What's with today, today?

Yes, it is only days away from Christmas Day, and no, I haven't finished my Christmas shopping, but to get into the Christmas spirit I'd like to write a post about flat Christmas, which happened a few days ago, a celebration of Christmas for the inhabitants of my flat, and Andrew. On Saturday, to be exact. We had stockings, made by Ang (beautifully made) and filled by each other with various stocking like fillers, such as chocolate money and parachute men. There was Christmas dinner and presents from all. It was a little hard to finish Christmas dinner (roast chicken and vegetables) after all the chocolate but it was delicious enough that we succeeded. Oh, and I got a new hat! Like my old one that was tragically lost, but also different. And a bag! And earrings and chocolate and lollies. I think by far the highlight of the day for me was the bubble blowing. We got champagne bubbles in our stockings, and proceeded to spend much of the afternoon blowing bubbles off the balcony a...

In amongst the various events that make up my life I went and watched Beowulf the other day, with a bunch of Old English people. There was surprisingly little laughter during the movie. I was very disappointed with it as it just wasn't as bad as I'd hoped it would be. That's what I want out of a Beowulf movie, cringing and laughter and wonderment at what happened to the plot. Ok, this movie did take great liberties with plot and characters and most things I suppose (Heorot looked very 12th C. for instance) but sometimes you have to accept that in a movie and appreciate it for itself. That makes it sound better than it is, and let me say that the character of Beowulf drew the most laughs, as well as the strange amount of nudity. But there were eerie moments and battles that commanded some amount of respect. I wish I saw it in 3d, it was clearly made for it, but I don't think I could have handled Imax for some bits. One of the things I most appreciated about the movie was...

Yesterday was the second federal election I've ever voted in, which was pretty exciting. At the polling booth the woman who handed me my ballot asked me if this was my first election. When I said no she looked surprised and told me I looked like a baby. *sigh* I get that all the time. I voted below the line, hopefully legibly, cos I like my preferences. Although there are alot of parties which I have no idea where to preference. Last night it was on to an election party in Balmain, with coverage from two different tv stations, radio and internet. There were sheets of paper to write up predictions and results as they came out, as well as a collection of various election posters (and food and rink, of course). There was a clear majority of Labor supporters, so the mood was particularly joyful, and much cheering could be heard. Especially at all the results for Bennelong, although last I heard there was no final result. But Maxine McKew was looking pretty chirpy. So, now we have a Lab...

Today I had arranged to meet someone from work at Coogee at 8:30 for a day at the beach. Sadly I went to bed rather late last night (surprising, I know) so dragging myself out of bed this morning was particularly difficult. Looking out the window revealed a sky full of clouds but devoid of rain so I set off, catching a bus through peak hour traffic, and arrived (more or less) on time, only to discover that my friend had decided not to come since the weather was bad. Not a problem, I set out to go back home. I had two options: take a bus home, which would take around 10 mins, and go back to sleep or walk home. I chose the latter. It took I guess around an hour and a half, and the walk was somewhere between 2 and 5 kilometres (I found the signposts very confusing) but it was very nice to walk home along the cliffs. I took millions of photos (just for fun) along the way. It was hard not to, because around every new corner was a new scene that was arresting or just plain beautiful that I f...

If there is one writers trick that I hate, it is the incomplete ending. No, that is not the right word, ambiguous endings are fine, endings that do not end or wrap things up I can tolerate, even though they make my heart bleed. At least they can have a sense of rightness and make up a good book. I am talking about the endings that call into question the rest of the story, that play with subjectivity. Those of you who have read 'Life of Pi' will know what I mean. It's a low down dirty trick and I don't appreciate it. And come on, we're reading fiction, it is subjective, but more than that it is untrue. Have the decency to decide what ending you are going to write, for goodness sake. The 'this is a fictionalised account of fictional events' line is a little ludicrous. The worst excesses of post-modernism, and too clever for its own good. I love alot of post-modern fiction, don't get me wrong, but not if it plays this trick on me. No. I like narrative, but...

I finished my last exam ever on Monday! What a feeling... I finished it early but stayed to the end, just to get the "pens down" (or rather, "finish your sentence") moment for the last time. 'Twas an odd experience. Not all that exciting somehow, like it was hard to convince myself that THIS was the end. Partly I guess because it already felt like I was finished, after the thesis, and the essays, and everything. So many small endings. Now I am officially on holidays, although it doesn't really feel like it, since I've been working every day and trying to actually get wedding stuff done. But Monday was good. After the exam I headed to Manning bar with Sam, where we ate chips, I drank coke and we did the crossword. All in good uni tradition. Ok, I had one beer. But only one. Drinking beer then heading off to look at reception venues with a bag still loaded down with uni stuff is fun. Makes you reflect on life, y'know? The afternoon was pretty hectic, a...

As I write this I am sitting at the IT desk at UTS, and there is a huge crowd of Harry Potter fans collected in the foyer area outside. They've been singing songs, but now are all lining up for a group photo. And why? Because a web-based podcast (Mugglecast, for those interested) just had a live show in one of the rooms here. Basically, these are fans of a show run by and for fans of a book. Several degrees of fandom. The presenter (for those unintiated, a podcast is like an online radio show, designed to be played on ipods. Or something like that. You can also podcast lectures, etc.) came to Australia all the way from the US for this event, all paid for apparently, this thing makes good money from advertising. This guy is all of 19 years old, and he is currently surrounded by a huge crowd of teenage girls wanting his autograph, to talk to him, etc. Crazy, but impressive. He wielded a microphone pretty well though, from the sound of it, despite technical difficulties. I'm prett...

I finished my thesis last week, and since then have been relaxing, and finding myself strangely uninspired to write a blog post. There're usually most blog posts in times of essay writing and procrastination. So what have I been doing instead in the (almost) week since I've handed in my thesis? Well, I went straight to the pub (or Manning Bar) and spent an afternoon there with other honours students, reflecting on how good it felt to be finished. Then off to Bible study. I had uni, I worked (3 shifts since Wednesday), read a very trashy book and started another much less trashy (Crime and Punishment, going to take me a bit longer to finish). I've read a bridal magazine, and started wedding planning. Kind of. I watched 'Beowulf and Grendel' and 'Star Knight'- two very, very bad movies. 'Beowulf and Grendel' is completely different to the poem, 'loosely based' would be the way to describe it. They introduce a completely new character, who has ...

- pass by Taylor Square on Oxford St.. There is usually at least one person asleep. True story. If you pass by early enough there will probably be people still lined up to get into clubs. I'm never up that early though... - count couples in Hyde Park. - in October or November walk around Darling Harbour and over the bridge, with an eye out for school formals. Then drink a cocktail and ride the monorail all the way around. - sit on the Opera House forecourt and discuss life with a couple of good friends. - watch sunrise over the beach. Best time for this is New Years. I recommend Maroubra. - travel into the city over the Anzac Bridge on a Friday or Saturday night. Travel times may vary, so I recommend taking some good music with you. - have dinner in Newtown and then browse second-hand bookshops. Follow with drinks at, say Zanzibar. Then dance around the square next door. - fall asleep in the Botanical Gardens, then wake up and explore, pretending that you've just been transport...

On Friday night, regardless of thesis, I actually organised to go and see the arts revue with a bunch of arts student friends of mine. Yes, arts is the best faculty, why do you ask? We met at Newtown and had Thai, then made it to the theatre just on time after some almost-power-walking down King St. I realise that I may have wronged the science revue, I did enjoy it and found much of it very funny. That said, the Arts Revue was immensely superior. Not just because I'm biased. Sure, the data projector didn't work, and so who knows what we missed out on? But the Arts Revue was run by Arts students after all, and therefore technology malfunctions are only to be expected. But the acting was superior I think, it just had a more polished feel to it, which made the humour more evident more easily. I'm going to steal some of Caitlyn's comments on this, as they were particularly apt, plus she has inside knowledge as someone involved with the science revue. There was less of a re...

Today be Interrrrrnational Talk Like a Pirate Day once more. Today I be dressed in a semi-piratical fashion. Arrr. There are not many people dressed as pirates today at uni, although two pirates (one dressed very like Captain Jack Sparrow) chased each other all through Manning, which was fun to watch. In other news, it is Union Election (or is it SRC?) time, and someone has painted 'Trogdor for Prez' on the graffiti tunnel, along with a drawing of Trogdor saying 'Burninate'. Hehehe. So you wanted to hear the rest of my weekend adventures? Very well, but I shall be brief. On Saturday I slept in (adventurously!) and in the afternoon my little sister came over and we all went out to watch the Science Revue. The Science Revue this year had all the charmingly amateurish qualities that you might expect, and that were present at the zine fair, but somehow seemed shorter on charm. Maybe it was the lack of comic timing or maybe it was because as much as science students pay out ...

It has been a weekend full of random uni adventures, which has made me savour my last little while of being an arts student. On Friday was the much hyped (by me) twilight markets and zine fair. I finished my thesis draft late on Friday afternoon, then wandered lonely as a cloud while running into random people that I know, including Theo (now doing a PhD in Italian, the envy of us honours students) and Brianna, a friend from primary school. I then caught up with Angi and we drank coke and beer in Manning Bar in a celebratory fashion. We lingered over our drinks and chatted to avoid getting to the zine fair on time. When we wandered over the 'twilight' was mostly gone and the 'dark' was very noticeable. But it was charming because of the fairy lights and other lighting around the place which lent a kind of glow to the area, as well as the stage lights set up on the bank building forecourt. A place that seemed meant to be a stage. We wandered some more, around the stalls...

Ghost trees in the headlights just beyond the known circle of light. The road's a discovery at night even this old familiar road fades into the vast and fathomless dark.

I had a thought, on the bus this morning, and I thought I would write a blog post about it, but as is so often the way I've forgotten what it was. If it comes back to me I'll let you know. It has struck me, from the posters arund uni, that it is revue season. Some of the revues this year: R.A.S.H. (med), The Devil Drinks Lager (Engineering, typical engineers and beer), Shred (not sure, law?) etc. Might go to one if thesis permits. Other things that are good at the moment, but that I get to experience more than revues, are cherry danishes. These are good in any season. I recommend those from a cafe on Liverpool St., at World Square. I eat them whenever I get the chance. Also playing scrabble on facebook. Is good, but that doesn't work so often on uni computers. I am trying to write 500 words of thesis a day, which happens most days actually. I have written 450 today, but fell down a little over the weekend so should keep going once I get home. At the English Honours seminar ...

I know I didn't write a poston Monday, but that's just because I was at work and didn't have internet access. I may change my blog-updating day this semester, will just have to see what my roster is like at work. Work, what a depressing thought. And I should be doing uni work right now of course, but just found out that I don't have the information on my USB that I thought I had, so am finding it hard to motivate myserlf to do anything else. Maybe I should do some reading for my Utopian Dreamings course instead, that has to be done too, right? Stupid thesis *grumbles* In other reading related news, the latest Harry Potter book is out! Doubtless you all know this, due perhaps to the enormous amount of hype and publicity, or the fact that I've had the release date posted up on my sidebar for a while, or whatever reason. Nonetheless, an exciting event that cannot go by without being remarked upon. I read it over the weekend, finished it on Sunday afternoon. I was keen ...

I just finished reading 'Suite Francaise', which was very sad. In fact, the appendix was the saddest part of the book. It is unfinished, but there is a sense of completion at the end of he book as it stands (two sections were finished). Strange how even when there are so many stories from WWII still manage to be so poignant. Maybe all war stories, but there seem to be most from WWII and they are perhaps the most sad. Maybe it is all the different facets of the war that can be covered. Concentration camps, the blitz, people fleeing concentration camps, the soldiers, the people waiting for soldiers at home, the perspectives of people from so many different countries. 'Suite Francaise' managed to capture the sense of the largeness of war, and the scope of people caught up in it, particularly well. It focused on 'ordinary people' in France at the time of the French defeat and occupation. It was written at that time as well, which gives it a different perspective, mo...

Today I got lent a copy of the 'Beowulf and Grendel' movie, which looks about as classy as you might expect, and a little less accurate. I haven't watched it yet, but the cover says a lot. For a start the back boasts a rating of 3 stars, which isn't a good sign. The description calls up memories of the Beowulf poem, the famous non-fight between Grendel and Beowulf, the themes of mercy, the memorable character of Selma the "mysterious and sensual witch". Well, ok, so what I actually remember is Beowulf ripping Grendel's arm off at the shoulder to stop him eating any more people, but then what would I know? Who knows where the Selma character sprang from... Anyway, looks like it will be fun and cause much laughter. The problem is that it's really a movie that needs to be watched with a large-ish group of people and everyone has assignments and exams at the moment. Including me truth be told. But the essays are coming along ok... I want a bumper sticker ...

Well, it's been a fairly busy weekend, but overall a fun one. Friday I went ice-skating (in the morning! i had to wake up!), for the first time in years, and managed to skate around without holding on to the edge all the time, which felt like an achievement. Did not do so well at trying to teach others to skate, but started learning to skate backwards, which was exciting. Then Friday evening I went to watch 'Tales From Earthsea', which turned out to be an odd experience. It wasn't a bad movie, although the plot had many holes in it, but I was distracted from this by trying to match the movie to the books. Obviously there were elements of Tehanu in there, but I think this was blended with The Farthest Shore, and also bits that were unique to the movie itself. I found it hard to distinguish though since it's been so long since I read those books, my memory of what goes where is vague (apart from The Tombs of Atuan, which is pretty distinctive). I'd seen Pirates of...

As all of you are no doubt aware, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 comes out today/has come out today. And this is a very exciting event. I am going to see it tonight, dressed as a pirate. In preparation for this I have spent the whole day in the library, dressed as a pirate. Luckily my pirate costume is not too outstandingly piratical, but I did feel that I attracted some funny looks on the way in to uni. Maybe I am just being paranoid/self-centred. But my pirate costume is fabulous :p Anyway, that is very exciting and merits a post in itself. The rest of my day has also been exciting, if less so, and slightly less than ideally productive. I feel like I have been moving along on my thesis slowly but steadily until about a week ago, at which point my working practice broke down almost completely and I spent far too much time watching Rage. Now I am working on essays. My major distraction today came from the books on level 9, the story of which I started last blog post but left unfinished. Wh...

I have 6 minutes left to write a blog post, since somehow I got a computer which gives half as much internet time as the rest. I would have changed, but there was such a long line I just wanted any computer I could get. After this I am heading up to level 9 of the library because apparently they are still giving free books away. Which is very exciting, though they've been doing it for a while so there may be nothing good left. That wouldn't bother me too much as I already got Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader and another book on Old English the title of which has slipped my mind, courtesy of Sam and Bec. Thanks guys! Maybe I'll come back afterwards and write more... I like the library, despite the long computer queues, there's a sense of accomplishment in mastering the finding of things, especially when you talk to scientific people who come into contact with Fisher so rarely that their minds boggle when they do. Hehe. Anyhoo, sadly, that's my time for now...

Here is a link for all you bored and/or procrastinating blog readers, courtesy of my brother Jeremy. Thanks Jem, you make me laugh :)

Over the weekend I headed down to Canberra (for a whole night!) and while there I picked up a book that was lying around the house called 'Heart Songs' by Annie Proulx. It's a book of short stories about the farmers and country dwellers in a remote part of New England, America, in the (fictional?) Chopping County. The characters are all either very poor or rich, city dwelling intruders. It had alot of elements that resonated with my American Gothic class, all dark secrets and run-down houses and a pervasive past. It also made me think of country music. This was not particularly original thinking on my part, the eponymous story ('Heart Songs') was about a family of these country people ('hicks' if you will, or maybe hillbillies?) who played country music together and are infiltrated by a city dweller who is impressed by their music. All the music is very sad. And I suppose the point of the stories is that they are like country songs themselves, sad and dark b...

I saw 'Hot Fuzz' on Saturday night. I had heard good things, so I was expecting it to be enjoyable, but I was wrong. It wasn't merely enjoyable, it was really really great! Now that I've spoilt that un-hyped experience for you all (all of you that are still reading my blog) I guess I should elaborate a bit. It was hilarious, all of us laughed alot. It just got more and more surreal and over the top. But also very violent in surprisingly gruesome ways. It's about a highly talented, highly urban cop who gets transferred to a small country village (village of the year in fact) and is initially rather bored and out of place, until sinister things start happening. At which point he is still out of place, as the idea of 'sinister' seems to be completely alien to the village dwellers minds. Oh, and it's by the makers of 'Shaun of the Dead', which was also pretty good. Basically my main point is that you should all go out and watch this movie, because yo...

Belatedly. If you didn't get anything, or you feel all alone, don't worry, I love you. And I got you this (picture of a) flower. Feel the love, the love is in the air, and all around, and so on and so forth... I like being in love. :)

In the spirit of 'the year in review' (albeit a little late) here is my list of books I finished in 2006 for the first time. I'm just too lazy to think of an actual post, that's right... Although I've given you short reviews of most of these. So if you're stuck on what to read in 2007, maybe this will help. * for my pick of the year, the best of the best. There are a whole lot of new favourites on this list but the red star goes for the 5 star books, not just the 4 1/2 star ones. So enjoy, those of you who actually read this whole list :p Les Miserables- Victor Hugo Epically huge, but very classic and awesome. Many digressions, but Gavroche is the best. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell- Susanna Clark Original fantasy with flair and a sense of humour. The Big Over Easy- Jasper Fforde 44 Scotland Street- Alexander McCall Smith Light and engaging. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency- Alexander McCall Smith Like Water for Chocolate- Laura Esquivel Overly melodrama...

I know this is very late, but happy new year all the same! I spent my New Years Eve watching fireworks in Balmain, and then left almost straight away afterwards because I was so tired after LOTR :( What did you do with your New Years? This is another short blog post because it's late and I'm tired once again, also I am lazy. I will try to do better in the future :) Am in Cnaberra at the moment, but off to the South Coast tomorrow. Family fun!