kitty mraow mraow

Say hello Mr Tibbles!

Klaxons @ the Enmore 24/10

What can I say about all-ages gigs? Brilliant, because I can see - had a fantastic view of the front and I must have been five or so metres deep from the front. Not so great because of all the really hyperactive small people.

How I describe the people who went to this concert? Very, very indie ... I'm not up on the lingo, but I think you can describe them as "scenesters". Skinny ripped jeans, same long fringe, band/label t-shirt or flannel shirt, denim miniskirts and footless tights, and Converse.

Was a good concert, the Klaxons are new rave, so it's one of those ones where you HAVE to dance. Although we were up closer to the front and some idiots decided to make it a really rough mosh (ie: people - mainly guys, although not necessarily drunk - who think it's fun to pogo and slam into people) So obviously, we went with the flow and got pushed back a bit but we were still pretty close to the front.

The Klaxons opened and closed with - in my opinion - the worst songs they have: The Bouncer and 4 Horsemen of 2012 (this was their one-song encore). But they were fantastic with Gravity's Rainbow, Golden Skans, It's Not Over Yet, Two Receivers ... and funnily enough I enjoyed Isle of Her, although that's usually one I skip on my iPod.

Was a good concert, but not my favourite dance/indie crossover concert of all time - that honour goes to the Presets at the Metro back in 2005!

* * *

Am a bit addicted to listening to the Bumblebeez's song, Rio.

That's a bit weird because I was a bit predisposed to not liking them after their performance supporting Radiohead, when they were on their Hail to the Thief tour. It was at the Ent. Centre and the Bumblebeez were pretty bad, and when the crowd starting chanting for Radiohead during their set - I think the break between songs, the guy started swearing at the crowd and generally acted like a bit of an ass.

"I'm flying down to Rio, just to meet my friend Cleo..."

crazy cat lady

IT'S STARTING!

After my jokes about becoming a crazy spinster cat lady, the cats are actually coming to ME!

A stray cat has come over the fence, and is quite contentedly living with us. Has even made friends with my dog!

It's actually quite funny because the cat has totally taken over the cot where my dog usually sleeps. At the beginning my dog was quite aggressive, but once the cat gave him the 'ol one-two with his paw, my dog was chastened and decided not to mess with the cat.

The cat is gorgeous though, quite happy to be petted, and very affectionate!

The only issue now is what to name the cat? He is quite an old, grey cat. My mum has rejected my first suggestion of Mr Tibbles.

Dave's 21st

Just HAD to make a mention of Dave's 21st, recorded in the history of this blog, because of:

*The ice sculpture that you did shots off. You poured the drink through a hole at the top, which travels through a path through the ice, and your mouth is at the bottom. I totally want one for my 21st!
*The sing-a-longs! Dave has a fantastic voice, and the crowd sang along to 'I Want It That Way' by the Backstreet Boys and 'Wonderwall'.
*Black Sambuca ... try it!
*... and you can tell it's Spring because of the young love...

And many more stories, which kind of aren't really fit to be posted on such a public space of a blog! But it was a fantastic night, and where were the rest of you?!

Golden Eyes ARG (Alternate Reality Game)

WE WON!

That's the super group of me, Keya, Alissa, Lam, Clancy and Rachel. An ARG - put simply - is a game like a treasure hunt, where you use technologies like SMS and Internet to get clues.

Despite accusations of CHEATING being levelled against us (we were only supposed to work in pairs), we got to the end first and were rewarded with cupcakes. Mmmm ... I wanted to eat more than one, but then Lam called me fat and greedy. Pfft! (Although I have just eaten Maccas three days in a row. I blame it for being so close to work and uni, and open all the time)

The prize? Two tickets to the VIP drinks of the UTS Golden Eye Film Awards (ie: free booze and food). Since Keya and Lam were the only two not already going to the VIP drinks, the tix by default went to them.

With the free wine flowing, we went into the screening and awards night a little tipsy ... and being cheap uni students we asked for refills right before the screening and carried our glasses inside.

And the lovely Imogen came away with more prizes than anyone else! Woo hoo! Go Imogen! I couldn't have thought of a person more deserving especially to win the cinematography award of $1,000 free film and $1,000 free processing! My name is somewhere in the credits of her '37 Scenes in the Company of a Rabbit', for lending my fire extinguisher to their set, I think! But when Imogen is like totally famous, that'll be my claim to fame! Hee hee.

should I stay or should I go?

I've been invited to go participate in the Portable Film Festival's Screen Academy in Melbourne on November 3-4, where they'll run us through online and portable video creation, and we get to create our own online serial.

I really want to go!

But ... as always there are a few things holding me back:
*Cost. To fly down to Melbs and stay for two nights is around $500. I'm *supposed* to be saving up for Vietnam and China trip.
*Assignments due! One on Nov 5, and my major essay for Doco Study due on Nov 7.

Why I want to go:
*I think it'll be fun and something different. I'm interested in portable content, esp. with storytelling, so I really feel like this is something cool I could go to to learn more.
*They picked me! Yay! I feel special. They're only 24 spots, and they're picking people from across Australia, so they're expecting people to fly in for it.
*Supposedly some good industry people will be there ... and it's held at ACMI.
*Love going down to Melbourne. Although ... yes, it will be brief.

Heelllpppp me decide! Preferably soon, cause I have to email them back asap.

bad foods

A list inspired by my current read: The Man Who Ate Everything. Fantastic read. Food books, where have you been my whole life?!

My food phobias:

Celery. Bland. Bland. Bland.

Processed meat in cans. It's just unnatural.

Offal and Tripe. Just. No.

Capsicum. Die! Nasty little red and green things that insist appearing in stir-fries.

Eggplant. Divine when thinly sliced and fried within an inch of its life so it doesn't taste like eggplant. In my family, we have it MASHED. That's right. A bowl of grey/purply muck.

Fish stomach. Need I say more? Common in Asian families. Its spongy and off-white. My mother has tried almost everything to get me to eat it, including BLENDING it and trying to hide it amongst other foods. I'll let you think about that for a while, maybe give you time to throw up ... waiting, waiting ... ok, you back? Let's continue.

Fresh seaweed. I guess this is another Asian thing. Makes me want to retch with the mere SMELL. Tastes like the sea. These are the WEEDS of the sea and not fit for human consumption.

Mussels/Oysters/Clams. Gooey, ugly little things.

Brussel Sprouts. Disgusting, bitter things. Really, there are other ways to get whatever vitamins you need.

Olives. Salt and bitterness overload!

Bean curd. The fact that it's the skin off the top of the soy milk (ie. the rejected part) should be reason enough to hate it.

Pickled anything. I don't like to think of my vegetables fermenting. Bleurrghhh.

Dipping things in olive oil. Not a food exactly. But why, WHY would you do this?

Lard. Self-explanatory.

Musk sticks and black licorice. These things don't even taste nice. Why, humanity, why?!

Egg yolks. Especially boiled. Nasty cholesterol-filled yellow balls of death.

Custard apple. I can eat it, but the whole concept makes me a bit uneasy. The smell is a bit off putting too.

Soy ice cream. SO glad I'm not vegan.

It's funny though, because Dad and I are totally opposite in our eating habits. He LOVES bean curd, egg yolks and fish stomach.

He also often puts up this totally non-valid argument every time I refuse to eat something, that "You would eat it if you spent a week in the bush without food". Well, if that happened of course I'd eat it! You'd have to stop me eating my own toenails if I went without food for a week.

the cat next door and a film festival and other stories...

Our neighbour's house is empty - it's up for sale and he's moved out somewhere. And a beautiful grey tabby cat has moved next door, and we think it's a house pet gone missing or left for dead somewhere, because it's quite a friendly creature, quite happy around people.

So, apparently it moved in two days ago (I haven't been home much - work, late night film shoots, that sort of thing) and my parents have been feeding it over the fence! Cat biscuits and tuna fish.

I would love to keep it, it's GORGEOUS - if not for the slight technicality that my dog wants to rip it to shreds and kill it.

Maybe it's just a roaming cat. No tag/collar though. Maybe microchipped?

I've been Googling as I've been typing this, and I'll probably end up contacting my local council. Problem could be that it's in our neighbour's property and he's not there ... and it's not like Animal Services could climb over the fence and try and catch the cat (trespassing much?)

Hmmm....

Update: We saw the real estate agent for the house in the backyard, and my dad started yelling at him about the cat. *sigh* Much embarrassment. Well at least he's letting the owner know and we hope the cat is going to be ok!

* * *

'Glory' got accepted into the 11th Leicester International Film Festival as part of their travelling festival. Finally, a festival! Leicester is somewhere in the UK.

* * *

Finished this round of vaccinations. I am now vaccinated against:

Polio (for 10 years)

Typhoid (for three years)

Cervical cancer (1st dose)

Hep A (1st dose)
... and have a prescription for malaria tablets.

And whisperings of someone bringing antibiotics on the trip have made me happy. Would it be wrong to self-prescribe antibiotics if I'm sick? What could go wrong?