Hit The Ground Running

Sorry if posting here seems a bit sporadic or lacking in wit and zing! this week. My work is very demanding at the moment, and has me plodding my way through 3 years worth of records to get them fully up to scratch fo an audit.

(Oh, fie my natural 'forensic accounting' skills! Most of the time I'm really proud of my problem solving skills, but this time around why couldn't it be the thing I really suck at? Instead I'm the go-to guy for the hard tasks...)

I'm also really busy with my voluteer work at present. I've mentioned here previously that I do quite a bit of volunteer work for my Buddhist centre, and my biggest task is running the bookshop. We are involved in hosting the international Mind & Its Potential conference in a couple of weeks time, and so I've been frantically getting everything organised for the bookshop we'll be running at the conference.

Fortunately, that's all starting to fall into place. I've established relationships with a bunch of new suppliers so that we can get books by all the major conference speakers, the orders are now in, and so that part of it is starting to ease off a bit. The conference numbers have swelled dramatically to around 600 people, so it should be quite an exciting event.

So a busy, busy week. Of course, if it all gets to be too tedious I may just end up hiding out here more than usual!

F. Murray Who?

Never, never piss off Jean-Jacques Annaud.

Last week I bought the DVD of Jean-Jacques Annaud's 1986 film The Name Of The Rose, which was based on the medieval mystery novel of the same title by Umberto Eco. I read the novel and loved it when it was first released, and then subsequently saw the film back in '86 and enjoyed it also.

The thing I love about DVD's are the extras, I especially love watching the film with the commentaries turned on. It's kind of like getting the backstage gossip. In this instance the commentary is by the director, the aforementioned JJ Annaud. Well, the commentary is very interesting and informative, and he has nothing but praise for his actors... until he gets to F. Murray Abraham, where he decides to hell with 'political correctness' and is extremely frank.

As it turns out F. Murray was hot from having won his Oscar for Amadeus, and decided it was time to throw his weight around a bit and wreak some revenge on directors as a species. All the other actors played as a team, but not Abrahams. Annaud makes an interesting point about difficult actors, he explains how directors will frequently discuss certain actors and what they are like to work with and the stories of who is difficult and who isn't quickly get around. He goes on to say that those actors may keep on working (and you just have to look at Abrahams list of films to see he is still a very active actor) but the quality of the jobs they get offered suffers hugely, as only second and third tier directors can be bothered with the fuss.

Interesting.

(Un)Reality TV

In one evening, tonight in fact, I:

• Watched 5 minutes of the 2004 Paul Hogan film Strange Bedfellows, and although I had low expectations, it was 5 minutes of my life I will never get back. This film is a huge stinking pile of doo doo. Paul Hogan and his tightly drawn face can't act, the lovely Michael Caton looks like he wants to place a call to his agent, and the gay characters (both those that are supposed to be gay, and those that are supposed to be only pretending to be) are so broadly drawn, two dimensional and cliched that... oh, AAAAARGH! There, that's better.
  
• Caught the first of the Australian Idol Top 12 13 shows (Yes, 13! Wildcard Show shock!). What surprised me this year is that although I have no clear favourite on musical ability yet, I am finding some of these singers hugely likeable. There is a joyousness and good humour about some of them (James, Lee, Milly, Dan, Tarni) and a heartfelt gratitude also (Anne, Daniel, Roxanne) that is totally winning me over. If this year is like previous years, likeability and 'nice' appeal will go a long way with the punters.
  
• Channel surfed between Idol and the fantastic Broadway: The American Musical on the ABC. Wonderfull stuff, and the early history of the musical in America was all new to me, and very interesting. Oh look, it's out on DVD!
  
• Caught the opening 10 minutes of the mockumentary Oil Storm on Channel 7. Now, this went to air in the US in June and as such made for an interesting and sobering piece of entertainment. To air it less than two weeks after a devastating real life event, one which is almost exactly described in the opening sequence, on almost exactly the same date, one which is still not yet resolved and has killed/displaced/ruined the lives of many, many people - well top marks for insensitivity Channel 7.

Phew, I also saw Greg Araki's film Mysterious Skin at the movies this afternoon, but its getting late so that's going to have to wait until tomorrow.

A New Look For Spring

Spring has sprung in my neck of the woods, and frankly I'm bored with my options for Spring wardrobe. I need something new, a new style. Something that shows expresses me.

You know, when you go to the closet and look in and think "I have nothing to wear! I hate all my clothes!! Anyhoo, I'm not likely to throw it all out and start again, so maybe I'll work with accessories for a new look.


K who? I might go for something a bit more cheery. Could I fit on "Today is the first day of the rest of your life!" I wonder?


Scrolling LED Belt buckle. I could definately fit that on here.


I might get thirsty.

[All items, and so, so much more, available at Iced Out Gear. Bodhi, just in case you were wondering.]

I Wanna Bring You Close To My, I Wanna Bring You Close To My Lips Yeah

Bright sunny morning? - check
Industrial strength cleaning products? - check
Stereo? - check

My 'La Crawford Ajax Mix' top 5 songs to scrub the bathroom to:

1. "Professional Widow" by Tori Amos (Amand Van Helden's Star Trunk Mix)
   
2. "I am Woman" by Cassius feat. Jocelyn Brown (Extended mix)
   
3. "Brimful of Asha" by Cornershop (Fatboy Slim Edit)
   
4. "One of My Kind" by Rogue Traders Vs INXS
   
5. "4 My People" by Missy Elliott (Basement Jaxx Remix Radio Edit)

None of this is particularly new, but crank it loud enough and the dirt just disappears. (Kinda makes you gay though.)

My Backyard

This post by Michael set me to thinking that it might be a nice idea if I posted a picture or two of my lil' courtyard garden.


Fountain & ficus in my courtyard. Newtown, Sydney, 2004.

This fountain is flanked on both sides by raised garden beds, with two standardised ficus trees on each side. Since this picture was taken last year (gee look, rain, I remember rain... vaguely) the ficus have grown to almost obscure the fountain. Somewhat Tuscan in feeling, no?

[Note to self: get trimming the ficus this weekend.]

This fountain has never run, my friends who own the house got as far as putting it in but never waterproofed it or bought a pump. I have a few plants in the bottom, but it's all a bit bare at the moment. The grand plan is to eventually fill it with (removeable) pots of decorative foliage plants like cordelines, or flowering gingers.


Violets, 2004.

These violets unfortunately were the victim of the horrible drought we are in here, and the water restrictions we are living with. I thought I had lost both pots after a surprise hot spell (and some inattention) but I have managed to save one. The other lives on in pictures only. RIP lil' buddy.

Massive

This week's Photo Friday theme is Massive.

These pictures are taken at the closed brickworks at St Peters, only about 15 minutes walk from my house, which have been incorporated into Sydney Park.


Brick kiln chimney. Sydney, 2004.

There is a similar disused brickworks in my old home town of Adelaide. Unfortunately these buildings here are all closed, most likely because of vandalism and structural weaknesses, but the Adelaide brickworks houses a lively market inside the kilns.


View along the main kiln. Sydney, 2004.

This gives some idea of the huge scale of the place, and the various buildings which make up this part of the park.


Brick kilns and chimney stacks. Sydney, 2004.

Learning Experiences

I had the oddest day today, one which taught me lots about expectations, assumptions, confrontation and frustration. Here is today's weirdness:

• You know when you walk into a room and all conversation stops, and your first thought is 'Did I miss something?' When I walked into the office this morning, everyone was standing around, pushing in chairs and then heading back towards their desks, as if there had been an impromptu meeting. I didn't think much of it until one of my workmates asked my boss how he was and his answer was "Good, considering." Err, did I miss something?
  
• My second run at a birthday lunch (moved from last week) with my work mates was cancelled, without anything much being said. I only sort of found out after the fact and was quite disappointed.
  
• The office had a very tense, angry mood today and seemed to be particularly airless. Oh, and really busy.
  
• When I went into the office kitchen this morning there was a birthday cake box in the fridge, and earlier in the week I had seen a wrapped present on my boss's desk. I though 'I wonder if they?...' Well, they didn't. The cake was left-overs brought in by one of the language teachers in the office next door and the present was for someone else. That's fine, but I very nearly made a fool of myself by gushing that they shouldn't have.
  
• As I was getting on the train to come home tonight, a guy and girl were straggling a bit getting off the train and some passengers started to get on while they were trying to get off. This has happened to me a few times and it is mildly annoying. The guy lost it. Red faced, screaming, spittle flying. Weirdest thing was, I got on after they got off but I was nearest to him when he lost his shit, so I copped it. I just love having someone scream at me that I'm a fucking DICKHEAD!!!. Sure, I can be, but not in this instance.
  
• I was crossing the street near my house on a zebra crossing a short while ago and missed getting run over by a car that didn't stop. Missed me by a couple of feet, and only because I had hesitated as I wasn't convinced he was slowing. I got angry.

So it was interesting. One thing my Buddhist practice has given me is a certain degree of mindfulness about what I'm thinking and consequently doing. So it was a crap day in some respects, but a day full of lessons that ultimately I am grateful for.

The Top 100 Songs of 1981

I'd been tagged by one of these fine folk for a meme and I didn't even realise it! (Thanks for the heads up Lou.)

I couldn't figure out where to get an Aussie version of this list from, so I've made do with the US (default) version. It's quite different than what I remember being in the charts here in Oz, as we had a lot of Aussie and UK hits in our charts in the early 80's, but we'll just have to make the best of it.

For this one, you need to go here and type the year you graduated from high school into the search box. (Yeah, it shows everyone instantly how old you are. Depends how cagey you want to be about that one...)

Click on the link "Top 100 hits of... (your graduation year)" and cut and paste the results into your blog.

Bold the songs you like, strike through the ones you hate and underline your favourite. Do nothing to the ones you don't remember (or don't care about).

Top 100 Songs for 1981 (ie: A long, long time ago!)
1. Bette Davis Eyes, Kim Carnes
2. Endless Love, Diana Ross and Lionel Richie
3. Lady, Kenny Rogers
4. (Just Like) Starting Over, John Lennon
5. Jessie's Girl, Rick Springfield
6. Celebration, Kool and The Gang
7. Kiss On My List, Daryl Hall and John Oates
8. I Love A Rainy Night, Eddie Rabbitt
9. 9 To 5, Dolly Parton
10. Keep On Loving You, REO Speedwagon
11. Theme From "Greatest American Hero", Joey Scarbury
12. Morning Train (Nine To Five), Sheena Easton
13. Being With You, Smokey Robinson
14. Queen Of Hearts, Juice Newton
15. Rapture, Blondie
16. A Woman Needs Love, Ray Parker Jr. and Raydio
17. The Tide Is High, Blondie
18. Just The Two Of Us, Grover Washington Jr.
19. Slow Hand, Pointer Sisters
20. I Love You, Climax Blues Band
21. Woman, John Lennon
22. Sukiyaki, A Taste Of Honey
23. The Winner Takes It All, Abba
24. Medley, Stars On 45
25. Angel Of The Morning, Juice Newton
26. Love On The Rocks, Neil Diamond
27. Every Woman In The World, Air Supply
28. The One That You Love, Air Supply
29. Guilty, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
30. The Best Of Times, Styx
31. Elvira, Oak Ridge Boys
32. Take It On The Run, REO Speedwagon
33. No Gettin' Over Me, Ronnie Milsap
34. Living Outside Myself, Gino Vannelli
35. Woman In Love, Barbra Streisand
36. Boy From New York City, Manhattan Transfer
37. Urgent, Foreigner
38. Passion, Rod Stewart
39. Lady (You Bring Me Up), Commodores
40. Crying, Don Mclean
41. Hearts, Marty Balin
42. It's My Turn, Diana Ross
43. You Make My Dreams, Daryl Hall and John Oates
44. I Don't Need You, Kenny Rogers
45. How 'Bout Us, Champaign
46. Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Pat Benatar
47. The Breakup Song, Greg Kihn Band
48. Time, Alan Parsons Project
49. Hungry Heart, Bruce Springsteen
50. Sweetheart, Franke and The Knockouts
51. Someone's Knockin', Terri Gibbs
52. More Than I Can Say, Leo Sayer
53. Together, Tierra
54. Too Much Time On My Hands, Styx
55. What Are We Doin' In Love, Dottie West
56. Who's Crying Now, Journey
57. De Do Do Do, De Da Da, Police
58. This Little Girl, Gary U.S. Bonds
59. Stop Draggin' My Heart Around, Stevie Nicks With Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
60. Giving It Up For Your Love, Delbert McClinton
61. A Little In Love, Cliff Richard
62. America, Neil Diamond
63. Ain't Even Done With The Night, John Cougar
64. Arthur's Theme, Christopher Cross
65. Another One Bites The Dust, Queen
66. Games People Play, Alan Parsons Project
67. I Can't Stand It, Eric Clapton
68. While You See A Chance, Steve Winwood
69. Master Blaster, Stevie Wonder
70. Hello Again, Neil Diamond
71. Don't Stand So Close To Me, Police
72. Hey Nineteen, Steely Dan
73. I Ain't Gonna Stand For It, Stevie Wonder
74. All Those Years Ago, George Harrison
75. Step By Step, Eddie Rabbitt
76. The Stroke, Billy Squier
77. Feels So Right, Alabama
78. Sweet Baby, Stanley Clarke and George Duke
79. Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg
80. Cool Love, Pablo Cruise
81. Hold On Tight, ELO
82. It's Now Or Never, John Schneider
83. Treat Me Right, Pat Benatar
84. Winning, Santana
85. What Kind Of Fool, Barbra Streisand and Barry Gibb
86. Watching The Wheels, John Lennon
87. Tell It Like It Is, Heart
88. Smoky Mountain Rain, Ronnie Milsap
89. I Made It Through The Rain, Barry Manilow
90. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Daryl Hall and John Oates
91. Suddenly, Olivia Newton-John and Cliff Richard
92. For Your Eyes Only, Sheena Easton
93. The Beach Boys Medley, Beach Boys
94. Whip It, Devo
95. Modern Girl, Sheena Easton
96. Really Wanna Know You, Gary Wright
97. Seven Year Ache, Rosanne Cash
98. I'm Coming Out, Diana Ross
99. Miss Sun, Boz Scaggs
100. Time Is Time, Andy Gibb

So it was a pretty big year for Barbra, Barbra & sundry Gibb brothers, Andy Gibb without Barbra, Neil Diamond and Air Supply... yet I survived it! The songs I've left untouched are due to apathy or not having any recollection of them.

Rather than tag others, if you want to play then do so and just let us all know in the comments so that we can read your list.

The 10 Song Meme

OK, I can't post about Katrina anymore so it's a return to the frivolous here at TOA! This meme has been doing the rounds for a little while, so in keeping with my Late Adopter nature, here's my contribution of 'old and new' current favourites.

10 songs I'm digging at the moment:

1. "If We're In Love" by Roisin Murphy
   
2. "Ruby Blue" by Roisin Murphy
   
3. "Intuition" by Jewel
   
4. "Destroy Rock & Roll" by Mylo
   
5. "Absolutely Not" by Deborah Cox
   
6. "Strict Machine" by Goldfrapp
   
7. "Love My Way" by The Psychedelic Furs
   
8. "Big Time Sensuality" by Bjork
   
9. "This Is The Sound Of Breaking Up" by Paul Mac
   
10. "Missing" (Todd Terry mix) by Everything But The Girl
    

Your 10?

Anne Rice Is Mad As Hell

...by the sound of it, with good reason.

Anne Rice has written an eloquent and strongly worded opinion piece about the events in New Orleans post-Katrina. Rice has not only been a long-term resident of The Big Easy, but has also set the majority of her fiction there and has researched the history of the city in depth. It's her loving descriptions of New Orleans that in part that had added to my desire to want visit it some day.

[Link via towleroad.]

I'm OK

A website called I'm OK has been set up for people in the Katrina affected areas of the US to register that they are OK, and where friends and loved ones can log in and see who is registered in the database. Other sites such as the Red Cross are doing the same sort of thing, but it is supposedly quicker and more accurate because it uses the person's telephone number as the main search criteria, speeding up the searches. If you know someone in the region, it might be worth checking this out in addition to the Red Cross's Hurricane Katrina register.

Flying Too Close To The Sun

I am so deeply in love with this Icarus light by Tord Boontje, that I can scarcely contain myself. It makes me want to claw at myself with pleasure. I love that someone has made something so beautiful, even if I never own it I love knowing that it exists.

---

Speaking of beauty and grace, or more accurately the flip side of which, I have kept silence on the events in the US until now. Partly because I don't feel informed enough to add anything meaningful to the discussion.

I feel kind of flippant, shallow and callous posting entries about how much I love this lamp, when nightly I'm seeing the horrifying images coming out of New Orleans and Mississippi. I sit and watch it with a lump in my chest, a tightness, that I just can't go too near to for fear that everything will just unravel. Does that make sense? We are so far away from it down here in Oz, but I've been watching it on the news, transfixed and on the verge of tears, until I have to get up and leave the room or change channels. Nightly this tight ball of pain under my sternum seems to be growing more tightly wound, larger, more painful.

All I can do is hope for the best resolution possible, as quickly as possible, and that the US people fire that idiot who's asleep at the wheel.

My Mate Nate

If you have read this blog for a while, then you might have clued in that I am obsessed with the world's cutest interior designer (and Oprah regular) Nate Berkus. Design*sponge recently broke the news about a new range of homewares by Nate.

If I ordered some sheets, what do you think the odds are that Nate would deliver them himself?

Birthday Recap

Today is Father's Day here in Oz, so I decided that it was easier to do most of my birthday celebrating last night and avoid conflicting with the Father's Day plans of most of my pals. So last night I had dinner with a bunch of friends, including cyber pal turned real-life friend Bodhi, at my favourite Thai restaurant Thai Pothong. Good food was had, lots of laughs and conversation, and I scored some lovely gifts (although lets not tell the Naturopath, Doctor or any future Cardiologist about the big sampler of deluxe soft cheeses I received, 'mkay!). Bodhi came back to hang out after dinner and we sat up talking until until the early hours.

I had a lazy start to the morning this morning, lying in bed drinking coffee and reading. Back in January I posted an entry about my visit to Canberra to see the excellent Vivienne Westwood Restrospective at the National Gallery, well my sweet friend Judy (who also went to the exhibition) bought me the fabulous book that accompanied the exhibition as a birthday gift. Nice way to spend a cool and rainy birthday morning, just me and Viv.

Late morning I met up with Bodhi again and we headed to Bondi Junction for A Shopping Outreach at the new Westfield Bondi Junction. I have to say that I was quite impressed, I was expecting a big shopping centre, which it certainly is, but the design of the centre and the stores, and the mix of retailers which favours the higher end, was a pleasant surprise. I did some Retail Therapy and birthday-treated myself to a very cute black straw pork pie hat, some favourite lemon verbena scented soap and a DVD of The Name Of The Rose. Bodhi and I had lots of laughs and headed home around sunset after having a Good Day.

It was an enjoyably low-key(ish) birthday with lots of friendship and laughs, just what I was hoping for.

Order

This week's Photo Friday theme is Order.


Darling Harbour park, Sydney. January, 2005.

I took this picture last Summer when I was down at Darling Harbour working as a volunteer at a Buddhist festival. These kids were having so much fun and had made up a game where they were racing backwards and forwards across this fountain, always in order. They were going so fast and some of the stones were quite wet, so my heart was in my mouth a few times, but nobody fell and I'm sure the risk just added to their excitement.

A Humbling Experience

Yesterday turned out to be a doubleplusungood shitstorm of a day. On top of dragging my sorry ass into work still feeling sick, part way through the day my boss uncovered a mistake of monumental proportions. A mistake which I, though not having actually caused directly, was at least complicit in allowing to happen and should have picked up and prevented in time. It was fixed by day end, but it'll cost my company enough money that it'll wipe the profit from that particular client for the rest of the year. It was a new part of my job role that I hadn't really been shown how to do properly, just drip fed information, so all agreed that it really wasn't my fault per se, but the shine of Golden Haired Boy and Number One Favoured Son has been tarnished somewhat.

I spent much of the afternoon working to minimise the damage and ended up leaving work around 6.30pm, but on the up-side my boss finally sat down with me and stepped me through all the procedures I needed to do for the client. Stepped me through very carefully that is, like I was the slow reader in the class. Oh well. In fairness my employers were quite reasoned about it and chalked it up to experience, so things could have been a lot worse than they ended up. Birthday lunch got canned, in part because one of the other staff has taken a few days off as bereavement leave because her Grandfather passed away. So we rescheduled for next week.

Like my buddy Michael on the other side of the planet, today is Haircut Day. I heart Haircut Day! Then tonight I'm off to dinner at a favourite restaurant with a small group of friends to celebrate turning 41 on Sunday. Should be low key compared to Birthday Extravaganzas of the past, but that's just what I felt like this year.

Pretty Pictures

Time for a little round up of some new photoblogs I've discovered, and one old friend I've rediscovered:

• Sidney Snoeck is a Belgian engineer living in the Philippines, who posts lots of pictures of life in Manila at his blog My SariSari Store. I find his huge collection of shots of people sleeping amusing, and oddly unsettling. [Site is very picture intensive and can be slow to load.]
  
• Miles is from Toronto, Canada and his photoblog may be called Mute, but his pictures speak for themselves.
  
• Robert hails from North Carolina in the US and posts great pics on his (curiously named) blog Border Trench Safaris.
  
• Zishaan is one of my favourite Indian photobloggers, and his site Point & Shoot is an inspiration. I'm glad to see he's back posting after a bit of a mid-year hiatus.

Not On My Wish List

I got an early birthday present from the Universe, a virus of my very own! Ack.

I woke up yesterday with a bit of a headache, a bit of a sore throat and feeling generally a bit off colour, so I took the Great Aussie Tradition of the 'sickie' and took yesterday off. It was sort of 40% feeling crap(ish) and 60% wanting to have a Mental Health Day.

Turns out it was the precursor of feeling yet more crap. So I've taken today off and stretched out ahead of me is a day of reading people on The Internets who are more entertaining than I find myself right now, Oprah, and possibly a leave-in treatment and a home mani-ped.

I have to go to work tomorrow though, because work is throwing me a birthday lunch and aside from hello, free lunch! it would be bad manners right? I had a huge 40 Extravaganza last year, but this year we're stylin' it low key. My birthday is on Sunday and coincides with Father's Day, so lots of friends have familial commitments anyhoo. I'll probably do something on Saturday night, but as yet I still haven't made any plans. Don't be looking for me on Boys Gone Wild this year.

[This post is kind of the Tipping Point for this blog becoming "The Other Andrew: More Fun With Weight Loss and Medical Maladies!" but stay with me, like your mother hoped - it's just a phase.]

Here There Be Dragons

Stone dragon, Chinese Garden of Friendship. Darling Harbour, Sydney, July 2005.

I'm not a big believer in astrology, I find most of it pretty general and non-specific, and although I keep an open mind about it, I have never found that the descriptions of Virgos ring all that true to me. Yet I find that the descriptions of my 'star sign' in Chinese astrology seems to be quite a bit closer to the mark (and generally a lot more flattering than the usual 'neat freak, nit picky, blah blah' Virgos usually get!).

I am a Wood Dragon:

"Dragon people are the most eccentric in the Chinese Zodiac. Soaring high into the serene heavens, they can be stubborn, passionate, excitable, honest, and brave, wear purple and walk barefoot in public fountains. They listen to their own drummer, thank you very much, while the rest of the world stands in amazement. People always admire their individuality and feisty personality. Dragons are capable of doing great work for mankind and they inspire trust in almost everyone. The Dragon symbolizes life and growth and is said to bring the five blessings: harmony, virtue, riches, fulfillment and longevity.

Dragons are majestic creatures. These Dragons are the chivalrous knights and guardian angels of life, generous with their friendship, compassionate, even heroic, in their deeds. Showing great tolerance towards others, they move easily among all social strata and travel extensively, opening their minds to new things. Brave as matadors, their courageous lives are truly inspiring. Natural curiosity leads Wood Dragons to pursue very interesting career paths. The dichotomy is they are successful human beings but not all that successful in their careers, despite all the help they get from friends and mentors. Fortune comes to them anyway! Now, as you know, the chances of winning the lottery are pretty slim, but Wood Dragons just might do it. Rainy days or sunny, good fortune seems to shine on these money magnets, just like magic. The Wood Dragon is steady as a rock when it comes to Love & Relationships. They just don't believe in love at first sight. To them, love, relationships, and marriage follow a progressive course, evolving naturally and slowly out of friendship. Once the love bug catches them, their love is deep and passionate. The Wood Dragon partner is loving and supportive of the loved one's needs and love is never taken for granted."

Quote taken from this site.

It's nice to be a called a 'majestic creature', and anyway, it's not like I was going to post a picture of a virgin...

Doctor, Doctor, Gimme The News!

Just got back from seeing the doctor and getting the test results for the huge collection of tests I had done after my freakish blood pressure result. 90% good news! Blood pressure still high, cholesterol at the top end of normal and triglycerides (some sort of blood fat - ewww!) was waaaay high. All other results were normal, and he tested things I didn't even know could be tested.

Surprisingly, no mention of my Sanguinity...

I have three months to lose some weight before I get it all re-tested and book a check-up visit to the cardiologist. I lost 16kg about 4 years ago, and then put about half that back on after my car accident induced immobility a couple of years back. So I know I can do it. I just celebrated the good news with a fatty carbo-load of pasta, for tomorrow we diet!

From here on in, if I start posting endless diet entries, someone please shoot me. You have my permission.

I Just Can't Get You Out Of My Head

Yesterday morning I woke up with the following going over, and over, and over in my head:

Tumble out of bed and stumble to the kitchen,
pour myself a cup of ambition,
and yawn, and stretch, and try to come alive...

I am not making this up. It's been running through my head periodically since, but not incessantly like it was yesterday morning. I don't know what this says about the dreams I was having, but there are worse ways to wake up than having a bouncy Miss Dolly warbling '9 to 5' in your head.

On the topic of things sleep related [touches wood, strokes rabbit's foot and throws salt over shoulder] but my sleep 'issues' are getting better it would seem. Last night I slept right through the night, even though I did wake an hour and a half earlier than I needed to. Still, baby steps.

I'm Not Mad At You, I'm Mad At The Dirt.

A bunch of cancelled plans yesterday meant that I ended up with a whole unplanned Sunday stretching out before me. A sunny and warm Sunday. So I did the only grown up thing I could do, threw open the doors and windows, cranked up the music and cleaned like whirlwind.

Hundreds of loads of laundry later, a whole mess of things thrown away, a whole bunch of other things dusted/washed/waxed/aired out in the sun, and finally the inner voice I like to call 'Martha' was stilled. It was sort of like a day of home detention, only with music.

Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam...

I just went and deleted 11 SPAM comments from my last post, and it's happening more frequently, so I'm going to trial a Blogger feature to try and stop it. I just turned on the 'Word Verification' system in Blogger comments. If (when!) you go to comment Blogger will show a word on the screen that you have to type, sort of as a password.

I hope this isn't a pain in the arse, and please let me know if it is!

Ready For Spring

It's been a bit cool and grey in Sydney today, and I'm feeling that particular itch that you get when you're done with Winter and you just want it to be warmer already. People reading this is the Northern Hemisphere are probably rolling their eyes at the thought of a Sydney winter, it's true it doesn't get all that cold here by international standards, but when you live in a place that does warm weather really well, well you get a little spoilt.


August, 2005.

I took this pic just over a week ago, and I'm really very pleased with it. It's one of my favourite recent photos. This looks very dramatic and tropical, but in reality this bush grows out of the footpath a block away from my house. The combination of the early morning light, and exposure contrast with the background, has made this come out much better that I had hoped. I hope you like it.

On The Nightstand

Well, I finally plowed my way through the remainder of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". The verdict, it was my least favourite of the series so far although to be fair the last quarter of the novel did claw back some of my interest.

At the other end of the spectrum, I just bought Divided Kingdom by Rupert Thomas and I can't put it down. I'm only a third of the way through it so far, but the creativity of the concept has me hooked. What would it be like if overnight everything you knew changed? If you were classified into one of four 'personality types' and sent to live with others deemed to be of the same 'type'? What would it be like to live in a nation divided?

Thomson never fully explains many of the logistics of his concept, but the main character's blind acceptance is an important part of the story. Thomson also uses the premise to play with ideas of totalitarianism, eugenics and human adaptability, but his straightforward writing style avoids the story being bogged down in abstract concepts.

Meanwhile he has me turning every page, eager to find out what happens.

Death Takes A Train

Sydney rail commuters have had their limits tested of late; major delays, cancellations, closures for track work and a myriad of other inconveniences. This morning my train pulled into the next stop after my starting station, where it sat for a few minutes, and then the guard announced that there would be a short delay as we waited for the signal ahead to clear. Nothing unusual.

A short while later the guard announced that there was a deceased person on a train a couple of stations ahead of us, and that there would be further delays heading into the city while emergency services dealt with the situation.

I found the reactions of many of my fellow commuters really disappointing and saddening. More than a few did the usual rolling of eyes, checking of watches and reaching for mobile phones that normally accompanies a delay announcement. Like it was a regular everday inconvenience.

It just struck me how horrible it is that we have become so walled up in our internal landscapes of self-talk, delusions, ego, petty angers and frustrations that a person could die and they get treated as an inconvenience. That person was someone's father, mother, sister, lover or friend. Also, what of the other passengers that were with that person in the train, as they died? What must that have been like to be beside someone and to perhaps have tried in vain to resucitate them, or to have just noticed that the person next to you was dead, or to have been so overcome with fear and self-doubt that you sat there not able to help?

I've been thinking about this person all morning, about the stranger on the train that is now no longer with us. I hope their death was painless and swift, and pray they have an auspicious rebirth.

I Heart Travel Blogs

While I'm chained to my office desk, working like a complete working thing, part of me is off dreaming of elsewhere. In this spirit, here are a couple of travel blogs I like:

• Mike Pugh's travels are long since over, but Vagabonding really set the benchmark in excellent travel blogs, and still has some great content.
  
• Konchok Ngodup is a young American Buddhist who is travelling through Tibet, China, and other parts far Eastern, learning to become a translator. His blog Sojourning Across The World chronicles his experiences and has plenty of interesting photos.

Apologies for the light content of the past couple of days, I keep telling myself that work will settle down enough soon for me to go back to my old web surfin' ways!

One

Isobel at her birthday picnic. Sunday 21st August, 2005.

Miss Isobel,
This week you are one year old. One! Who knew just 12 short months ago that you and I would be such friends!? In that time I've seen you learn to do so many things, but the new one, the hugging thing, that's my favourite.

I knew that I would probably like you, because your parents are good people and I figured the odds were stacked in your favour. I was kind of surprised that with one bat of those big brown eyes I turned into 100% Doting Big Gay Uncle. Oh, and the first time I saw you fix someone with an appraising look, I knew we'd get along just fine.

I'm glad you enjoyed your party, and I'm glad I'll get to see you have a lot more of them.

Love,
Uncle Andrew

[This week's Photo Friday theme is One.]

Recap-A-Rama

Today is another day of work frantic-ness so just a little update post on the weekend, including a recap on things medical:

• Friday was a birthday extravaganza for my friend Bodhi, which was a heap of fun. I was feeling a bit tired and off-colour, so wasn't exactly the life and soul of the party, but I had a good time. From the comments Bodhi left on my previous post he certainly had a good time!
  
• Saturday was a chilled out sort of day, I had slept really badly on Friday night so was looking forward to a quiet day and an early night. Unfortunately my next door neighbours had a party until the small hours of the morning, so a good night's sleep was elusive.
  
• Sunday was a gloriously mild day, and I headed to a local park for my God(less) daughter's first birthday picnic. It was a lovely afternoon of eating, playing with the various babies in attendance and seeing friends I hadn't seen for a while.
  
• This morning I went to see my new doctor (who I heart very much already) for a follow-up on my alarmingly high blood-pressure from last week. I had a better BP result (although still high, my diastolic measurement was down by 16 points) and he did a lung function and ECG test. Lung function was good and my ECG showed a small electronic anomoly at first glance, but nothing that looked to be outside the range of normal. I'm having a full set of blood and urine tests, and I have a feeling that I'll probably find I have a Cholesterol problem. I have another appointment next week to get results, but already I'm feeling a little less stressed about how things might be. My new doctor is really nice, and being similarly of the Munchkin persuation, when I climbed on the height/weight machine was stoked to find out that I'm shorter than he is. It's so easy to please some people.
  

Happy Birthday!

It's my friend Bodhi's 40th birthday today. If you have read this blog for a while then you will have heard Bodhi's name crop up quite frequently. He's a friend, a fellow Buddhist, an all round good egg and a blog commentor par excellence.

Go give him some loving. Happy Birthday!

Herbalism For Fun & Profit

Some insights and thoughts after my visit to the Naturopath about my sleep and chronic sinus problems:

• The herbal sleeping tablets (aka "The Great White Hope") he prescribed are, frankly, a disappointment. I'm still waking up in the middle of the night, but instead of the usual Bing! Wide Awake! there is a noticeable degree of grogginess. The jury is still out on whether this is an improvement.
  
• Horseradish, Garlic & Vitamin C tablets sound like they'd taste disgusting don't they? They do, not least of which because they're coated in aniseed. BLECH!
  
• Is it weird to fall in love with a nasal spray? My new saline and eucalyptus nasal spray combines almost the exact same degrees of life enhancing qualities and ick factor as some boyfriends.
  
• Major doses of vitamin B make me borderline speedy, I'm that cheap.

Wave The Flag

Blogger have just added a new feature, which I'm not sure I like. See up in the top right hand corner of the page there... go on, I'll wait... see the new FLAG? button. (PS. Why the question mark? Not sure if it's a flag or not?)

If you hit that, and please don't until you're off my site, it lodges the site as having 'Questionable Content' with Blogger. Now, when I played Blogger Roulette a while back I ended up on some weird sites, some I really didn't like, and a couple that were thinly disquised commercial 'blogs'... but I'm not sure I like the idea of people in effect labelling other people's blogs as 'questionable'.

Who administers this at Blogger? Who decides if the blog is bona fide 'questionable', and on what criteria? If you don't like gay people/haikus/Outback House/overuse of italics could you label my blog as 'questionable'? So many questions!

Perhaps this was prompted by hate blogs, or by people posting sexually explicit pictures without appropriate warning pages. Maybe there are instances when this could be genuinely handy, but right now the idea makes me uncomfortable.

Some New Reading

Because we all need more blogs in our lives, here's a couple of new Gay Boy Blogs I've stumbled across in the past couple of days:

• fourfour not only posts some of the funniest cat pics on the interweb, but he also does high-larious recaps of the new Whitney "Houston-we-have-a-problem" & Bobby Brown 'reality' show. [Link via Michael McHotterton at Pipedreams]
  
• Duane Moody; 26, cute, has a loving boyfriend, with whom he bought a home that they are renovating. I'd hate him if I didn't want to be him so bad.
  
• Angel Headed Hipster, who I'm prepared to love just for his domain name alone...

I'm always on the lookout for new reading, so if you have any recommendations hit me up in the comments.

I Like Nice Big Round Numbers

That WhineFest of an entry from earlier today (too much work... last minute changes... woe, woe I say!...) was my 300th blog entry! Talk about celebrating in style.

300! Given that I started this on a whim (and knowing my own lack of discipline and 'commitment issues') I'm surprised I made 30, let alone 300.

Stand Back! He's Gonna Blow! (...And Not In A Good Way)

Urgh, yesterday I blogged about my blood pressure... and right now I think I should get that sucker tested again. You know that thing at the Carnival, where if you hammer hard enough the puck thingee shoots up to the top and rings the bell. Right now my blood pressure is ringing that bell!

(OK, that's a weird metaphor that doesn't really work, but you get the drift.)

I've spent the past few days creating a whole bunch of documents that need to go out to a client today. Complicated stuff, all different share plan offers, some with all sorts of performance criteria... blah, blah. My boss just came back to me to review my drafts, and in the process handed me all the info he had (that was pre-approved by the client) but which he hadn't handed on to me. Well, I have to trash 90% of what I have done already.

Ho, ho. The client is so not getting this today.

Time For A Little Uncharacteristic Self-Disclosure

So this morning I had an hour long consult with a Naturopath about my issues regarding poor sleep and lack of energy. Long story short, I have a bunch of strategies to try in terms of modifying my diet, and some herbs and stuff to take, to also combat my chronic sinus problems and a few allergies I knew about. As I thought might be the case, my sinus issues may be contributing to my disturbed sleep.

It wasn't all good news thought because apparently my blood pressure is majorly broken and needs some big time fixin'. Given my interesting family history (cancer, heart disease, strokes... nothing major) alarm bells are ringing off the hook. So, I gots me an appointment to see a new doctor for some blood work, and for a referral to a cardiologist for some tests.

I've been burying my head in the sand for a while about the possibility of cardiac issues (La-la-la, I can't hear you!) My father had his first heart attack in his early 50's and all of his siblings never made it to 60. Given my sister's stroke in her late 40's, well I'm about to turn 41 and we are now entering the red zone.

Anyhoo, even though I'm a little rattled by how bad my blood pressure was at least I have kicked off the process of getting things checked, and either way whether the news be good or not so good, informed is the best way to deal with it. Right?

Update: In the interests of honesty, I should amend this post so that the term "a little rattled" actually reads "absolutely crapping my pants". Just so we're clear.

Dr Who Gets Some Man-On-Man Action

I've really enjoyed watching the new Dr Who series. Saturday night saw the airing of the final episode in the first series, and sadly Christopher Ecclestone's last episode (boo!), Parting Of The Ways.

I missed the episode where the lovely Captain Jack (played by the equally lovely John Barrowman) was added to the series. Consequently I missed some of the set-up of his character, but what I did start to pick up on from the subsequent episodes is that Cap'n Jack is a notorious flirt, and... bisexual. As the BBC website coyly describes him "...he has a lot of love to give". Indeed.

So, cut to Saturday night's episode. Firstly we get a cute one liner about Jack wanting to get in on a hug The Doctor and Rose were having, with The Doctor not Rose. Then when Cap'n Jack says his goodbyes (convinced the Daleks are going to kill him) he gets into a nice long lip-lock with Rose... and then turns around and gives The Doctor a big long lingering wet one. Yup folks, old Aunty Beeb gives The Doctor some man-on-man action. Yeah baby!

The best thing, there was no mouth-wiping or weirdness, just a smile from The Doctor as if to say "Thanks very much, that was quite nice actually".

Not So Wild About Harry

I'm working my way through a borrowed copy of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I say 'working' my way through it because (as of page 294 so far) I'm finding it, well, kind of tedious. I feel like this makes me some kind of heretic, but I'm just not enjoying it very much. There's nothing particularly wrong with it, but at nearly 300 pages in there just doesn't seem to be much going on that's holding my interest.

I have also read the other 5 books, and while I quite enjoyed them, as an adult reader I haven't been swept up in all the fuss surrounding the series. I have, however, found the books to be quite entertaining and diverting reads - just not exciting.

What I do think is absolutely fantastic about these books, is how excited children are about them. Anything that gets kids excited about reading, and so excited that they would sit down and read a whopping great book in a single sitting or re-read them several times, is just fine by me.

Monday Morning Ramble

As I intimated in my Friday Haiku entry, my workload last week was pretty much out of control. I have a major client project due on Tuesday, so once that is out of the way, this week should quieten down considerably.

After the frenetic week I just had, I wasn't up for much other than being lazy this weekend. A goal which I pretty much acheived. The only noteworthy things to report from the weekend was a lovely afternoon spent with my ex, Mikey. We had lunch at a new little pasta place in Newtown, sitting out on the footpath discussing Mikey's latest misadventures and watching the passing parade of DIOK couples (Double Income, One Kid), inner-West tribals and urban hipsters. After lunch we went to see the movie Tarnation, which Mikey found a bit depressing but I found really interesting. Jonathan Caouette quite obviously blurs the lines between fact, fiction and 're-creation' at times, but I found the view into the chaos that mental illness brought into his family sobering and ultimately fascinating. Afterwards Mikey needed a drink, so we headed to the Newtown Hotel for a couple of late afternoon beverages, before heading our seperate ways. A pleasant way to spend an afternoon.

Violet

The latest Photo Friday assignment is Violet


Princess Tree flowers, 2004.

I took this picture last summer, of a tree growing in a neighbour's front yard. These trees are quite common in my neighbourhood, and have the most glorious blue-purple flowers. I can't remember the real name of this tree (starts with an 'L'), but I have heard them referred to as 'Princess Tree'.

I kind of like the name 'Princess Tree'...

Friday Haiku

Work, why pile up so?
In monster teetering stacks,
Making me feel small.

Interesting Events Of The Past 24 Hours

• Last night I slept like a baby.
  
• Let me just check I have this right. It is babies that wake up every couple of hours feeling cranky and demanding, isn't it? I wasn't wet or squealing to be fed (those days are a few decades off yet) but I sure as hell was cranky.
  
• I made an appointment to see a Naturopath about my sleep issues. I'd rather try a gentle approach to solving it first, but am keeping the option of industrial grade drugs in reserve.
  
• The departure of one of the senior staff members at my work has meant that changes are afoot. Myself and another staff member just scored ourselves a wonderful pat on the back, some scope to tailor make our job roles and yet more $$s. Sweet!
  
• My work load has also just exploded. Not some nice little lady-like champagne cork pop of an explosion, but a regular Big Bang. Right now I have more work than I know what to do with.
  
• I just made one of my bosses' day by showing her how to take the LEFT and CONCATENATE functions in Excel to convert a table of hundreds of client names and convert them into valid email addresses based on the format the client uses. There was squealing and jumping around in delight.
  

Complexity

This week's Photo Friday assignment is Complexity.


Window, Chinese Garden of Friendship. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

I love the way the windows in the background repeat the same type of carpentry as this window surround. I'm somewhat carpentry 'challenged' so I can't even begin to imagine how time consuming it must be to put it all together, with all the corresponding angles and such.

This photo is from my visit to the Chinese Garden of Friendship in late July, the rest of the pics from the trip are here, here and here.

Owww, My Eyes!

I don't know why, let's call it today's dose of PMT, but I just read this as someone's 'byline' on their blog and it made me want to claw my eyes out in desperation:

Community encouraging. Grace exploring. Kingdom of God embracing. Progressive politics expressing. Bicycle riding. Snow playing. Family supporting. Indianapolis loving. Future anticipating.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's a perfectly nice person. He certainly gets two thumbs up for the "Progressive politics expressing" thing.

However, all that 'Noun Verb. Noun Verb. Noun Verb...'ing, well ack.

UPDATE:
Again with the eye clawing! This just in, from the 'About' section of a fashion blog from Yemen*:

My blog is a window into fashion,for people who don't know how to dress well.Truely,my blog does contain other stuff.People need to read this blog So people can learn how to dress good and do other stuff good too.

* All spelling and grammar is original. Oh, and it's a fashion blog from Yemen... who knew?

Specific Gravity

I woke up feeling lethargic and heavy limbed this morning, and feel like I've been dragging my butt around ever since. Like someone upped the gravity overnight without cueing me in on it. I'm still having some sleep 'issues'; which found me resisting falling alseep on the sofa at 9.30 last night (aided by a dull CSI re-run in part), then going to bed and reading until about 10.30, tossing and turning through the night and waking up this morning just as tired as when I went to bed.

After the frenetic past week at work, things have gone all quiet on the Western Front for the time being. I'm transitioning into my new job working directly for the Managing Director, but without anyone to replace my old position it means that I'm still doing my old job as well. The MD has gone away for a couple of days with all my frantically prepared presentations and offer documents in tow, so that's brought my work load down to a more manageable level. That, combined with the increased gravity and all, has left me sitting here staring heavy lidded at my monitor.

Even the blogsphere has been a little dull this morning. Case in point, right?

Blogger Roulette

Does anyone other than me ever use the NEXT BLOG >> button, on the right hand side of the Blogger Bar on this page? I have no idea what criteria it uses to determine which blog is 'next', but the results can be very bizarre. I just hit it around a dozen times and ended up at:

• About 6 blogs in a row from Chile/Argentina
  
• A 'how to cut the cost of your wedding in half' pseudo-commercial blog, which was oddly anonymous
  
• The blog of a homeless man
  
• The blog of a fictional character from Star Wars
  
• A blog which was in a language that I did not recognise at all, not even vaguely (Icelandic? Inuit? Vulcan?... actually I probably would have got the Vulcan.)

Next time you have 10 minutes to kill, and none of your usual reads seem be updating, play Blogger Roulette! Those bloggers, man, they're a weird bunch.

[Oh, and how tired am I of seeing the sidebar link defaults of "Google News", "Edit Me" and "Edit Me" on Blogger templates? Answer: very. 'Cause one "Edit Me" is never enough! Guys, you may be new at this game, but I think the Blogger template guys never really meant for you to leave their cunning hint of "Edit Me" there for all the world to enjoy... especially when your blog is like 6 months old, it's time.]

Recommended Reading

Michael over at Pipedreams has been posting a few entries about books he's enjoyed recently.

I got me to thinking, if I had to recommend one book to someone, what would it be? Well, there's no real simple answer because I'm a very eclectic reader, so I read a very wide range of books, and obviously one book does not fit all. Anyhoo, I think if I had to suggest just one, based on a book that I think is very well written and that I think most people would enjoy, my pick would be Michael Chabon's wonderful novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. It's one of my favourite novels of all time, but I think more importantly it's so well written that I have no issue recommending it to others.

So, if you had to pick a book that you think most people would enjoy, what would it be?

Related links:

• Michael Chabon's Blog
  
• Fansite The Amazing Website of Kavalier & Clay
  
• The real Kavalier & Clays

The Chinese Garden of Friendship: Part I

As I promised earlier in the week, here are a bunch of pics from my visit to the Chinese Garden of Friendship with Bodhi and his daughter Ashley, last Sunday. I've posted the pics in roughly the same order as you'd come across them if you walked around the gardens. This map gives you some idea of the scale of things.


Black bamboo. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

I fell in love with the black bamboo that was throughout the gardens. In some places it formed thickets which met overhead, almost blocking out the light.


Bodhi (R) & Ashley (L) inside the Round Pavilion. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

My two co-conspiritors on the visit to the gardens, Bodhi (who I met through this blog) and his daughter Ashley, aka The Kid. I really like this pic of the two of them, and I like the dappled morning light coming through the bamboo grove around the pavilion.


The Twin Pavilion, looking across the Lake of Brightness. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

This pic only hints at the large size of the garden, but it does also give you an idea how close the city buildings are. The garden has been cleverly constructed though so that most of the time you can't really see much in the way of buildings, and the various waterfalls go a long way towards masking the sounds of Sydney in the background.


Bridge between the Lake of Brightness and the Lotus Pond. Darling Harbour, July 2005.


Moon Gate alongside the Reading Brook Pavilion. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

The Chinese Garden of Friendship: Part II

Here are a few more of the many pictures I took on my visit to the Chinese Garden of Friendship last Sunday.


Ashley. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

Ashley gives us an 'inscrutable' look. For only $5 Bodhi & I got to play dress-ups with Ashley, and wander around the garden taking pics for half an hour. This picture was taken inside the the Pavilion where the costume hire was located.


Roof of the Twin Pavilion. Darling Harbour, July 2005.


The Gurr (or Clear View Pavilion) interior. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

This is the inside of the three storey tall pagoda type structure at the top of the garden. All the carving inside the Pavilion was of different types of plants and the lantern was really beautiful.


Winter magnolia. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

We passed these small magnolia blossoms on the way from The Gurr, as we walked around the lake.


Windows. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

This passage way ran behind the Peace Boat Pavilion towards the Teahouse, and I really loved this view through the windows and a glimpse of the banana palm growing in between.

The Chinese Gardens of Friendship: Part III

The last instalment of pictures from my visit to the Chinese Garden of Friendship last Sunday.


Peace Boat Pavilion window, looking towards the Teahouse. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

This Pavilion juts out over the water, where you can sit out on the sunny deck and feed the huge Koi fish, or look out through the side windows towards the Teahouse as here.


The Teahouse balcony. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

Bodhi, Ashley and I sat out on the balcony eating cake, drinking Jasmine Tea, and feeding the sparrows in the late morning sun. Of course the conversation turned to life, the universe and... boys.


The Lenient Jade Pavilion and Lotus Pond, from the Teahouse Balcony, Darling Harbour, July 2005.


The Aquatic Pavilion and gardens entrance, from the Teahouse balcony. Darling Harbour, July 2005.


Sydney city skyline. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

Finally, I like this pic taken from the Teahouse balcony as it gives a clear idea just how close to the city centre the gardens are. The tall thin tower is Centrepoint Tower, right in the heart of the Sydney CBD.

Jeremy Sheffield

Jeremy who? I hear you ask.


Jeremy Sheffield. Woof.

Some years ago now, I was watching one of the music clip shows and a film clip by petite little Aussie soapie actress, now pop princess, Natalie Imbuglia came on. That song was Torn. Nice song. Catchy.

What really made me sit up and take notice though was the hugely tall, beyond hot guy in the film clip. A blue sweater never looked so good.

That my friends was Jeremy Sheffield. What I didn't know was:

• He was a dancer with UK's Royal Ballet
  
• He's a jobbing actor, with some tv credits, a movie, some commercials, and a stint on a popular UK hospital soapie Holby City under his belt
  
• He is one of the few openly gay actors on UK tv

There's more info, and even better pics of him over at his fan site Jeremy Sheffield Heaven. I feel a crush coming on!

Computer Says 'No'

Urgh, I just tried for the second time to replace my missing mobile phone at a Telstra, shop only to find out that I didn't have the right ID for their purposes. Something about needing signatures from my 1st through 7th grade teachers, a blood sample and the head of John The Baptist on a platter.

Hey guys, thanks for not telling me specifically what you wanted yesterday when you asked me to bring in ID today! No, I don't mind making a third trip in. At all.

Lapses In Taste: Part I

The art of trying to make a Silk Purse Out Of A Sow's Ear...


ATM, Darling Harbour, Sydney. July, 2005.

Nope, still a sow's ear.

Link Envy

Blogger Existentialist Crisis #17

Because I feel very close to you, I've decided it's Share Time.

I just discovered that one of my favourite bloggers of all time; someone I admire, someone who I read daily, whose comments I fill with bon mots that glisten like diamonds, who I would almost consider taking up drinking again for just so that we could hang out on their porch and get trashed and talk about boys and how much we love, love, love Mr Ben Affleck (even in the heavy times) and hate, hate, hate Tom Cruise...

(Sorry, give me a moment. I need to pull it together...)

OK, so, imagine if you will someone else from this person's Comments Community goes and gets themselves a blog. Gets some traffic, you even help 'em out a little, link to 'em and send 'em some readers. Show them some kindness.

Here's the kicker, not only do they (let's call them 'Johnny Come Lately') get themselves a shout-out entry, but their very own sidebar link.

Yes folks, I have fallen victim to Link Envy. Now if you'll excuse me, there's poetry to write and a few more Patsy Cline disks to work my way through.

Helsinki - Fashion Capital Of Finland!

My first reaction to this picture was "Oh, no..." I feel very, very bad for this (probably) perfectly sweet and otherwise (possibly) functional young man.

However, what I do require, is for someone, anyone, to explain to me what "My style is incoherent, cheap and ethical..." means. I mean, I think I grasp the 'incoherent' part.

Finally, in this cavalcade of 'style', one of those whacky Finns!

Hypotheticals Time

Hey kids, let's play the hypotheticals game! Let's imagine for a moment that:

a) You are a huge fan of tv show, which we'll call 'Firefly'

OK, got that? Right. Then, let's say, the show was axed but fortunately after a couple a couple of years wait:

b) They made a movie about it, which for argument's sake we'll call (for want of a better name) 'Serenity'.

OK, so, let's pretend that:

c) Unbeknownst to you, there was a special preview of this new film, two months before it was due to to be released,

Now, remember that you've been waiting for this film for ages, OK, then let's pretend that:

d) A bunch of people you know, got to go to this preview and you didn't.

How are you feeling right now? I thought so.

[Actually, all joking aside, I am happy for them. No, really I am. Mostly.]

The Best Adjective To Describe My Weekend...

...would be 'SWEEEEEET'!

As if the blast of premature Spring weather wasn't enough to make for a good weekend, in addition:

• Friday night was a fun party at Chez Harry, with a bunch of old friends that, as it turns out, included the crowd from the For Battle! blog.
  
• Saturday was a whirlwind of inertia, web surfing, desultory attempts at housework and a couple of hours of data entry at the Buddhist centre.
  
• Sunday was a most excellent visit to the Chinese Gardens of Friendship with Bodhi, and his daughter Ashley. Tea and cakes were had, fish and birds were fed, lots of photos were taken and a good time was had by all. [Photos to come in the next day or two]
  
• After the Chinese Gardens I walked the hour long walk home from the city in the beautiful sunshine, pottered around the house for a few hours and then headed off to my friends John & Judy's house for dinner. I got home about 10pm and then sat down to watch the final episode of Outback House.

Like I said, sweet.

The Other Kind Of 'Outing Oneself'

What's weirder: a) finding out that a bunch of people you know have a group blog, b) walking into a party and having everyone greet you by your 'blogging name' or c) all of the above?

Oh, I pick c)!

It's not bad, but it is a bit weird. I kept this blog kinda quiet, partly in case I ever wanted to write hand-wringing, pearl-clutching, hair-tearing entries about how horrible life was - you know, the sort of stuff that you would be embarrased if anyone you knew ever read. Diary stuff. Thankfuly life hasn't thrown me that sort of situation, and in hindsight I would probably never write such an entry anyway.

So when I left a comment on their blog last week, after following a link I stumbled across at a mutual friend's blog, I knew I was 'outing myself' as a blogger.

It's fine and dandy, the world didn't end after all.

Somber Angel

The theme at Photo Friday this week is Somber.


Headstone angel. Camperdown cemetary, NSW, 2004.

Life's Good

4.25pm and I have just returned from lunch, which was had down by the water, sitting in the unusually Spring-like Winter sun.

Hah, there are worse ways to spend a Friday.

The 5 Question Meme

This came via Larry at The Love Lemming. (If you haven't read his blog, go do so immediately. It's fantastic.)

So here's the drill. As part of this meme you get to request 5 questions from me. Just read the instructions at the bottom of post and send me a comment requesting some questions. Please be patient, it may take me a day or so to post your questions in the comments.

1) Have you made the world a better place?

Alright, starting with the big questions!

I would sincerely like to think so. I'm trying very hard to live a compassionate and ethical life, and by doing so to play my part in trying not to cause suffering for others, and to also try and reduce the causes of suffering. I don't just mean suffering at the gross level, hardship etc, but subtler forms of mental suffering as well. Anger, jealousy etc. In Buddhist terms you harm yourself when anger, hatred, jealousy, and other negative emotions, arise.

One of the things that initially drew me to Buddhism, and is at the core of Buddhist teachings, is the focus on compassion teamed with wisdom. Caring about others, and having the wisdom to do it in a skillful way. At risk of getting all theological, the type of Buddhist school I belong to is called Mahayana, and is primarily concerned with working towards liberation from suffering for all sentient beings. The first step of this is tidying up your own mind; so that your habits of judging, anger, desire etc are reduced. It's an ongoing process, but understanding how everyone responds to kindness, warmth and affection helps reinforce that we are all more alike than we are different.

2) Who is your favorite Firefly character?

There's actually a few, but I think if I had to name one it would be Wash, the pilot. I find him cute as a button, and I love his mix of vulnerability and wiseass.

I have a soft spot for Jayne too, not least of which because I think Adam Baldwin is hot, but his character also has some great quirks. Just so you don't think it's all about the guys, I also love Kaylee. For me she is the 'heart' of the show in many ways.

3) Where is your least favorite place to be kissed?

Um, I actually had to think real hard about this because there are few places that I can think of that I haven't enjoyed being kissed... I guess, maybe the back of the neck if I'm feeling ticklish. Maybe I should ask for volunteers to test the theory?

4) If you could replace a single body part with a new one of your choosing, what part would it be?

Jeez, just one? OK. This will make me seem like I have 'short man syndrome', but I'd replace my legs with a slightly longer model. I'm only 5'4" and don't mind being this height, but sometimes it's just inconvenient. Supermarket shelves for instance... oh, and that time I had a 6'5" boyfriend, all number of inconveniences there.

5) What is your favorite song?

Ack, this is hard. It changes quite often.

I think 'True Colours' by Cindi Lauper would have to be it, if I must name just one. I think it's a beautifully written song, and I love the sentiments of it. I've heard other singers cover it and it doesn't quite have the same effect, it has to be Cindi's vulnerable, slightly plaintive singing for me. (I love 'Time After Time' from the same album also.)

Does that make me sound sappy? So be it!

Now your turn!

Instructions:

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying “Interview me.” (”Blow me” or “Eat me” are not acceptable substitutes.)

2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person’s will be different. I’ll post the questions in the comments section of this post.

3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.

4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.

5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

Thank You Baby Jeebus!

...for the new crop of students attending the intensive English language school in my work building. Two special shout-outs to you for the Brazilian guy with the 5 o'clock shadow and the really, really tan Finnish guy with legs for days.

If you are talking to your Dad, please pass on the message - Nice work.

Thanks Global Warming!

We've been having a little mini-Spring in the middle of Winter here in Sydney, and well, I'm loving it. Cool to cold mornings and evenings, and mild sunny days with blue skies. I'm trying not to think too hard about what this dry weather means for my garden, or water restrictions in general. My attitude is very much 'glass half full', when the reality is that the water level in the glass (to extend the metaphor) is actually dropping alarmingly.

Winter is never that cold in Sydney by international standards, but even still it's nice to be able to go to work in a light cotton jacket and not feel cold. Last night I walked home from work, about an hour trip, and ended up stripping off my jacket as it was quite mild and I was working up a sweat. My behaviour changes quite dramatically with the weather too. Maybe I'm a candidate for SAD (Seasonally Affective Disorder)? This past week I've felt more like eating healthy foods instead of winter 'stodge', eating more fruit especially, feeling brighter, and generally being more active and wanting to exercise more.

I'm ready for Spring, bring it on!

Ask Yourself These Questions:

Do well scrubbed boys in short-sleeved white shirts make you hot?

Are you convinced that a healthy dose of sexual repression will make a budding homosexualist beyond dynamite in the sack?

Tired of asking "Please Master, may I have one more?" and feel like asking "Please Elder, may I have another?"

Seen Latter Days and developed dirty, dirty little fantasies?

Well maybe you should Date Lance.

[Link via the fully recovered Mormon Dooce.]

Sort Of A 'Pimp My Dog' Style Conversion

This absolutely cracked me up:

How to turn a Doberman into a Poodle.

Although on one level I was also thinking "Poor puppy!" Hey, doesn't he just look like he's loving it.

Delicious

Since Saturday my dear sweet friend Robbie has been in town for 5 days of R 'n R, luxury hotel pampering and catching up with friends, and leaves today to go home to Melbourne. Robbie and I have been friends for something like 21 or 22 years now, and have seen each both go through major life changes, waistline changes and boyfriend changes. Yeah gods I love this man (but not in a dirty monkey love sort of way). We could not see each other for a year or so and would literally just pick up from the last sentence we spoke to each other. There are few people I can laugh with as much as I can with Robbie.

Last night we had a couple of drinks and then headed off, for one of the best Thai meals I have ever had, to Thai Pothong. Tamarind Tofu (with lashings of chilli and garnished with deep fried garlic slices) and then a vegetable Green Curry. I would marry that Green Curry if I could, it was that good.

Robbie is off travelling again (hey, thank you Trust Fund!) and over dinner we hatched some possible travel plans for late 2006. I want to go to Kopan (in Nepal) to do a 30 day course of Buddhist teachings in November 2006, and Robbie wants to see parts of Tibet and Nepal. I threw in a side trip to Sikkim in northern India, if we can swing it. Of course we all know what this means, saving. Urgh.

I'm busting out of my skin with thought of the possibilities.

Take Me Where I Cannot Stand

Woot! The Aussie 'Today Show' played a teaser trailer of Serenity, the new Firefly movie. OhmyGod, OhmyGod, OhmyGod, OhmyGod, OhmyGod, OhmyGod...

Please, could someone get me a cold compress?

The good news is that it looks like it will be getting a theatrical release here in Oz, and even better news that it sounds like the release date is roughly the same as the States. Late September (or late Birthday Month as we like to call it 'round these parts). All the original cast are on board, everyone looks mighty fine and some ass gets kicked. It looks like River and Simon feature heavy in the storyline, and Summer Glau gets to add a couple of extra dimensions to her character.

Cool.

A Very Special Bond

If you have read this blog for a while now, you might remember me mentioning the two year course in Buddhist studies that I have been doing. Last week Term 3 for 2005 started up, roughly marking the half way mark of the course. I was sitting in the class last night, as we listened to teachings, asked questions and laughed along with each other, and it struck me just how close I have come to feel towards this group of people.

As the course is done in a modular format, some of the students have come and gone depending on the module, but the majority of the students in my current class have been doing the course for a while now. Some of the students I have gotten to know really well, and some I don't know so well at all, but even if we aren't 'friends' as such I feel a bond with all of them. A sense of community. We are all asking the big questions of ourselves, opening ourselves up to new ideas and ways of seeing, and frequently discussing our 'inner lives' in class.

When people ask me how I am, or how things are going, I get a sense of real interest not just a polite piece of chit-chat. Likewise I have found myself feeling a genuine concern for some of my fellow students, and feeling honest joy when they have had whatever success has come their way.

In Buddhism we talk about 'The Three Jewels' of Buddhism; The Buddha (specifically our own inner buddha nature, or potential for elightenment), The Dharma (the teachings) and The Sangha (the community of 'spriritual friends'; monks, nuns, teachers & fellow students). All are of equal importance.

I guess what I have discovered on an emotional level, is just how true this is and how much having a community of 'spiritual friends' would become important to me.

100 Healthy Dishes

This winter I've been quite lazy in the kitchen; eating way too much pasta and then a month or so ago when I got sick with bronchitis, and then work got crazy, even relying a bit on the dreaded delivery pizza. My bad.

So it's with a certain amount of delight that I found these recipes. When I get home after a hard day at work I'm really not up for making anything too overly complicated, and cooking something fabulous for one just seems... well, sad. I enjoy cooking, but during the week convenience is king.

Good news is that there seems to be a good percentage of vege-ma-tarian options in there too.

Please Make Me Turn Off The TV, Or I May Never Leave The House

Actually I left the house quite a bit over the weekend, and spent an inordinate amount of time going to bars and nightclubs, but never let the truth get in the way of a blog entry.

I watched some amazing tv over the weekend, especially last night on the ABC:

• First up, my favourite (and yours, no?) Outback House. Last night's episode had it all; shearers!, storms!, shirtless Adam pumping the wool baling machine!, annoying sulky maids!...
  
• Next up was the wonderful Sherlock Holmes and the Case Of The Silk Stocking. Great BBC drama with two fantastic leads, and I love, love, love Rupert Everett. All effete drug addicted detectives should look so good.
  
• Last night's Compass was a fantastic, and thought provoking, documentary about the people who are volunteering their time and effort to try and unravel the humanitarian mess that is the Australian goverment's refugee policy.
  
• In non-ABC related media news, I also stumbled across a DVD of one of my favourite films of all time, Frank Capra's 1937 film Lost Horizon. This nicely restored print has much of the footage which was cut from the film returned to it, after the original 132 minute version was deemed to be too long. The basis for this version was a surviving 132 minute sound track, which was used to guide the restoration. 7 minutes of the footage has been lost forever, but those sequences have been replaced with photo montages of the scenes that don't detract too much from the film, and the soundtrack gives a good indication of the action. Fabulous.

Go Give Him Some Loving

When I started this blog my inspiration came in part from two very nice and popular bloggers, Deb over at Freakgirl and Max at Lots of Co. Aside from their own writing, one of the other really enjoyable things about both blogs is the interaction that happens on their comments. In fact it was coming up with a 'handle' to distinguish myself from another commentor called Andrew that made me create 'The Other Andrew' as a title.

One of my fellow commentors, who quite often comments here too, is Michael E. Funny and sexy, daddy's gone and got himself a brand new blog. It's baby steps time, so why not go on over and check him out. After all, everyone needs a dose of performance anxiety at least once in their life.

Attractive

This week's Photo Friday topic is Attractive.

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Marcello. Drag show dancer at The Imperial Hotel (which I wrote about here) and dead-set Hottie McHotterton. Once again I'm posting a poor quality pic, but with all that compact and muscled flesh on show, does it really matter?


Somehow he even manages to make a pink cowboy outfit look good. Marcello, The Imperial Hotel, 2003.

Deep down, I'm very shallow.

A Brimful Of Mystery Solved

Disclaimer: I fully understand that this post is quite possibly of interest to me, and only me, but what's it all about if it isn't about me? Right?

Before going out on Friday night I was playing a dance remix album, and sort of bopping around the house getting ready. You know, as you do. One song that I have always liked , and there is a remix on this CD, is 'Brimful of Asha' by Cornershop. Now I like this song, but I have never understood it. Brimful of what?... What's on the 45?... I have never been home to Mr Comprehension on this one.

Anyhoo, I was sort of half listening to the lyrics when I heard:

I'm dancin' behind movie scenes
Behind those movie screens
Asha Bhosle
She's the one that keeps the dream alive
From the morning past the evening to the end of the life

A classic 'Ah ha!' moment. Not only is the song about something dear to my heart (Bollywood movies) but the whole focus of the song is a singer I admire greatly, Asha Bhosle. She's about 72 years old now and still going strong. If you have ever seen a Bollywood film, and you saw an actress 'singing', chances are you have heard Asha Bhosle. She gives depth and breadth to the term prolific.

I read somewhere that she is the single highest selling recording artist on the planet, and I wouldn't be surprised if this is true.

Mmmmm, Turkish Delight...

I saw a 10 minute teaser on the Today Show this morning, and it has made me even more excited to see the new The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe movie. Once again the wizards of Weta Workshop in New Zealand, who did the bulk of the creatures and physical props for the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, have worked their magic. Aslan and all the other creatures of Narnia look amazing.

Cautionary Tale

Somehow I suspect that if I ever:

• Shaved off the goatee,
  
• Decided wearing dresses might be a lifestyle choice worth pursuing, and
  
• Started buying wigs at KMart,

I might end up looking like this.

Sleepless In Sydney

One of the more enjoyable aspects of being me, is a somewhat... shall we call it 'complicated'?... relationship with sleep. I'm not a classic insomniac. I rarely have a problem getting to sleep, the problem I have is that I'm a very, very light sleeper and rarely get through a night without waking.

It has always been a pain in the ass, and something which has added strain to my relationships. The slightest discomfort makes me wake up, and I'm so sensitive to noise that I frequently have to sleep with earplugs. In the past I've even had to have a 'back-up' spare bedroom to go to if my partner was a snorer, or anything other than quiet and still.

Every Summer I struggle to stay asleep due to the heat, but it's Winter here at the moment and that's normally a good sleeping season for me. Apparently things have changed. I've tried making sure I'm comfortable; tried being toasty warm in bed, tried not being too warm, window open, window closed etc, but at the moment things are the worst they have been for a while.

About two years ago I was in a car accident, breaking my collarbone and cracking my sternum. After the accident I slept no more than a couple of hours a night for about three months, the discomfort was so bad. Even after my shoulder stopped being so painfull, I couldn't break myself of the poor sleeping pattern cycle I was in. It got better, but I have never really returned to getting a regular night's uninterrupted sleep.

At the moment I'm sleep-walking through my day, and really slumping energywise in the afternoons. I only have one or maybe two cups of coffee in a day, and never after about mid-morning, and don't drink soft drinks, so I doubt caffeine is an issue. I'm taking a long hard look at my diet, and seeing if there is something there which I can do to improve the situation (and I'm sure there is).

I'm convinced this is a physical thing; maybe I'm snoring and waking myself, or something of that nature. I'm pretty happy and content in my life these days, and have certainly never been one to lie in bed and worry. So next step, professional help. I don't want to take sleeping pills, and herbal teas have had limited affect, so I'm leaning towards maybe trying a naturopath and/or dietician for advice.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

R.I.P. Jimmy D

Goodbye James Doohan. Actor, Canadian, war survivor, starship engineer - dead at age 85. So long Scotty, thanks for your contribution to one of the great iconic cultural emblems of the twentieth century, and to so many years of entertainment for so many people.

Of Mysore Sandalwood And Warm Samarkand Nights... And Cute German Rowers

I've mentioned previously on this blog that I run the bookshop at the Buddhist centre I attend. Last night I had to make a mad dash from the office to get to the centre in time for a 6pm meeting I had arranged with our major incense supplier, who was in town from Melbourne. As it turned out he was running late, and after a few phone calls to and fro, he finally got to the centre at 7.30. Fortunatelty I had other stuff I could do and managed to keep my good humour about me.

When there was a knock on the door I opened it to find a very, very handsome Indian man at the door, with samples case in tow. As it turns out, there are worse ways to spend an evening than being sprawled on the floor, surrounded by incense samples, while a handsome man spins tales of Mysore sandalwood, exotic spices and rare aromatics. Even volunteer jobs have their perks.

I was still a little wired from a busy day at work and some serious 'incense supplier oggling' when I got home, so I decided to watch a film I had taped on tv the previous night. The film was Sommersturm [site is in German]. This sweet film is about a pair of young rowers who are best friends, one of whom is straight and the other who is questioning his sexuality, and the wedge that is driven between their friendship. Matters come to a head when they go on a team camp and come up against other rowing teams, one of whom is a team of gay guys. The young cast are generally quite good, although some of the supporting cast are a little patchy in terms of acting ability, but the leads all turn in solid performances. There is a quite frank, but tastefull and rather sweet seduction scene, which is handled well by the young actors. All in all, worth a look.

Contractually Obligated Outback House Post

Sunday night in my world is Outback House night, but I have to say that last night's episode was OK, but by comparison a bit on the 'meh' side for me. Sheep washing, heatwave, hot and grumpy kids, another Governess arrived, someone else 'voted themselves off the island'... it just seemed a bit flat. I guess it was partly because the main focus of the episode was showing the reality of the heat, the drudgery, the frustration and (in at least one case) the desire to quit. There just wasn't much light amongst the dark.

Thankfully hunky Adam got shirtless much of the time, so you know, it wasn't all bad. Dan got nowhere near enough 'face time' though, and so we got precious few 'bon mots' this episode. We did get to see his range though, from passifying the grumpy hordes (three hot and tired children) with a reading from Jane Austen, to leaping into action (and muddy water) to save a drowning sheep. Action Dan!

I have watched all the other 'House' series and this one has definately had the largest turnover of participants, and looks like it was probably the most physically gruelling on them. The first Cook (fired, then back, then gone again), The Overseer (fired, or at least fell on his sword), the first Governess (retired ill) and now one of the Maids (quit), all gone.

Where's Jeff Probst with the torch snuffer?