This makes me laugh
The literal Take on Me is a classic of course, but the literal White Wedding by Billy Idol is also pretty much awesome.
added later…
Oh and this website of photos from discarded undeveloped film rolls (mostly of the 50s and 60s) is not only fascinating to look at, but rather a lovely looking site. Mangofalls.
Things I Love Thursday
I’m actually feeling pretty grumpy today, so the list is a struggle for me. But at the same time, I’m not letting my crankiness get in the way of stuff.
- Coldplay! I’ve become completely addicted to the song Viva La Vida and getting more and more excited about the concert. This was emphasised by my workmate passing on this interview they did for 60 minutes…I just want to hug Chris Martin after watching this. He seems so fun and sweet and geeky……Part One and part two.
- Writing, I’m pleased with the comments on my writing accomplishment list and the funniest thing? I thought I would be disappointed that my ‘to do’ list is shorter than the already done list….but I’m not at all. I’m so pleased with my already done list that nothing can diminish it and besides, my to do list is mostly very exciting! Especially since I have two darling friends sifting for typos for me
- Thinking about how cool it would be if the eye of God blinked. Seriously. Spooky and cool right?
- Compliments. I dunno if I’m noticing them more, or if people are being nicer, or if it’s a whole thing about receiving more love because I’ve been giving more love, but it’s a nice ego boost. I like compliments. This includes compliments about my writing, which I adore!
- Painting. I did an oil pastel picture since I posted those paintings on the site and I bought some more canvas so I can keep creating. It’s so much fun to start a picture and then have it come out (more or less) looking like it did in your head. I’ve had quite a break from painting so I was pleased to still enjoy it and be able to do it
Honourable Mentions: I Know I’m late to this, but I just fell in love with digg. It’s neato. I also love ice cream, my Lee, breakfast burittos at SMK, looking forward to seeing Watchmen, burgers, snuggling with my blankies, blaring loud music to block out annoying door slamming neighbours and making cupcakes.
And you? What are you thankful for today? Please share, I need some happy to balance out all the poison I’ve had today ;p
teeny Wed Write Post
Ok, I’ll put in a little about writing as well, just to keep up with tradition. I am currently reading and copy editing Debbie’s teen novel and I have to say I’m really enjoying it.
I do like this process too, reading through something and making notes on it and thinking of how a sentence could be better constructed. It’s good fun and all the practice I’ve had lately has not only made me faster, it’s made me smarter about it too. It helps that Debbie has some of the same bad habits I do, such as adding unnecessary qualifiers like ‘pretty good’ instead of good or ‘kind of happy’ instead of just ‘happy’. Her book’s awesome fun though, interesting characters, funny dialogue and I do desperately want to know what happens next.
So my solid hour of writing today was dedicated to that. I have also vacuumed, napped, surfed the net, done the washing and iced some cupcakes. (Post on them to follow. Not today though.) I am full of excitement for the second episode of Fall tonight.
Also I saw a tshirt at Supre that said “I kissed a vampire and I liked it” and I managed to resist buying it. Might not be able to resist long though, it was pretty cute.
Now off to pound out the first draft of a short story idea I’ve had rattling around in my head for a couple of months before Lee gets home and demands attention.
Point of Fashion: rather grey
Current Obsession: mini chocolate almond magnums are awesome for an energy lift!
Wacky Wednesday
More unicorns and sparkles!
Thanks to Svend for alerting me to the awesomeness of ‘cornify.com‘, for all your sparkly unicorn and rainbow needs. It kind of bugs me that they’ve stolen art though, Rainbow Brite horse and Uni from Neopets at least.
Lots of good things this week. I wrote a kind of character reference thing for a friend in which I had to testify that her relationship is real (it’s an immigration thing). It was an interesting exercise, trying not to sound hokey but being as honest as I can. It was quite lovely getting to put how I see someone else’s (very happy) relationship on paper and I was thanked profusely by both parties so that was nice. Fingers crossed that it works out!
Had some very lovely feedback via email about my two novels which makes me happy with the glow and the hope and the dream.
I got an inflatable queen size mattress so that people can come and stay with me and not have to sleep in the lounge. Making space in the spare room for the mattress to go in shouldn’t be too hard, especially if I can get rid of the non-working TV that’s in there.
Love and unicorns to all!
Writing accomplishment list
Already done:
- Finished second draft of WtWTCH? Printed it out and passed it on to Regan.
- Redrafted erotica short story and passed it on to Suraya.
- Submitted horror short story to paying online magazine.
Still to do:
- Check Kiki again for typos that my Mother in Law mentioned. Not looking forward to this, if I haven’t noticed them the first six times I read through it am I really going to see them now?
- Submit Kiki to a publisher, obviously contigent on above getting done.
- Write article on gaming for possible inclusion in a publication….I have my topic, need to do some brainstorming.
- Interviews for research for my next book idea….might start sending out emails.
- Write more new stuff!!!!!!! Short, marketable stories are good. Also the more I write the better so even if they’re not that marketable I should write them.
I am feeling good about myself today because: It’s sunny and pretty outside, I met my parents for lunch, Gala Darling’s message for today is really super lovely and I have this impressive list of writing stuff that was hanging over me and is now completed and I’m looking forward to getting the stuff on the to do list done! Well, except for the typos thing.
Anyone keen to go typo hunting for me per chance?
Oh and yesterday I tried out my oil pastels and made a dingo opera diva picture. She’s holding a bouquet of orange roses. I’m pleased that my oil pastel skills haven’t completely abandoned me.
PoF: Kapcon 18
CO: so thirsty
art
I gave in to my urge to paint monsters holding flowers yesterday. I didn’t feel like I had any pressing writing issues and I wanted to paint so very much. It’s been a long time.
I didn’t buy any new big canvasses, I just used a couple of blank ones I’ve had forever. I did two small monsters on paper and two on canvas which I am very happy with. I share them here with you, because I am generous that way.
“First Date”
What would you say if this guy turned up to take you out? He brought flowers. He is wearing his best charcoal suit and his spotted tie. I had some trouble with his eyes but I like the way he came out in the end. I left the flowers til last and had great fun painting them.
“Emo Unicorn Boy”
Emo unicorn boy came to me at about 5am when I was trying to figure out how best to use the triangular canvas. I thought about Jared Leto’s leaning in My So Called Life and I had it. Leaning was the way to go, with the horizon lines breaking up the shape. I pencilled in the body and then hit on making him monstrous by adding a horn.
The red shirt is because I found my beloved red corduroy shirt again the other day and the charcoal cargos are made up of the paint left over from First Date’s suit.
I had fun with this hair spilling over onto the side of the canvas. I’m not sure if I should put in any colour in the background or not. I don’t want to on First Date because I don’t need it, but there’s quite a lot of white space around unicorn boy. It makes him stand out more, of course, but some background could be interesting. What are your thoughts?
Also, Lee and I had brunch, well, lunch really but neither of us had breakfast, at the Lido today and I had a prawn and melon salad with mint, lime and ginger dressing and it was amazing. Seriously, if the thought of prawns doesn’t creep you out you have to go to the Lido and eat this salad. It was all fresh crisp radish and lettuce and cucumber and so many prawns and the dressing was amazing and the melon worked well with everything.
They have a seasonal menu so head in soon and try it. I know I’m going back…
Point of Fashion: emo bear
Current obsession: mmmmm prawn salad.
Things I Love Thursday
My grandmother’s memorial service was a low key, laid back reminisce at the home she had lived in for eight years. It was funny and fine and I feel very calm after it. Mellow and content. Plus I got to have tea out of gorgeous bone china and I ate raspberry slice. It’s the little things.
- My parents. They’re just good people. Do I need to explain this more?
- Finishing stuff. Although it inevitably leads to other scary steps such as submitting to publishers or giving my things to other people to read, it is very satisfying indeed to finish a writing project. I approve of it.
- Stopping for ice cream on the hot drive home. I had a strawberry rocky road, Lee had a lemon calippo.
- My outfit right now is pretty fetch. I like feeling like I’m pulling off a ‘look’. If I was a full time writer (or even if I didn’t sit all day in a freezing office for my job) I could wear singlets, short skirts, leggings and jandles all the time. I wore my Unified Hearts Leonard Cohen tshirt to my grandmother’s thing this morning but it got sweaty in the hot car.
- My healtheries sleeping pills. I had a night without them last night and I have to say, they make falling asleep so much easier! I love them! I suspect I won’t need them as much when the weather cools down and I don’t overheat at night but for now…yes.
- Making things more organised around my house, it’s not decluttering, per se, but if everything has a place to get put away in then the place will be less messy. Having a tidy house makes me really happy, it’s just I’m also quite lazy. I also love my house.
- Looking forward to reading my friend’s novel. I haven’t let myself yet, because of doing my own thing, but I think I’m allowed now!
Honourable mentions: the guy in the copy centre smiling at me, the clock postcard Giffy gave me makes loud ticking noises in the quiet room, The ion drumkit that is currently in my house right now (it’s not mine, but I get to use it), singing without reservation, “desecration smile’ by the Chili Peppers, vegetarian lasagne, nutrient/vitamin/supplement waters, snuggling in my quilts and falling asleep.
Please share your list of happiness in the comments below….
Pikelets
I made the pikelets from the recipe in my favourite book Ladies, a Plate. It’s a pretty stock standard pikelet recipe except that it includes a tablespoon of golden syrup. It was quick and easy to put together.
I mixed it up with the electric hand beater the first time. The second time I did it I beat them by hand, the first mixture was better, so I’ll stick with the beaters in future. The hand mixed ones were a little lumpy but they still tasted good at the end. The mixture doesn’t make that many, so if there are many people I’m making them for I’d do a double or triple recipe. The regular mix was plenty for me and Lee’s breakfast on Sunday and for my Tuesday night roleplaying group.
Pikelets are a timing game. You have to let the pan heat for a while and then once they’re on you have to flip them as soon as they’re ready for it. When the bubbles come up and pop you have to flip them and then the other side only needs about 30 seconds. If you give them any longer then they start burning pretty darn fast.
The good thing about the slightly burned pikelets is that they’re still tasty with strawberry jam, bacon and bananas or just on their own. They just don’t look as nice.
As per my upbringing, and the instructions in the book pikelets must be served from a clean teatowel in a basket. The teatowel actually keeps them nice and warm and it looks all nice and homey. Delish!
Nom, delicious pikelets
Wednesday Writing
A day of achievements.
I made up for missing my hour of writing yesterday by going hard and spending 2 and a half hours today redrafting. That was how much time I needed to finish the digital redraft! Oh yes. What’s the Worst That Could Happen? second draft is now done and ready to be handed on to my first reader….Word count is sitting on 75,150 which is up from the first draft. I added some neat stuff and took away a bunch of redundant stuff.
I submitted my short story “Infection” to an online story publisher, so fingers crossed for me there. Not sure how long it’ll be til I hear back from them. I am a little disappointed to see the print mag I wanted to submit it to is not accepting submissions all this year, but never mind. I can just keep writing more and keep on submitting them.
I also wrote the actual play report of Fall (see previous entry) and had lunch with two friends. Having a ‘lunch’ period between work and writing really seems to make a difference to me.
Now off to celebrate by making a vegetarian lasagne!
PoF: Recycle the grouch
CO: Woop woop!
