chrissie tree goes up tomorrow. Wow.

Halloween v3

2011-10-29T19:30:00.000+13:00

Awesome costume!

Tyler Card: Hero! Love it. And it works! Via Squiddy, again.

Halloween v2

2011-10-28T19:30:00.000+13:00

This is brilliant - and I think for everyday, not just Halloween.

I see cauliflower and cabbage and tapioca - instructions here. Via Squiddy. Very cool.

Books

2011-10-27T20:00:00.000+13:00

Finished off The End Specialist by Drew Magary this last weekend. Good read - story based around the aftermath of someone inventing a 'cure for aging'. The cure came from a Dros. lab, which I loved, was a mistake - which makes it more plausible, but is mostly scientifically unexplained. The cure stops you aging, but you can still develop disease and die any other normal way. The disintegration of society is both predictable and fascinating to watch unfold. The book makes jumps into the future periodically and ends in nuclear holocaust. The beginning of the book claims to lay before you a surviving account from the period, of someone who took frequent notes in diary form throughout his postmortal life.

The exploration into issues such as baby birthdate branding, 'Greenies', Cycle Marriages and the eventual 'End Specialisation' is delightful from a sociological point of view. The End Specialists deal with people who first want to die after a long life, voluntarily and then people marked for an end by a government stretched to its limit trying to retain power, order and functionin a world steadily running out of every type of resource. A bit scary in its intensity and blithe handling of very real scenarios, but good stuff.

***

I also chewed through The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, (2003) by Mark Haddon. Written from the perspective of a young boy with Asberger's (or similar. The author claims not to be an expert on the subject, of any kind, and the book has received criticism for it).

The story is supposedly a mystery novel but explores Christopher's mind and home life in incidental detail. It is a bit of a difficult read, not in the literary sense, but in the emotional. You obviously see things happening through his writing which Christopher does not understand at all, and you find your heart strings tugged most unmercifully. I shed tears whilst sitting in the Labour Day sun.

Halloween

2011-10-26T20:00:00.000+13:00

Amazing pumpkin carvings, perhaps the only thing I regret with regards to NZ not buying in to the ridiculous American Halloween Hype.

Via Gizzy. By Ray Villafane.

And more by same artist, via Squiddy.

Absolutely Brilliant.

'Scientists' join the Occupy Movement

2011-10-26T09:11:00.000+13:00

With this delightful gem:

"Brandie Cross held the sign. She is in the 5th year of a PhD program in biochemistry at The Johns Hopkins University. Her speciality is breast cancer, a traditionally well-funded specialty. But she’s sure her job prospects are dim. “I’d like to start my own biotech company. I have tons of inventions, and I want to be funded by NIH. But there’s no money."

You have tons of inventions? Jeese girl, good for you. What about us research plebs who don't have dreams of big pharma or biotech startups? Who want to be Uni-moles forever and ever into a glorious academic sunset?

The article, by Marc Kuchner, contains other interesting stuff - like the general lament of the scientist dreaming of more funding. Shockingly - Texas and Florida are threatening the shutting down of their Physics Depts, which blows my mind. How?! WTF, man!

And this:

"Studies show that only half of U.S. adults can correctly answer the basic question: How long does it take for the Earth to go around the Sun?"

Urgh.

Holy Craptasticals Batman!

2011-10-26T09:03:00.001+13:00

Need to Register/enrol for a full half year just to use one month at the beginning of 2012 - which brings my number, horrifyingly, up to nine.

Urgh.

My Cookie Jar

2011-10-25T08:59:00.003+13:00

Makes the noise, and I rush outside to see if he has landed in my yard.

One day, I won't be disappointed.

(no idea who to credit the image to, sent by TBO)

On Repeat

2011-10-21T19:00:00.000+13:00

Alexi Murdoch, from the title sequence of both Real Steel and Away We Go, which completely flabbergasted me.

Embedding Disabled. Click through for awesomeness.

Beautiful. Love it.

My beach! Mine!

2011-10-21T13:31:00.000+13:00

There's a whale stranded on my beach! And the goddamn news photos make it look like a mint day (pouring here, typical)

Its a juvenile male pygmy sperm, and apparently all the preschools etc are going down for a look - it makes me all wibbly inside to know that everyone ran down to help ferry water buckets from the ocean. I would! Dad was down before work this morning, but didn't take a pic 'cause so many people were hassling around it. Hassling in a good way.

He doesn't look that heavy, surely they can re-float him soon.

UPDATE: Mum tells me he has been re-floated amongst big fuss with the local Maori standing guard. Love it.

We call it 'Mufasa'

2011-10-21T08:23:00.001+13:00

Brace yourselves people, you are about to see something which may scar your unborn children: My face. And - my hair.

dum dum duuuuuuuum!

But first - backstory!

Ok, so I've lamented about the hair before, the blaming of the parents etc etc. First year of my PhD I had a mohawk, like this:

And it was rockin'

That was in the first year of my PhD, 2008 (student ID photo). I've been growing it fairly steadily since about three quarters of the way through that year (that was my student politics year, good times).

Recently I decided to try a new sitch for dealing with the mop- not only use the ridiculously expensive hair products I have become accustomed to, but to cut back to one wash a week - one wash followed by at least 30 minutes of protein treatment.

Ok, ok, so now you know - I might be a little vain with regards to my hair. You have to pick and choose the body parts you love right? (like my feet. I love my feet - they always look so small but the bastards are actually a 42)

The hair routine works - curls are hell with the dry aspect of things, and add in epic thickness and quantity - you have all the ingredients for taking over a small third world country at least.

So, blah blah blah - this:

Holy shit, is that what I look like?!

That's a shitload of growth in 3 years - and if its brushed or straightened a little, its a lot longer. But - fun times! I have never felt like my hair suits me more than it does right now. And you have to admit - doing sweet FA to your hair all week is a pretty mint deal.

Rock the crazy hair my lovelies!

Also - way to look decades older! Sheesh!

Movies!

2011-10-20T19:00:00.000+13:00

Went to see Real Steel last week with The Married One's other-half-which-appreciates-good-cinema and the labs baby PhD student (and his delightful plus one).

I really liked it. Best part? The gorgeous kid dancing with Atom. Loved it. Plus some epic beats. (yeah, I'm cool enough). I say bring in that shit to replace boxing now - I would pay to see that shiz for fun.

Plus, you know, Logan:

Mmmm. Yup.

Last night The Authoress-plus-one (not that sort of plus one, mind) stuck in Away We Go,

Also loved it - brill normal movie (as opposed to my love of the above, plus comic-adapts). Beautiful story, completely lovely soundtrack, very funny in parts - a good one to watch with the parents, and it didn't engage my gag reflex (directly tied to chick flicks and sappy disgusting romances (as opposed to the epic ones - like P&P...sigh)). Awesome actors chosen to fill the roles, I think I fell in love with Burt a little bit.

Love her coat

Definitely one I'd watch again. Wow - high praise.

Knitters Unite!

2011-10-20T16:52:00.000+13:00

This is so cool:

"Skeinz, a yarn store in New Zealand is calling on knitters worldwide to make sweaters for penguins affected by the2011 New Zealand Oil Spill. The sweaters prevent oil-soaked birds from preening (and poisoning) themselves, and keep them warm before and after they are cleaned by cleanup workers.The Tasmanian Conservation Trust made a similar request in 2001, but instead of the 100 sweaters they asked for,they received 15,000."

Via Squiddy and heaps of others - knitters worldwide unite for NZ! Whoop!

Kids and their Trucks

2011-10-19T19:30:00.000+13:00

A couple of weeks ago a crane parked up outside the Micro building next door, ready to winch the pre-made PC3 container-lab onto the roof.

Of course, everyone ran outside to watch the fun and imagine being a crane driver for a living, for a moment.

Massive crane, and TCO had to do the obligatory pointing-pose for a photo.

Neato.

Heartbreak Cake

2011-10-18T19:30:00.000+13:00

Last week I made Nigella's Heartbreak Cake (lets not read too much into this, people) just 'cause I felt like it.

Called Chocolate Fudge Cake, it gives a delightfully moist cake with a decent chocolate flavour without crossing into the ridiculous, nor being boring chocolate spongeness - somewhere in the middle.

Definitely a good cake for heartbreak.

I have avoided chocolate cakes for an age, the last ones I made were all coma-cakes (full block of choc in the batter, full block in the ganache icing - hence the coma) or nasty brown boring dry cake with no texture or depth of flavour. Also - chocolate cake sometimes is so overdone...almost, cliché.

*gasp*

Yeah, not a fan. But this cake is a keeper, not a fav, but a good'un. It has a lot of water in the batter - and a delightful sour cream/egg mix which was lovely to make. Stupid amounts of butter in the icing. I also managed to avoid my tendency to overcook - (the skewer might come out clean, but the cake looks wibbly! More heat!) and have a slightly fudgy, but not raw middle. 10 points for learning from mistakes! I was also in no hurry and cooled in-tin and without for decent amounts of time - no icing on warm cakes people.

Good, progress is good.

Good times. (Not really: if the chocolate cake recipes come out, you know we have issues to work through, but pretending makes life easy, yeah?).

Ooooh the brain pain!

2011-10-17T17:30:00.000+13:00

My fingertips itch! My fingers flex! My brain screams at me - fix it! Fix it!

Arrggghhhh!

Via The Old One (air kisses!)

Whoop! Arms!

2011-10-15T17:30:00.000+13:00

Yay! I sooo can't wait. (Yes yes, we know - shitty movies ring my bell)

Cap and Thor - Mmmmmmm

Books

2011-10-14T17:30:00.000+13:00

So last weekend I laxed out in the sun for a bit and stayed up far too late reading, but still churned through another two YA books I've been meaning to read (yeah, yeah - my reading is lazy at the mo, but YA fiction is so much more delightful than some of the new adult fiction - too much stupid, not enough childlike imagination; which doesn't make sense 'cause its not like the authors themselves are not adult, just some of them...suck)

Anyway - another of Scott Westerfeld's novels, Peeps - a vampire story, but not like any you've read before. Very parasite and biology oriented, every even chapter is a discussion on a different parasite, gross, amazing fascinating stuff. Vivid imagery - old swimming pools squirming and pulsating with hundreds of rats and so on. Perhaps not a good book for the weak-of-stomach. Lovely twist on the "natural vampire" tale too. Short, gross, gravelly read.

A while back I wrote about the book and movie 'I am number four' from the Lorien Legacies, well the sequel came out and has been chillin' on my floor ever since, finally picked it up and churned through it - quite a lovely continuation of the story. The Power of Six, by Pittacus Lore. (Actual authors James Frey & Jobie Hughes)

Did not feel stretched at all and I am left quite looking forward to the next instalment. I particularly enjoyed the part where, in the last book Henri told John that people from his world only fell in love once, with one person - and it was for life. In this book we find John (Four) lusting after Six but convincing himself that its nothing and he still loves the human girl, Sarah. We then we find that Henri was a romantic and might have stretched the truth *coughliedcough* a bit and John just doesn't know what to do. Hilarious. Good, chilled out, quick read for SciFi fans. I like the lack of despair and hopelessness which pervades depressing adult genre books, things just seem to work out for the best for each protagonist and you are left feeling quite satisfied with the state of things at the end. Unlike bloody CH who leaves you hanging on bloody meat hooks *grumblegrumble*

New Fav Cake

2011-10-13T17:25:00.000+13:00

Last weekend I went nuts with the orange boiling, the week before had been a bit crap and I vented with baking therapy. I had seen Nigella make this delightful creation one worried night, and knew it had to be tried. (I was a bit revolted - pith?! Had to try it)

Called a Clementine Cake in this instance, you boil whole citrus for 2 hours then purée the lot with ground almond, sugar, eggs and a wee dash of baking powder. No flour to speak of, which pleased the angry-guts-Mother when I was raving about it, so I'm sure she'll be making it quicksmart. I remember sampling another such cake at the French Bakery here in Dunedin with my lovely Nana way back when, in the sunlit years of my undergrad. I remember her asking for the recipe and the baker refusing - only telling of the boiled oranges part. I just need to find a cheaper source of ground almonds - and we'll be trying boiled lemons next. Oooo and I bet it will be better than the bigsibs sour cream lemon syrup cake. Mwahahahaha.

*ahem*

It was also so good we did not pause to take a photo. As soon as it was cold the big one was cut up (such a shame - I had boiled too many oranges, enough for two cakes) and sampled, the rest was then squirrelled away in the freezer for a rainy day. The other was fed to the ravenous lab-beast (students) and I'm pretty sure this is my new fav - overtaking the cream cheese pound cake in the cake-stakes.

This photo is from the food-Madam's site, and please note the sinking in the middle - mine did not sink nearly so much :D

Rock on lovelies! (and pop in for some cake, emergency cuppa supplies are high right now)

Suit fit for a Rubbish Ball

2011-10-12T17:22:00.000+13:00

I had forgotten about this wee gem, but it is a bit too awesome to leave forgotten.

The Queenstown Science Conference includes a fashion show for science geeks - 'fashionomics' where everything has to be made from stuff found in your lab. The Baby One (TBO) was in Queenstown for the whole conference and wanted to enter in an outfit for it (we only arrived at the end of the week for the Development satellite) so we decided on a bit of a tophat/suit tails/pimp cane combo.

I took some measurements and drew up a bit of a draft and then just set to chopping.

My shape, his numbers - weird

Now, I reasonably frequently free-sew my own skirts and have done a couple of shirts and dresses so am quiet used to faking my own pattern - TBO is tall and very skinny - the altered dimensions completely blew my mind, I guess you never really think about a persons body dimensions until you try to sew something for them.

Of course, in this context I mean 'sew' like I mean 'masking tape that shit'.

The back was easy, as were the tails and the front. I helpfully had a silver sharpie on hand to free draw the pattern on the plastic. Lucky, cause nothing else worked.

Bits of sack everywhere

The arms were a complete nightmare, especially since I was using 2 layers of trash sack for strength and had to tape up inside and outside. Of course I did this after I attached it to the body.

Aww - look at those cute toesies

And, considering the how and the what of, the finished tailcoat was epic - slightly short on shoulder width, but then what do you expect when you make something free-hand without your model present to try that shit on as you go? Not quite traditional, and some sneaky pockets, just for fun:

All class here, baby

So drop me a line the next time you need a tailcoat made out of rubbish bags, I'm your girl. Awesome good fun.

Books

2011-10-11T08:26:00.000+13:00

I polished off the final two books in the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld, weekend before last, the first of which I prattled on about earlier.

Behemoth

This one picks up from the first after the merging of the two Darwinist and Clanker technologies on the airship Leviathan, and follows Deryn/Dylan and Alek through to Istanbul and the revolution (with which they greatly help) against the sultan (slightly altered course of history there). The imagery is completely beautiful, with the rich new cultures shining out from the words and the action gripping but not hopeless enough to cause despair - I finished it in a day: Saturday.

And Goliath

Goliath focuses more on an individual - Tesla, whom Deryn and Alek help rescue from Siberia on the Leviathan. Tesla is a mad scientist (same Tesla as ours - mad at the end) and claims to have built a war-ending weapon utilising the electricity of the earth itself.

The ending is quite satisfying, with Alek relinquishing his right to the throne of Austria-Hungary and him and Deryn (whom he finally finds out about both her feminine status, and her love for him) end up being agents for the London Zoological Society whom it is hinted at are actually secret diplomats. I also finished this one in a day: Sunday.

The action in this book was perhaps a squick less exciting that the first two, but the story is very complete and nicely rounded up - plus they travel to America. Characters return from the previous books in unexpected ways and places and you are constantly introduced to neat new fabricated animals and fantastic machines.

Some people have called this a 'steampunk' series, but I do not see it - certainly not 'steamy' enough to qualify. And I shed a tear for adults who would not pick it up due to the YA intended audience, Westerfeld has created a delightful world. I have the Uglies series and shall make a start on it as soon as I get some of my heavier books out of the way.

Good reads though, certainly going to make the kids read them - and then have a discussion about alternate histories and the real course of events.

Sneaky peek at some of the illustrations:

Delightful.

Oooo Gulliver!

2011-10-10T21:32:00.000+13:00

Love, love, love this:

Sculpture by EVOL. Via.

Tree of Life

2011-10-07T21:28:00.000+13:00

But wait!

Shazam!

Beautiful art by Gary, Aaron & Khairul of Degree. Via.

You know you thought about it

2011-10-06T21:25:00.000+13:00

Beautiful Swears, go and have a read of the full catalogue, - totally worth it, though the newest ones might be a bit awkward...

Unicorns will always be magic

2011-10-05T21:23:00.000+13:00

Completely, heart wrenchingly lovely. Via.

Classical pumping

2011-10-05T08:42:00.000+13:00

Yesterday was shit. Just one of those days where everything is harder than it should be, you end up with more to do after realising just how much you have to do anyway and then you ring your mum to have a whinge and she tells you to take a cup of concrete, princess.

Not what I needed to hear.

I also had feedback about a fiction piece I submitted to a competition, first piece written with having anyone else read it in mind: but the judges didn't like it, and now it will go back into the pit without further airing. Also had someone say my first finished chapter was 'rubbish', but turns out they were joking and hadn't even read it yet.

Sometimes the feeling of 'no matter what I do, it's never good enough' is too strong to bear.

Anyway - today has made up for it already. My porridge was the perfect consistency (a very rare occurrence), the Trouble was well behaved and cute (might have helped I gave him treats for breakfast), I had classical pumping out too loud in my car on the way to work with the windows down and the wind in my hair, I have a big coffee warming me slowly from the inside and I had a sweet chat with my dealer (the Barista, she's just lovely) which mostly consisted of my being all like "I want to finish and blow this popsickle stand" and blah blah then "Masters?", "No, PhD, I've been here for 8 years!" and then:

"Oh. Wow. You don't look like you've been here for 8 years!"

I said thanks and flounced out the door in a brilliant mood with a handful of delicious coffee and good cheer. Looking back, perhaps it was a critique of my childlike clothing style or hairdo or wrinkle-lacking-face (not true, I both huge-smile and frown too much, and my faceskin is showing the results. Add in the inherited early greys and I'm on the golden paved road to mad-cat-lady-hood already. Of course only I notice the wrinkles and the greys are mostly hidden inside the mass-mop, so we have a few years of 'faux youthful appearance' left yet I think...). Its brilliant how good you can make someone feel with just a throw-away, but honestly sincere comment.

Sometimes I also think I should just write in parentheses completely. It just works out better that way.

Where was I? Never mind.

Bleurgh!

2011-10-04T19:00:00.000+13:00

Too long, and yet - not enough in it.

First chapter, first draft - done.

Booyah. (allow me this one small celebratory fist punch before I'm back at the text-crank machine)

And if you La TeX groupies say one word...

So many wishes

2011-10-03T22:15:00.000+13:00

By Hawtvintage, via. Want! Delightful.

And on a side note, with my current necklace making exploits, I found a dandy lion in my weed garden! (yes, that's right, I have a garden of weeds).

Gorgeous - T shirt.

Kitchen Orienteering

2011-10-01T20:13:00.000+13:00

I was having a wee muse today about the differences in baking in different places. Up in Mum's kitchen, while a whole new set up from the version I grew up with, things are still kept in logical places - I guess the way you set up your first kitchen is they way you set up your kitchens for life. So while baking is not the easy, fast, free-flow sitch it is in my own well known kitchen, things are still manageable in a timely fashion. And I know my Mum will always have click-clacks full of every ingredient (though these days the flour comes in a bag, rather than the epic sack).

I can have a cake whipped up in moments, and in the oven before I feed the dog (usually as soon as the clock strikes 5, I don't know who taught dogs to tell the time, but I curse you and your descendants). Every utensil, I can reach for in the dark, every ingredient I have on stock in both cupboard and fridge (its not deliberate, I just always have on hand a bit of butter, some eggs, flour, baking powder...yeah, actually my cupboard is pretty full).

I suppose the encroaching horror of packing up my house (full of crap. I swear to god - I hoard like a squirrel) has me thinking in dark and nostalgic directions already. I will miss my easy-bake kitchen something fierce.

However shall I cope?!

A place for everything, and everything in its place.

On Repeat

2011-09-30T08:37:00.001+13:00

Into Dust, - Mazzy Star.

Yeah - Gears of War commercial (don't be fooled, I am not a gamer). Completely beautiful. Strange advertising concept but I think they have a winner. Last years totally brought back Mad World.

"It was you, breathless and torn, I could feel my eyes turning into dust"

The instrumental in the background (I would go ahead and call guitar, but I'm just not sure) is completely lovely.

And I love the hipsters all being "I liked it before it was on a TV ad, therefore your appreciation for it is worth less than mine, and that...verifies my sense of self worth" all over the internets.

You kids crack me up.