Movieworld + Evie!

Szilveszter surprised me earlier this week with the generous gift of a yearly pass to Movieworld, Seaworld and Wet'n'Wild! I was thrilled, and we spent today at Movieword. I'd never been before, and I had a lovely time with him. Unlike Szilveszter, I'm not one for the rides with butterfly-inducing drops or dizzying heights, but I managed several of the tamer ones, and even enjoyed them. :p We saw what I had to admit was an impressive stunt car show, and visited the glorious Harry Potter store. Surprisingly, I didn't purchase anything there, but merely marvelled at its authenticity from the outside. I was tempted by a plush Ron doll, but what I really wanted to find there was a Pygmy Puff. I had an unshakeable feeling I'd find them, but I did not. I bought the next best thing, though: a round plush cushion of Sylvester the cat. Ha ha ha.

I got some really exciting, unexpected news today! My family is getting another dog, a champagne coloured female chihuahua puppy. She'll be named Evie. Rosie, our existing chihuahua, is possibly the most pampered dog you'll meet, although not in the typical, Hilton-esque manner you may expect; our dog is FAT, there is no denying it. :p Evie will be very young, and it's mostly going to be up to me to look after her during the week until she's old enough to brave "the tag team", as we affectionately term Murray and Rosie, destructive duo extraordinaire. The relationship that Murray and Rosie have developed indicates that Evie should be well-received. In fact, adding another female dog, according to our vet, may in fact improve the dynamic between the two. Although jealousy will no doubt be an issue! Once Evie's settled in, we just need to adjust Bella, Szilveszter's and my dog, to the chihuahuas and Murray; she currently hates Rosie because she's orange. A hypocritical sentiment because she is a shade of vermillion so bright its her trademark.

So as you can imagine, I think I'll be in for a big week this week, what with Evie, uni, work and the rest... But it's all moving forward, so it's all good. Once again, I have that feeling that everything I'm doing is going toward something bigger. There's nothing worse than being static, or falling backward in your tracks.

Thanks for reading!
claire.xox

Back to uni!

Back to uni this week! It's been a great week so far. I've enjoyed my lectures and tutes, and I'm ahead in my readings and assessment. I'm studying two education subjects, one of which requires me to do field experience in a school, which should be exciting. The other one is about constructing learning programs and the use of technology and media in education. Then I'm doing a history subject and a film and television one, which seems really interesting so far. Having things to focus on and plan has really helped to detract from the stress that has interfered with the last few weeks, and going back to uni is a huge reminder that there are bigger and better things to get on with. Although, this will all probably change come assessment time, when I'll be cursing my degree once again... On Monday, I went to the library to do some research for an upcoming assignment, but all the computers were down (sigh, thanks SS&H), so I went outside and sat under one of the trees in the Great Court. I had my much-loved copy of Twilight with me, and I read for about half an hour in the quiet, on what was possibly the best maintained grass in all of Brisbane. It really made me appreciate the uni as a place, and made me feel privileged to be there. At times, UQ feels cut off from the world, as I guess it's supposed to; it's just this little (well...) hive of academia and thought. The library buzzes with frenetic energy, people dotted around the edges of the sandstone walls of the Great Court buildings balance their laptops on their knees, the coffee shops have impossible line-ups, and inevitably, the printers in the libraries jam.

But still. I'm glad to be back.

This week, I'm revisiting Twilight. Aaah. Nothing works so well when you've had a terrible day. Have paid a visit or two to Hogwarts in the small hours, as well. I've been a bit insomniac this week! Can't wait for the Dorian Gray movie to come out; I'm getting through that book too. Oscar Wilde was a bit of a character...looking forward to seeing how it shows on film. Also have been checking out the viral campaign for District 9, a movie set to come out in about two weeks. Not sure if it'll be my cup of tea, but you gotta admire the work that has been put into this advertising. We got shown it during my film and TV lecture... find it at www.d-9.com, if you're interested. It's worth a look.

Thanks for reading,

claire.xox

6 things that make me happy.

I got tagged by Gracie in a linking chain blog thing to list six things that make me happy. :) Sadly I do not have enough followers to tag back, but I'm going to make the list anyway. So here we go:

1. Books. I love to read; there are probably about ten books that I could read time and time again which will make me happy, especially if I'm feeling down. Harry Potter, Twilight, The Hunger Games (although that's a push :p), a fluffy Marian Keyes novel, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, The Lovely Bones, Middlesex, Special Topics in Calamity Physics and The Luxe novels usually do the trick. I adore escaping into another world, and I always, always, always carry a novel with me. I love talking to people about books, and introducing my friends to books I know they'll enjoy.

2. Drawing and art. I barely have time for this anymore, but it is one of the things which truly relaxes me. I mostly draw people, from life and those I make up. I'm planning on uploading a few drawings sometime soon. I didn't draw this one below, but I love it. Klimt's The Kiss, from my last post, is fast becoming one of my favourite paintings.

3. Animals. I love animals, especially dogs. We had a cattle dog cross, Bonnie, for a while when I was really little, but when I was about five, we got Begby, an apricot coloured Chihuahua. He was grumpy, viscous and foul-tempered, but he loved a select handful of people. Begby died last year, at age thirteen, and I missed him terribly. But Szilveszter and I have Bella together; she's my orange puppy, and she's mental, and always always happy to see me. She brightens the worst of days with her floppy ears and giant feet. Rosie, my family's much loved new Chihuahua, is exploited for her good nature, and quite often gets dressed in a variety of outfits, the most popular of which is her England jersey. However, I believe that may be because she's too fat for all the others! And then there's Murray, our Russian Blue kitten. He's technically my sister Hannah's, but he loves everyone. And he loves soap suds. I really miss Begby sometimes, but all the animals make me really happy. Also, Begby only ever had one toy. Well he thought so. That pink thing in the picture, Puffa. Only he had two the same; he was so attached, that one had to be washed while he played with the other.

4. Planning (or talking about) going to Europe. I'm so excited, I can't wait, but at the same time, I'm really enjoying just researching and reading about all the places we could go to! London's one place in particular I'm really looking forward to...How can you look at this photo and not imagine being in a plane preparing to land in the city??

5. Music. Both playing it and listening to it. I play violin, and though I wasn't particularly good by the standards at my school, I enjoyed it and have been learning since I was 10. My favourite artists are Coldplay, Lily Allen, Placebo and Garbage, and I love some dance tracks too. I went to see Coldplay earlier this year, and it was fantastic to see them live. I've listened to their music every single day of my life since I was about 12. The best part of their concert was probably Fix You, although they had the entire crowd enchanted the whole evening. This picture was taken during Lovers In Japan. They are all multi-coloured butterflies; they came down in different waves of metallic and fluroescent over the crowd. Jess and I collected a few after the concert.

6. My boyfriend. He always knows exactly what to do to cheer me up when I'm down, or how to fix it when I'm stressed. I'm lucky to have him. :)

look closer (at Klimt, Munch).

This, in case you didn't know, is Edvard Munch's The Scream. Many critics, over the years, have pondered the aesthetics of this painting, as well as what it actually means. Someone asked me once (an art teacher at school?) if I thought the person depicted in the picture was screaming, or if he was blocking out the scream of someone else in the background. I think perhaps it's the latter; perhaps the sound is what has distorted the landscape so. All the colours are tinged with red, the colour of pain. So maybe he is hearing the pain of someone else. Something I've wondered is, who is the black figure behind the screamer, as he is sometimes known? Munch very deliberately painted this figure into the scene. He is no accident. Is he making his fellow painting-dweller scream? This changes things. Is he screaming from pain? Is he hurt? Is the red which dominates the painting the red of blood, of pain? Or is he screaming from pure frustration - is the red his anger? What did the dark figure do to make him so angry? This painting, whether you like it or not, forces you to consider the situation, and the role of the two figures within it. Imagine if Munch had chosen to paint it from the other perspective; if the dark figure were foregrounded, and our enigmatic screamer mysterious in the background? In that case, we'd be looking, I believe, at the perpetrator of whatever crime the dark man has committed against his screaming companion, rather than the response, reaction to, or result of it - the scream - which we are presented with. If you view it from this perspective, as I do, Munch confrontationally forces us to think of the consequences of our actions for others. Look closer.



This is Klimt's The Kiss. It features in the novel Evernight quite prominently. When I looked it up out of curiousity, I knew nothing about the painting - except that I love it. This painting is about romance, love. The generous use of gold paint shows us that this is the most precious, most treasured element of the image. The vines, and lush green of the flowers remind us that this is natural. The designs of the man and woman's respective garments are complex and different to one another, but put together, the combine beautifully. The gold sparks around the couple show that their luminousity has rubbed off on their surroundings. This is an oil painting - it would have taken time, love, to finish. This painting, to me, sends an umcomplicated message, unlike The Scream. Look closer.

This is the famous scene in American Beauty where Lester Burnham's wife, Carolyn, has discovered that he has purchased his dream car, a 1970 Pontiac Firebird. Lester responds with mock enthusiasm, real sarcasm, "I RULE." This film, in my eyes a piece of art in itself, continually urges us to look closer. At the apparent happiness of others, when under the surface lurks deep dissatisfaction with their lives, themselves. At the complacement of yourself, which, if you made some changes, you could dispel. At what is, instead of what appears to be. Consider Angela, blonde siren, whose apparent promiscuity hides a shattered sense of self-respect. Consider Janey, whose initial reaction to her "creepy" neighbour hid a developing sense of longing - shown when Ricky, looking closer than most, zoomed his camera in on her mirror to reveal her reflection smiling to herself. Lester, who looked the closest, and inverted himself, so that upon the film's dramatic closure, he was happy. Consider Colonel Fitts, at whom nobody looked closer, who suffered grievously because of it. If you look closer, what do you see in yourself, in those around you?

Do you see the gold happiness of The Kiss? Or do you see the frustration, the pain of The Scream? Because here's the thing. You don't really have to look closer - you can tell at first glance.

I'm trying to find a print of the Klimt painting for my room. Does anyone know where to find it?

I'm sure the majority of this post will turn out to be rambling and senseless analysis in the end. But thinking of things in this way helped me to clear up my thoughts.

If you haven't watched American Beauty, do. It's my all-time favourite movie, it's fantastic. You'll love it.

Thanks for bothering to read such a long-winded post.

claire.xox

Things to look forward to.

This weekend's been the worst one for a very long time. I've been pretty sick with stress for the past few days, but I don't know how I'd have coped without Szilveszter and Jess. Jess and I had a great night out at Southbank; we went on the ferris wheel. Brisbane's landmarks were lit up pink for breast cancer. The casino looked really good. And we also had awesome Indian, and managed to confuse a waiter pretty badly. We ordered lemon lime and bitters and a baileys, and apparently this was such an unusual request that they combined the two drinks in the one glass. Sigh. Szilveszter and most of my family are coming over tonight for my uncle's 40th. We're having Thai, my mum's made a feast fit for a global army. That should be good. The kids will come over again, I'm looking forward to that part. I'm looking forward to Jess's birthday on Saturday too. On the upside, we did find out this weekend that Rosie wants to join Szilveszter on the soccer field (she was wearing the wrong jersey though), and that she's scared of three year old blonde children who really, really love her. I'm really hoping this week is better than the last. I'm looking forward to going back to uni, can you believe it? At least it's a distraction.

claire.

Week so far, babysitting and Dora.

I've had a few days off this week, thankfully. I've been exhausted, after having gone straight from a stressful exam period into a lot of hours, and eventually two weeks of full time work, so I've really really appreciated having a few days to myself this week. I've spent some time with Jess and Szilveszter, and have done a fair bit of sitting around too, which is what we all need, really! I've had a bit of a head cold, also, which at one point, I was positive would manifest in a return of the dreaded tonsilitis, right before I go back to uni, which would be just my luck. But I'm feeling a lot better now, and I've got a few more days off this week coming, so I should recover nicely in time for the new semester. I've got a huge to-do list in my little Moleskin notebook, so hopefully I have the energy and motivation to work my way through it before uni goes back.

Last night, I babysat my cousins for the evening. Matthew is eleven, Kate is five and Ciara (pronounced Kiera, it's the Irish spelling) is two. I was privvy to a viewing of The Land Before Time - Invasion of the Tinysauruses, which was democratically elected as the evening's entertainment, before the routine participation in Dora the Explorer's quest to save the snow princess. Matthew is constantly engrossed in sports of any kind, so he gave me a run down of the NRL's current state. This was handy, because now rather than pretend I know what Szilveszter's talking about when he gets onto this topic, I will actually have some background in it! Kate opted to be dressed as a princess for the majority of the night; her outfit consisted of a tasteful Princess Aurora dress, golden plastic tiara, her good black dress shoes and a sceptre, which had been stuck back together with sticky tape after too violent a knighthood, or some such. Like me, Kate loves to draw, so she and I got some materials out and were depicting yet more princesses, when Kate nonchalantly announced, "I'm only giving Snow White two fingers, because she doesn't need any more, and I can't draw them anyway." I hid a smile at this, and rendered the full amount of digits on my own Princess Kate, who was defaced by Ciara later on anyway. Ciara is such an enthusiastic girl, who announces anything and everything that pops into her small blonde head with gusto. For instance, last night, with swelled chest and proud stance, she declared, "THIS IS A DRINK BOTTLE." Then nodded and looked around the room, presumably seeking applause or some sort of gratification. It really is hilarious. Once, on a car ride, she said, "DADDY, DADDY, DADDY - I HAVE FINGERS," and displayed them for all to see. I often wonder if she's an ameteur comedian, because generally she's as happy to receive laughter as she is to be rewarded with a round of applause.

It was good to hang out with the kids for the evening last night. It's nice not to have to worry about anything except whether Dora's going to find the blue cow sneezing in the red barn in time to save him from his geranium allergies.

Despite me constantly being stressed, however, everything's going well for once. I've saved an amount of money I'm really happy with, and am able to keep adding to it. Work is great, I love the girls; on our Thursday shift change crossover, we all seem to have a switch flicked and end up in hysterical laughter. Our house is finally a happy place to be, even if Murray and Rosie are generally engaged in combat. They honestly roll around in a ball like on a cartoon. I've been able to spend more time than usual with Szilveszter lately, and that's been wonderful. We've been talking and planning and thinking about Europe, and that's a huge motivator on straining days. And, importantly, I have plenty to read, and the time to do it over the holidays. Jess and I are going to see Harry Potter tonight, so I can't wait for that!

Hope everyone else is enjoying their holidays too.

Thanks for reading!

claire.x.

The Luxe Series

Anna Godberson's recent series The Luxe (including The Luxe, Rumours, Envy, and the upcoming Splendour) is full of goregous and unbelievable fashion, meticulous research and addictive gossip. Godberson utilises a similar format to the Gossip Girl books, which have an omniscient narrator and multiple perspectives, as well as quite a wide and loosely linked character base. Set in turn-of-the-century New York, The Luxe centres mainly on the doings of those connected to the Holland family; Elizabeth, engaged unwillingly to Henry Schoonmaker in order to save her family from financial ruin, has her sights set elsewhere. Elizabeth's younger sister, however, has romantic intentions for a suitor which society would no doubt approve of...if only he wasn't engaged to her sister. Penelope Hayes, Elizabeth's faux friend, is just generally nasty, frequently throwing disguised tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants. She gives Blair Waldorf a run for her money; she has NO soft side that we've seen yet. Lina, Elizabeth's former maid, attempts to throw off the shackles of her working class life in order to join the ranks of the Hollands and the Hayes in society...at a shocking cost to her former employers.

Godberson has very accurately researched the customs and culture of this time period; some of the traditions and societal upholdings you'll encounter in these books will surprise you with the normality with which they were carried out. For example, it is made known that it was customary for a young lady to change her gloves ten to eleven times a day (while Penelope, thinking herself superior, changes them three times that amount, and discards each pair after a single wear!). Perhaps the most frustrating part of these books is the diligence with which the younger generation uphold their parents wishes, becoming engaged to those they don't like, let alone love, and behaving just so purely for the sake of society.

However, the author hasnot only acknowledged these truths of New York society, but has used them to her advantaged, playing off against them scandalous secrets and manipulative schemes which will keep the reader well and truly hooked. Think of this series as a more sophisticated, more intelligent (dare I say that?) Gossip Girl, with more blackmail, cheating and fashion than you can shake a stick at. This series is going off in America, and with good reason!

In my opinion, one of the best holiday reads I've had so far, and an engrossing topic of conversation with my fellow workmate and bookworm, Ella. ;)

On a slightly different note, does anyone have any reccommendations?

Thanks for reading!

claire.x.