Hooray for Holidays!

I’ve been a little bit busy lately.

Busy planning a holiday.

Where, you ask?

This might give you a hint:

I’m going to New Zealand! Woohoo!

You know, Lord of the Rings country, and all that…

All expenses paid, no less. My mother has just emerged from a 3 year relationship and one of her funny little “end-of-the relationship” quirks, is that she likes to go on holiday…. and I reap all the benefits! Muahahaha!

The flights are free, thanks to the QANTAS Frequent Flyer programme, and all my accomodation and car hire is paid for. For 9 days. Not bad, huh?

We’re doing a self-drive trip around the South Island, which is mostly Alpine landscape and made up of lovely things like this:

Fox Glacier

The only downside (possibly apart from spending 9 days in planes and cars with my mother, which is fraught with potential disaster in itself), is that we have to catch no less than SEVEN connecting flights in total, there and back. Crikey Moses.

I think it will be worth it.

All the planning and itinerary is up to me, as I’m quite good at that kind of thing, so I’ve been scouring the intertubes and holiday brochures for ideas. I think I’ve got it sorted. I’m talking scenic flights, sailing down the fjord (otherwise known as Milford Sound) and getting up close and personal with glaciers. Not to mention the jetboats…

Less the flying time, we’ll have 6 nights to cover the South Island. I think we can just about do it.

Being a bit of a photography nut, I’m so excited about the potential for lovely images, I can’t even tell you.

So, there will be a lot of this:

And possibly not so much of this:

Or, this…

Meaning, obviously, that I won’t be flinging myself across ravines. Although if anyone is kind enough to provide me with a lovely photo opporunity, I’ll be ever so grateful.

We’re flying out on October 16. I can’t wait.

Get ready for copious numbers of highly self indulgent, yet beautiful photographs.

In the words of the immortal Big Kev, “I’m excited!!”

********************************

Finally, as per usual, here is a list of my successful and glorious music downloads in the past couple of weeks. Yay! :

Siouxsie and the Banshees – Venus in Furs
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Peek-A-Boo
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Spellbound
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Arabian Nights
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Christine
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Dear Prudence
Siouxsie and the Banshees – Cities in Dust
The Streets – Let’s Push Things Forward
Junior Marvin & Lee Scratch Perry – Police and Thieves
Willy Mason – Oxygen
Townes Van Zandt – Dead Flowers
Antony and the Johnsons – The Atrocities
Antony and the Johnsons – Man is the Baby
Graham Coxon – Standing On My Own Again
Graham Coxon – You & I
Paul Weller & Graham Coxon – This Old Town
Amanda Ghost – Bad Girl
Amanda Ghost – Idol
Sufjan Stevens – The Seer’s Tower
Sufjan Stevens – The Dress Looks Nice On You
Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone with You
Sufjan Stevens – Super WomanSufjan Stevens – Size Too Small
Sufjan Stevens – Jacksonville
Sufjan Stevens – John Wayne Gacy Jr
Sufjan Stevens – For the Widows in Paradise
Sufjan Stevens – The World’s Columbian Exposition Part II
Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
Sufjan Stevens – Casimir Pulaski Day
Sufjan Stevens – A Good Man is Hard to Find
Stereolab – Ping Pong
Jackson Browne – You Love the Thunder
Joseph Arthur – Honey and the Moon
Syd Barrett – Baby Lemonade
Tim Buckley – Once I Was
Tim Buckley – Dolphins
Art Brut – Emily Kane
Art Brut – Moving to LA
Art Brut – Formed A Band
The Breeders – Safari
Mogwai – Stanley Kubrick
The (English) Beat – Mirror in the Bathroom
Battles – Atlas
The Go-Betweens – Lee Remick
The Klaxons – It’s Not Over Yet
My Bloody Valentine – Off Your Face
Silversun Pickups – Lazy Eye
The Church – Reptile
The Cult – American Horse
The Libertines – Time For Heroes
Bob Marley – Hammer
Sia – Breathe Me
Mazzy Star – Blue Light
Alice In Chains – Man in the Box
Black Flag – Rise Above
Nine Inch Nails – Wish
Rammstein – Das Modell
Smashing Pumpkins – Tarantula
The Good, The Bad & The Queen – Kingdom of Doom
Chemical Brothers (ft. Ali Love) – Do It Again
Chemical Brothers – Let Forever Be
Butthole Surfers – Who Was In My Room Last Night?
Butthole Surfers – Avalanche
Butthole Surfers – Whatever
Butthole Surfers – Hurdy Gurdy Man
Butthole Surfers – Pepper
Dappled Cities Fly – Make You Happy
Dappled Cities Fly – Cream
Dappled Cities Fly – Fire Fire Fire
Dappled Cities Fly – Vision Bell
Neil Young – Dead Man
Sigur Ros – Svefn-g-Englar
Emilie Simon – Dame de Lotus
The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist
The Avalanches – Since I Left You
Faker – Hurricane
Black Sabbath – Spiral Architect
Queens of the Stoneage – Sick, Sick, Sick

Ok, happy end.

Song of the Day – E.L.O – The Diary of Horace Wimp

Showdown at the Tulip Corral

The weather was fine for the first time in weeks. A near month of rain had caused flowers to bloom and inhabitants to crawl up the walls with cabin fever. A couple of decent storms had filled the swimming hole with debris and the garden was wild and weather beaten.

Bilbo stepped tentatively from the window that was always left open for him, even in the most biting chill. He wasn’t keen on the cold and preferred to sleep, eat and not much else in the winter months. His humans still liked to give him the option to go outside as he pleased. Mostly because they didn’t like to change the litter box too often.

Today was different.

Today, it was sunny. Flowers were blooming, in anticipation for the spring and the sparse warmth of the sun gave new life.

However, Bilbo wasn’t interested in flowers.

He liked clay.

The sun, the clay and the close proximity to chlorine made for a strange chemical reaction in Bilbo.

It was a perfect day.

Before long, Bilbo’s brother Spiffy had a similar idea, yet only simliar in the sense that he wanted to be outdoors on such a glorious day. Spiffy loved to be outside and had been terribly frustrated at all that water falling from the sky ruining his important business.

Immediately on stepping through the window, Spiffy spied his brother and strolled over to say hello.

Spiffy told Bilbo that he was going over the fence to take care of some long overdue business. Bilbo thought he’d take advantage of the peace and quiet, and have a bit of a lie down and enjoy the afternoon sun.

Little did he know, Spiffy had other ideas.

Nobody likes being stalked with stealth, no matter the intention.

Spiffy snuck up from behind. “BOO! HAHAHA!!”

He gave Bilbo an awful fright.

Bilbo was livid. “Don’t EVER sneak up on me like that!! I’ve told you too many times! Leave me alone!!”

Spiffy was beginning to enjoy his little game.

“Hehe, got ya a beauty!”

“Fuck you Spiffy! I’ve got a foot and I’m not afraid to use it!”

“Oh yeah? Let’s see what you’ve got…”

Bilbo launched a swift kick at Spiffy’s sternum.

“Owww! You didn’t have to hurt me!”

“Hah! Now who’s “got” who?” said Bilbo. “And just for that, I’m going to show you my scary face!!”

Spiffy was taken aback, but only momentarily.

“Pfft” he scoffed. “You call that a scary face? I’ll show you scary…!!”

“Right! That’s it!!” growled Bilbo. “It’s on!!”

And so it was at the Tulip Corral.

 

 

Song Of The Day – The Cure – A Forest

It’s All About the Hair

 

What you are about to see is a photo of my mother and I on my first day of school, aged 5.

A really quite embarrassing photo.

We lived in Sydney at the time and within a few months we would be moving to London.

My mother had the bright idea that having my hair cut in the most hideous, nerdy bowl cut possible, would somehow make me more scholarly.

How wrong she was.

It just made me look like a dag.

(Just for the record, she is completely unrepentant to this day…)

Note my facial expression of abject terror. I seriously look like I’m about to cry and I haven’t even left the house yet. Well, wouldn’t you if you had a haircut like that? Actually, I really don’t remember my first day being all that traumatic. I was a little trooper as a kid. I swear. Not the sook you see before you. No sirree.

Well, ok. I might have cried. A bit.

I miss that case. How I loved my Globite schoolcase. It made me feel super and terribly important.

It’s funny, you know. I have a lot of photos of me as a kid and in most of them I look as cute as a button – while in others I look like I got hit with the ugly stick.

I know what that is…

It’s all about the hair!

Allow me to illustrate.

Here’s another photo of me taken a couple of months down the track. Kudos to my mother for giving up on the hairstyle:

See?

The glasses are cute. Sh’up.

You can kinda tell by the pose that every time I wore that jumpsuit (I had a brown one too – nice) , I used to strut around thinking I was hot stuff.

And with my new and improved hairstyle, I was a confident, outgoing-bordering-on-precocious, little Miss.

Here are a couple more examples…

Bad hair = ugly, bad tempered child:

 

Good hair = happy little cutie:

You see where I’m coming from?

 

I suspect there might be something vaguely profound in that (or completely superficial, for that matter), but I’m buggered if I know what it is…

If you come up with anything, let me know…

 

 

Song Of The Day – Pavement – Cut Your Hair

 

It’s that freaky tag again…

Alright, alright already.  I finally made iit.  The lovely Ms Max Adams tagged me and I’m to list 5 freaky things you never really wanted to know about me. At least I think that’s it. There has been some tag mutation from the time I was tagged (last night) until now.

I’ve just about missed the boat on this one, but I did have to get in a few hours sleep and a working day in between seeing the tag and doing the tag. At least that’s my excuse. When I finally got down to it, it took less than 5 minutes. Hah.

Hokay…

1. My speaking voice can still be heard regularly on around 20 or more radio stations around Australia, as the voice that gives the station ID (or callsign).  It usually sounds like a sexy whisper. 

2.  My first proper kiss was with a 24 year old man, when I was 12.  He knew how old I was.  I enjoyed it.  Taught me a thing or two, too….

3.  My father was a fairly big time international drug runner, between the US and Australia, but I didn’t find out until after he died.

4.  I was coerced into leading a seance at my Year 8 camp.  A girl was taken to hospital as a result.  I was very nearly expelled.  It was a bad scene.  I still don’t quite understand what happened.

Are you sufficiently bored yet?  No?  Here’s one more….

5.  I’m allergic to nuts [insert testicle joke].  Except for pistachios and peanuts, because they’re not actually nuts.  Strangely enough, nuts don’t make me vomit if they’re encased in chocolate.  Work that one out.

Rightio chaps.  That is it.  I’ll be lucky to find enough people to tag, seeing as half the people I know have been tagged already and I’ve only been here two weeks, but let’s see, shall we?

Charity Case

Rannaland

Alluring Butterfly

My Little Corner

Hedonistic Pleasureseeker

Phew. Just made it.

Show us what ya got, ladies!

Song Of The Day: The John Butler Trio – Good Excuse