I have a tattoo. It's very small and out of the way and if you didn't know it was there you'd probably mistake it for a birthmark or mole.
I have no regrets about this.
So, doing some scrolling a bit earlier, my algorithm keeps coming up with these tattoo remediation clips.
Like this...
And...
I don't get two things. One is why people would ever do that to their bodies?
The second is why is the algorithm throwing these clips my way?
I don't know. (Yes, not in the mood for writing tonight).
Sometimes you learn funny things.
In my scrolling, while have a few minutes of sanity break, I got onto the Bureau of Meteorology website.
I'm an avid weather nerd. Also living in Melbourne, if you don't like the weather, wait half an hour.
But I found the page about cyclones. I think it was the fact that the first cyclone of the season has been identified and it's heading for the Queensland coast. Cyclone Jasper.
Things I didn't know about cyclones. First of all, they were first named in 1962. Until 1979, they were named exclusively after girls, then some bright spark at the Bureau probably got sick of the women's libbers complaining about this, so they started alternating masculine and feminine names.
There are five lists of twenty names already for when the cyclones hit. They don't have to make landfall, but they do need to be a category one or stronger cyclone and be in the vicinity. If a cyclone has it's inception out of our territories but moves into our waters, we will keep it's original name. A good example of this was Cyclone Yasi.
And the Bureau are getting on board with the names, which up until now have been pretty white bread. The names are becoming more modern. I remember having three girls called Tracey in my class at school in 1975 - and thought it quite unfair that a big storm was named after them. Since the sexist naming has stopped, they've also started going for names which are a little more obscure. I'm sure there are some meteorologists who were sitting in a room thinking about their exes, they parents-in-law and put the name on the list. (Cyclone Zelia sounds like a complete handful - that will be coming in the next few years.)
But the Bureau are getting a bit more adventurous. Of the five lists of names, of which they have provided phonetic spellings, they're started to be a bit more diverse - or some would say woke. In years to come we'll have a Cyclone Trung, Mingzhu and Niran, which makes a change from the cyclones named after teachers, mechanics and Italian waiters.
20 minutes is all it takes. Who knew?
The day started well with an email from Duolingo - it appears my 20 minute a day, 447 day learning streak had paid dividends.
And yes, I'm lucky, because I'm a polyglot - languages come easy to me. And yes, I did French all through high school where it was one of my favourite subjects. I did French in first year university and hated it. Regardless, lessons of 40 years ago have stuck. And yes, I've always tried to keep some of the language skills fresh. So, 20 minutes a day is nothing.
What this doesn't say is that I've been doing my lessons with a 90% accuracy.
It also doesn't relate how easy this made travelling in France. I don't think my French is any good, but I was able to converse freely, and albeit simply while I was there. When I ran out of French I simply threw up my hands and said, "Pardonnez moi, je suis Australienne..." If you're Australian and speaking okay French, you're in. Besides, you're not English and American.
So I will keep going with this French folly. I have a cellular need to get back to Europe and doing my daily lessons is part of my way of manifesting this. Besides, I enjoy it. I feel better about things when I'm speaking in French. It's a glorious language. It's got great words - like libellule (dragonfly), coquelicots (poppies) and bagpipes (cornemuse). (The dutch word for bagpipes is better - doedelzakken).
It's also got me thinking. If this is what comes from doing something for 20 minute a day, what else could I do. Sure, I normally spend about 20 minutes a day on this blog. I've upped the exercise in the last few weeks - I know what benefits can be gained from ensuring I get some movement in place. But what else could committing to 20 minutes a day make better in my life?
Something cool happened last night. Sitting at the pub with Barney he tells me, "Hey Pands, on Christmas morning, you should come over early and we should make savoury toast and sausage rolls before we open the presents."
You have no idea how happy this made me.
I'm not a fan of Christmas. Never really have been. I don't do the tinsel and fairy lights. I'm a least line of resistance type person.
But I do like Christmas Baking. Also, as I have half of December and the first week of January off, I'll have a bit of time do to some baking.
I've never made sausage rolls, but how hard can they be. I've seen a recipe on RecipeTinEats - everything Nagy puts on her website is pretty much foolproof.
Savoury Toast, or what I call cheese savouries, is something Barney and I had in our childhoods. The Tasmanian version has the bacon mixed into the cheese mixture, while the South Australian version has a strip of bacon on the top. (Barney also doesn't get how I love cheese savouries with canned tomato soup - I think it's just perfect that way on a cold winter's night.) Barney puts tomato sauce in his mixture, I don't. I probably put more Worcestershire Sauce in that most people see as necessary, but that's how I like it.
Part of me would love to be on Christmas Pudding duty (but Blarney doesn't like it). I'll probably get to glaze the ham on the day, as that is one of my designated jobs.
And part of me would love to make a batch of Afghan biscuits. Another of my grandmother's recipes that have disappeared into the ether - and yes, my grandmother died twenty years ago in January, but still.
Maybe I could find a recipe and take some of these around to the drinks on Christmas Eve that Gloria and Gaynor are thinking of holding.
Film Number 39 of 2023
The Film: Uproar
The Cinema: Rivoli Cinemas, Camberwell
Stars: 5
I'm biased. I have loved New Zealand cinema and television for years. It's great - and nobody will tell me otherwise. From What We Do In The Shadows, to The Hunt for the Wilderpeople, to The Piano, to Outrageous Fortune, the Kiwis have been punching well about their weight with their simple, yet complex, funny, yet hard-hitting product.
Uproar is up there with the best. I went in with fairly high expectations and left having had them exceeded. I loved this film. Sweet, funny, a great message, historical (well historical in a way I can remember when this was all happening in the early 90s.) It's just wonderful.
Another thing, it's great seeing Julian Dennison and Rhys Darby in semi-straight roles. This film is not played for laughs. There are some very funny scenes, but this is a serious film. And that's okay.
So, what's it about? The action takes place in 1981, when the Springboks went to New Zealand. At the time, South Africa was still under Apartheid law and most countries didn't let their sports teams play them. New Zealand, thanks to their then Prime Minister, allowed the rugby team in - causing a lot of angst for a lot of people. It pitted neighbour against neighbour, the rugger buggers unhappy with the militant protesting of the more liberal minded.
Then we meet Josh Waaka played beautifully by Julian Dennison. Dennison is a bit of a national treasure in New Zealand. He played Ricky Baker in The Hunt for the Wilderpeople. He was the kid in Deadpool 2. In this, he's not only funny, but he gets to stretch his range - and he is wonderful in it.
You see, Josh is a misfit in his very white boys high school in Dunedin. He's the fat kid, the nerd, and the brother of the old rugby captain. His mum, played my Minnie Driver is a widow who's just trying to keep the family together and food on the table, her main job is cleaning the school. Josh's brother Jamie (James Rolleston) is depressed and recovering from an unspecified accident. Oh, and the ever-present Rhys Darby underplays his role as Brother Madigan, Josh's teacher, who sees potential in the lad.
When the Springboks come to town, Josh is forced to work out what side he belongs to. Is he for the rugby team, or his whanau (Family).
There is so much to love about this, most of all, that Dennison and Darby are playing near straight roles being a part of it. This is history that I remember being on the television, and 1980s Dunedin is pitch perfect.
There's also the social aspects of the film, the Maori viewpoint, which when compared to that of the Black South Africans, makes an interesting counterpoint.
There is plenty to love about this. The cinematography, showing Dunedin at its best. Paul Middleditch and Hamish Bennett's direction keeps what could be a really sappy film into something fantastic, and the costumes and props are SOOOOOO early 80s.
This is going down as one of my top five films for the year. I loved every minute of it.
Okay, I love films from New Zealand, but this one is above par.
A wet weekend here in Melbourne and I have a quiet weekend, which is fantastic considering the madness starts next week.
Good questions this week, thanks, as always, to Bev at Sunday Stealing.
1. If someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?
Read: Other than The Guardian newspaper to get my politics right, give anything by Louis de Bernieres - he encapsulates my English barking mad streak better than anybody else.
Watch: Emily in Paris - although I speak better French than Emily, she has a bit of the life I would love to have (including the chef...)
Listen to: Talking Heads seminal album, Stop Making Sense. Love that album. (If not, try The Pixies Doolittle or Surfer Rosa - they get the angst.)
2. Have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?
I remember reading Charlotte Wood's The Natural Way of Things and thinking, I wish I had written that. She's amazing. The book is incredible.
3. Do you care about your ethnicity?
As a white Australian, with Cornish and Welsh roots, I think my ethnicity is very boring. Very bland. I can't say I care about it. When researching my family tree I was half hoping to find some aboriginal blood there (as there is a part of the family with dark skin and curly hair - that's possibly a bit of the rustic Gaelic Cornish coming out.)
4. What musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime?
You mean other than The Pixies and Talking Heads. I saw Robbie Williams last week - and I love that he's a walking, talking, singing work in progress. I love Angie McMahon's rawness. I loved The Verve in the late 90's. They spoke to me. (Angie McMahon is Australian - and wonderful).
5. Are you an artist?
I am not an artist, but I love being creative and I try to be creative every day.
6. Dog person or cat person?
I love both, but I own a cat - or I am owned by a cat, and I love their independence and quirky personalities.
7. Inside or outdoors?
I like both, but I do need my inside time.
8. Five most influential books over your lifetime
.1) Who Moved My Cheese by Dr Spencer Johnson.
2) Captain Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
3) All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
4) Le Petit Prince by Antoine de St Exupery (in French even)
5) Too Many Men by Lily Brett.
9. Would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else?
Hogwarts thanks. I've not read The Lord of the Rings or the Narnia series. And I'm a Harry Potter fan (Go Gryffindor!).
10. List the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.
1) Writing
2) Watching telly/phone scrolling
3) Sleeping
4) Walking
5) Reading
11. Have you ever felt like you had a “mind-meld” with someone?
Do you mean have I ever bonded with somebody almost instantly and felt bonded to them. Yes. It is very strange when it happens. bust most pleasant.
12. Could you live as a hermit?
As long as I had books and internet, yes. I could live as a hermit quite easily. I'm a bit of a hermit now.
13. Do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the “real you”?
No. I feel like the real me is in there, but I don't feel like me with the weight I'm carrying. There are parts of my body that are me - the long legs and broad shoulders and long hair, but I feel like my body isn't serving me properly at the moment. But I'm working on it.
14. Three songs that you connect with right now.
There's always a song running through my head, but these are the three that I've been singing along to for the last few days. The first two I blame on the death of Shane MacGowan. I've still no idea how he lasted this long, but bless him, he was a legend.
The first song is The Fairytale of New York.
The second is Sally MacLennane by The Pogues. I was surprised to hear that this was a Shane MacGowan original and not an Irish Folk song.
15. Pick one of your favorite quotes.
"Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse."
I love T.S. Eliot - and this line from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock always gets to me. I love the The Crash Test Dummies wrote a song about the poem.
The Performance: A Very Jewish Christmas Carol
The Company: Melbourne Theatre Company
The Theatre: Southbank Theatre
Stars: 3
Until 16 December.
I've subscribed to the Melbourne Theatre Company for years, and your subscription of ten plays will always look something like this. One play you will adore. There will be four or five you really like. There will be around three you will either fall asleep in or just not get, and one, in which you will want to walk out at the interval.
A Very Jewish Christmas Carol sits in the bottom rung. It wasn't so bad that I wanted to walk out at the non-existent interval, but it felt as if it was lacking in a lot of ways.
This is not to say it was awful. It was just lacking.
