Stuff and Things

The Watchmen . . . good movie or politically fucked?

2009-07-04T11:46:54Z

We finally got a copy of The Watchmen to see last night. It was the extended version so it was really really long and I am not sure what was different about the feature length version.

I can't decide if I liked it or if it just royally pissed me off. I mean, on the one hand, it was an interesting dark anti superhero type movie. Visually cool, a little over violent (but that never bothered me ... one of my fav flicks is Natural Born Killers), and lacking in much of a plot that I could see. But on the other hand it had some really fucked politics going on. The thing is ... I can't work out if its because the politics were fucked or if it was deliberately sarcastic about said fucked politics. I must be getting old if I can't decide ... I used to be great at picking apart movies (hellO, one of my fav flicks is Natural Born Killers, lol).

The two things that I am stuck on about this movie are some comments about homosexuality that one character made and a very dubious plot turn surrounding an attempted rape. I'll put this under a cut so as not to give spoilers to those who don't want them:

Lets deal with the homosexuality thing first. The character Rorschach is meant to be a rigidly right wing moralist. He won't budge on anything and sees society as one big cess pool of fucked upedness. He blames this on homosexuality and prostitution (not the society that creates a place for women to be objectified, btw, the women themselves) amongst other things. What I cant work out is if that was supposed to be serious or just an illustration of how much of a crackpot Rorschach is. If it is the latter then the movie did an inadequate job of making that clear and if it is the former then the movie is truly fucked in the worst way.

The other issue, the attempted rape storyline, makes me lean toward the idea that the movie is completely fucked in the worst way. The main female character is Lori Jupiter aka The Silk Spectre 2. She took over the Silk Spectre roll from her mother. Her mother, while still the Silk Spectre, was attacked by another of the "superhero" characters, The Comedian.

Before we go any further, allow me to point out how incredibly stupid it is that a woman who is supposed to be a masked superhero was overpowered by ONE MAN and then required about three other men to come to her rescue. Um, whateva. The woman is meant to be the weakling who needs protection even when she's a fucking ass kicking superhero! WTF?

Ok, back to the plot twist. Years after this attempted rape, she is supposed to have had sex with the guy anyway and conceived a child! So, if I have this right, the movie is actually working on that tired, WRONG old myth that a woman really wants to be raped and is excited by it. WHAT. THE. FUCK? Someone please tell me that there was some sarcastic comment or irony or something that I missed and this is not the case! PLEASE!

I want to believe that all this was done tongue in cheek and that the creators of the movie were not seriously advocating these extremely disturbing ideas. However, I don't think I'm that lucky. Someone who's seen the movie please tell me I'm wrong.

28 Things About You

2009-07-01T11:36:40Z

YOU'RE ON MY FRIENDS LIST, I want to know 28 things about you. I don't care if we've never talked, never really clicked, or if we already know everything about each other. I really don't. You are obviously on my flist, so let me know with whom I'm friends!

1. Your Middle Name:
2. Age:
3. Single or Taken:
4. Favourite Film:
5. Favourite Song or Album:
6. Favourite Band/Artist:
7. Dirty or Clean:
8. Tattoos and/or Piercings:
9. Do we know each other outside of LJ?
10. What's your philosophy on life?
11. Is the bottle half-full or half-empty?
12. Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?
13. What is your favourite memory of us?
14. What is your favourite guilty pleasure?
15. Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:
16. You can have three wishes (for yourself, so forget all the 'world peace etc' malarky) - what are they?
17. Can we get together and make a cake?
18. Which country is your spiritual home?
19. What is your big weakness?
20. Do you think I'm a good person?
21. What was your best/favourite subject at school?
22. Describe your accent:
23. If you could change anything about me, would you?
24. What do you wear to sleep?
25. Trousers or skirts?
26. Cigarettes or alcohol?
27. If I only had one day to live, what would we do together? (If you have no idea, just say something crazy, it'll entertain me!)
28. Will you repost this so I can fill it out for you?

Vampires! (the shiny kind, unfortunately)

2009-06-25T14:18:04Z

I just finished torturing myself. I read Twilight. Holy shit. I knew it would be awful but I was unprepared for just *how* awful. I went in with an open mind. I mean, I started reading Harry Potter expecting to hate it but ended up loving it. I was open to the idea that the same could happen here. I was sorely disappointed. It wasn't even funny after a while ... just hideously painful.

Stephanie Meyer clearly has the mental capacity and education level of a hormonal 12 year old. She also appears to read only Women's Day magazines from the '50s and Mills and Boone type bodice ripper romance novels.

The character of Edward is, despite the heaving bosoms of millions of tweens, not attractive *AT ALL.* He is a creepy, stalking, overbearing dirty old man! This, I suppose, is not a problem given that the character of Bella Swan is a simpering, fainting halfwit.

I feel sad for the 12 year old I borrowed the book from. I feel like I should go out and buy her a real book to show her what a good read should be like.

I need a good book to wash my brain after polluting it with that swill ...

User pics

2009-06-19T14:27:05Z

I need more user pics. I also need to post more. However, now my brain is mush. I should sleep.

Ah, the Innocence of Youth

2009-06-14T08:59:04Z

Chris took the boys to the park today. Grubby found a friend around his age (who, reportedly, referred to him as "Friend" for the entire play session). Chris was talking to the little girl's mother when Grubby ran past without his pants on. Roight. Chris goes to put his pants back on him. Then the little girl runs past without HER pants on. Roight. This happens a few times. They ask the kids what they are doing (they are hiding under the jungle gym to do all this disrobing) and they reply "we're taking a bath!" They would not be convinced to only pretend to take a bath with clothes on. You *have* to take your pants off to take a bath ... apparently you don't also have to take your top off, though. Three year olds are strange creatures.

Grubby was also, once again, mistaken for a girl. Apparently only girls have longish blonde curls, long eyelashes and wear teething necklaces. I suppose its a good thing that he's taken up wearing dresses for dress ups as he apparently makes a fabulous drag queen. :)

Which brings me to the other child moment I wanted to relay. Chris has a crazy "aunt" (distant cousin? adoptive distant cousin? no one is quite sure what her connection really is) in Hong Kong. She barely speaks English (or, lets us believe that is the case) and likes to send lots of truly awful clothing in large bulk boxes for everyone here in Perth. (She also likes to give out cash when she visits which is much better than the truly awful clothing) Anyway, Grubby found a hideous flowered satin nightie and robe set that had fallen out of my last good will bundle. He loves it. He made me help him put it on (I did some adjustments to the straps so he wouldn't trip over it) and parades around the house in it. He then walked up to Chris the other day (wearing the nightie which he calls his dress) and says: "You have to wear a dress to cook dinner." What. The. Fuck? Where did he get that? Not only do I VERY rarely wear a dress (hard to find easy breastfeeding access dresses) but, when I do wear one, I always change into something more comfortable like trackies to cook dinner. And, to top it all off, his FATHER actually has been doing quite a bit of cooking lately. He pretty much takes over the cooking on the weekend as he is usually home too late to be expected to cook during the week (well, that is if we want to eat before, you know, 10PM, which we do). It seems I have some work to do with that one.

Damn, Chris just opened a nice bottle of wine to put some in the risotto and poured me a glass. I want to drink it all but am afraid to have too much while Grabby is still awake and liable to want a feed at any moment. Perhaps I will just nurse it with little sips here and there and finish it off with dinner ...

I cant think of a title

2009-06-13T11:55:37Z

Gah, its been forever since I've updated again. Sorry. I get sucked in by things like Facebook and Twitter which only require small bursts of attention/time because that's really all I get. They all add up to a decent amount, I guess ... just not all at once, yk?

Anyway, nothing big is happening. I'm having issues dealing with Grubby but that's nothing new. Grabby, on the other hand, is 10 months old and nearly walking! He's pulling up onto things (like Grubby's toddler chairs) and pushing them along like a walking frame. He's also furniture cruising and standing unaided for brief seconds. His brother didn't bother doing anything like this until he was much older. I'm a little stunned. I'm also trying to organize a loan of a baby trolley thingie that he can push along as a support instead of the chairs which are both dangerous and scratching my floors.

Grabby is also teething something awful. He has the HUGEST top teeth almost cutting the surface of his gums. Right now they are just awful whitish lumps under his gums and he is NOT dealing very well. I honestly don't know what to do. He has days where he cries when I put him down, cries when I pick him up, cries if I change his nappy, pushes me away, gets down on the floor and cries if I offer a breastfeed, etc, etc, etc. I don't believe in dosing kids up with panadol but I'm not sure what I can or should do to help calm him. It will pass soon and it isn't overly bad (I've heard of much, much worse even *with* painkillers) but in the meantime, its very taxing on both of us.

In other news, we are still hanging out for tax return time and to find out when Chris is finished paying off his HECS (should be now or very soon by his calculations). Once one or both of those happen, our financial situation should ease significantly and I should be able to do stuff like get a damn haircut! :) I also want to start slowly fixing my wardrobe. Perhaps buy something every month or few months to replace something old and not me anymore. I am thinking I might go looking online for some funky stuff, too. Any suggestions for internet clothes shopping?

Oh, for crying out loud ...

2009-05-31T08:59:19Z

I can't win. I really can't win. I don't really know how to handle this:

I normally don't bother shaving or waxing. Since having kids I have become MUCH more comfortable with my body and with the act of telling the beauty bullshit to shove it. I grew to like hairy armpits. I used to be the woman who compulsively shaved *every day,* mind. Having said that, I do, sometimes, like to have hairless legs. I haven't really felt like waxing my armpits for a long time, though. Like I said, I grew to like it ... much more than hairy legs. In fact, I really don't like hairy legs but I've become too lazy to bother doing much about them very often. I also like the fact that my boys are growing up with me *not* conforming to traditional beauty slavery because of a sense that I *have* to. When I wax, I do it because I feel like it. Likewise for makeup, etc.

Recently I've felt like waxing and wearing makeup and generally having a total look change. I don't know why. I am just bored and want to reinvent myself. Of course, I have no money so most of what I want to do (the haircut, the makeup, the clothes) is impossible at the moment. BUT my MIL is a part time beauty therapist out of her home so I can get waxed for free. So I did today. I now conform to the traditional beauty myth not because I have to, but because I simply felt like having smooth legs and armpits for a change.

The problem is Rowan. He came in just as the MIL was pulling the paper from my armpit and asked what she was doing. She replied with something along the lines of she was waxing mama's hair off because "its not very pretty for ladies to have hair there." I was gobsmacked. I didn't know how to save the moment. I just kind of squirmed and he quickly moved to some other focus of attention and left the room. I now feel awful. I should have said something. But what? How? What do I do now? I know he will get that bullshit message from everything around him but I want him to know its bullshit. I want to raise aware, feminist boys who know that women do not have to be plucked and painted to be "beautiful," and that beauty is all relative. Hair or no hair, long or short, pubic or not is a matter of choice and personal taste which can change whenever the owner of the hair damn well feels like it. So, how do I convey that to him? How do I convey the fact that I wax sometimes and not others because it is my choice and not because I'm "letting myself go" or other negative nonsense? In short, how *does* one raise a feminist boy? I'm not even sure how to broach the subject without it feeling contrived, yk? Sigh. There must be books about this stuff, right? Help!

PS Re my last post: the panic has passed and was unneccessary iykwim.

The Fridge Saga

2009-05-14T06:12:05Z

Lets review my week so far.

Sunday: Mother's Day. I feel *disgusting* with a very upset stomach. Have to do stuff anyway and am grumpy about it.

Monday: feel a little better, discover fridge is totally hosed and must have broken during the night. Chris home sick from work with same thing as I had. FIL offers to buy us a new fridge due to our poverty. We go to The Good Guys near us based on the fact that their delivery day is Tuesday. We choose a fridge.

Tuesday: Chris home sick again. Fridge fails to arrive. We call at 2 to find out what's going on, get told they will get back to us. An hour goes by, WE call THEM back, then get told that delivery was not arranged and we missed the truck. We tell them that our food is going off in coolers and that we went to them *because their delivery day was today.* They say they will bring the fridge to us in half an hour. An hour goes by, WE call THEM and get told that they are trying to arrange a special courier. An hour goes by, they call us to say no courier can be called and that they will bring us a loan fridge. We get teeny tiny loan fridge and try to stuff what we can in it.

Wednesday: Fridge gets delivered and turned on. Delivery men very nice and personable. I am happy . .. for 40 minutes. Then I realize that the beeping from the fridge that I thought was temperature going down is, in fact, a problem. Fridge not getting colder than 18 degrees C. Call Chris, Chris suggests calling Samsung. Call Samsung, Samsung suggest calling the place we bought it from. Call Good Guys, get told they will get back to us. Fridge still incessantly beeping. Three year old driving me mad. 9 month old clingy. Me losing my mind and being decidedly hormonal and over stressed. Good Guys call back, tell me that they spoke to Samsung and the fridge is most definitely dead (was a floor model . .. we hadn't been told that when we bought it, btw). They have no others of that model in stock and it will take 7 days to get them from Sydney. They say we should come down to pick a different fridge (non others were in our price range for what we needed) or take miniscule loan fridge back for 7 days. I say I need to discuss with my husband, lip is starting to wibble as I hang up. I call Chris, cry hysterically into the phone to him. It is now that I realise how hormonal I am and how soon my period is due (also likely explaining the 9 month old's mood). Chris calls the guy. After much back and forth and phone calls to me discussing what we need, Chris somehow manages to get us a different, better model of fridge for no extra cost. This is good, I am somewhat relieved but won't get too excited until its delivered. The delivery of this fridge warrants its own paragraph:

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum arrive in a ute with my fridge. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum proceed to bring the fridge into the house (still in packaging). I am struggling to keep the very heavy and wiggly 9 month old on my hip while stopping the very inquisitive 3 year old from getting in the men's way.

Tweedle Dee: Where do you want it?
Me: Um, where the broken one is (points to fridge alcove) *thinking: did these two idiots expect me to move the thing
myself with two kids to wrangle and no trolley?*

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum proceed to wheel the still packaged fridge to the entryway of the kitchen, then realise they need to move it back to get the old one out. I watch this idiocy with mild trepidation, still trying to hold onto both kids to keep them out of the way. The old fridge is moved out and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum proceed to move the STILL PACKAGED fridge into the alcove.

Me: Um, are you going to take it out of the packaging first?
Tweedle Dee: *blank look* Oh, did you want us to do that?
Me: *thinking: OF COURSE I DID YOU FUCKING MOUTH BREATHING BRAIN DONOR!* *actually said*: Yeah, could you please?

I watch in horror as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum proceed to have a remarkably difficult time working out how to get the packaging off and where to put it to get it out of the way. As they remove the packaging, it becomes obvious that they were attempting to put the fridge into the alcove *backwards*. Mentally, I am banging my head against the wall. Outwardly I am trying to look neutral, hold my tongue, and contain the children. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum then have remarkable difficulty getting the thing off the styrofoam base and turning it around. I cross fingers and toes that the lobotomy victims do not break anything in the process. Finally they get it into the alcove and tell me to let it settle for a half an hour to an hour before turning it on. I ask them to get rid of the packaging and they look surprised. Finally, I settle for them taking the cardboard and leaving the rest in the front yard to keep it away from the 3 year old. I lament the lack of beer or chocolate in the house, the fact that vodka is probably not a good option while breastfeeding and the lack of money to go out and buy said beer or chocolate. I wonder what else will go wrong.

Thursday: Three year old at school. Nine month old in a better mood. New fridge still working. Magnets won't stick to it, though, which is both puzzling and slightly annoying. Its nowhere near as frustrating as the begining of the week, though, so I count it as a minor and slightly amusing hiccup. The week is looking up.

What I learned: Don't ever touch The Good Guys with a freaking 10 foot pole. Keep chocolate in the house at all times just in case. I also learned not to complain that you can't drink vodka while breastfeeding on twitter as lots of ppl tell you you can as long as you don't have too much, lol. For the record, I personally don't drink vodka while breastfeeding because its crazy strong and I have *no tolerance* anymore . . . I'd likely be smashed on half a sip let alone a single shot and would then feel guilty about how much had gone through to the milk. Its only recent that I've let myself have the odd half a glass of wine or small amount of beer after the bub goes down for the first portion of the night.

I am NOT posting about Star Trek

2009-05-09T12:39:57Z

Observation from today: Doing the weekly shop while your three year old WAILS (and I mean WAIL) in the shopping trolley (cart for the American types) Is. Hell. I do not know what started it although I suspect it was food related (ie we were shopping when we should have been eating lunch and low blood sugar sent him loopy). It sucked and made me very grumpy (not that I wasn't grumpy before hand). This weekend is not shaping up too well, actually. I blame the moon, damn it.

On the upside, we got to see some lovely ppl at azhure 's birthday party this evening. Too bad we couldn't stay long due to the kids and needing to feed them, etc. mrq even got out the telescope but we had to leave before it was dark enough to see anything. Gah! I wanna play with the telescope.

Live Long and Prosper

2009-05-07T12:53:26Z

Yesterday, while I was attempting to get a very uncooperative three year old out of the zoo after a very frustrating day, Chris called me to say that he'd won a double pass to the prescreening of the new Star Trek movie! He arranged to come home early to take over child minding so that I could go. I'm so happy about it, I will refrain from complaining too much that whenever he takes the kids on his own, he goes to his mother's place instead of dealing with it all on his own like I have to do *every day*. I tried desperately to find someone else to go with me and use the "double" part of the pass but was unsuccessful. So, I went alone.

I will be honest, I wasn't expecting much. I mean, the brief preview that I saw (ages ago) *looked* good but they always look good in the previews. Lets face it, the Star Trek franchise has been lagging a bit and the recent movies have been . . . not so good. BUT, they are Trek movies so I have to like them on that level and always do. I am just realistic and admit that they weren't the awesomest films ever made, yk?

So, I went in alone, felt like a dork waiting for the movie to start without anyone to chat to, had a private laugh when I realised the screening was a Nova sponsored event and remembered how I'd very nearly worn my Triple J tshirt*, cringed at the lame Nova announcers and then at the previews for two horrid movies, and settled in expecting something lackluster but still kind of Trek-like . . . And proceeded to be proven TOTALLY WRONG! The movie was FUCKING AWESOME!

Seriously. It followed a pretty familiar storyline (one quite close to the best Trek film of all time, The Wrath of Khan) and included some truly cringe worthy moments of scientific impossibility and lameness (ie "space jumping" which involves jumping into space and entering an atmosphere in nothing but a space suit . . . burn up much? *eye roll*). There also was a love pairing that was, um, a little far fetched. BUT the rest was so fun and well shot/written/acted that I didn't care!

I was sooo impressed with Chris Pine, the actor who played Kirk. To be perfectly honest, I have never been a Kirk fan. I could never work out why he was considered a sex symbol. I always thought he was an unattractive dork with plastic hair and a yellow skivvy. I actually cheered in the theatre when he finally bit the dust in that TNG flick (got some evil glares for it, too, lol). But Chris Pine has made me like Kirk AND get the sex symbol thing. He was awesome! He had the mannerisms and voice nailed but added actual, you know, sexiness to the role. Zachary Quinto as Spock was pretty good, too. He looked right, he played it right but I was a little disappointed with his voice. He's a little too nasal to be Spock. But then, Leonard Nimoy has a voice like no other and it would be hard to top or even equal his Spock.

All this is added to the simple joy of sitting in a movie theatre, watching a whole movie on a proper screen without children climbing me, etc. I would have been happy if the movie was terrible, tbh. But the fact that it was good AND I got a few hours out without children = lots of win. :) I am one happy Trekkie. :)

* For the non Perth types: Nova is a local commercial radio station and Triple J is the youth/contemporary music arm of the national public radio stations. In short, Triple J is the only tolerable radio station here.

Star trekking across the universe ...

2009-04-22T11:49:55Z

There're Klingons on the starboard bow, starboard bow, starboard bow . . . Scrape 'em off, Jim!

If you hadn't noticed before the above display: I am a nerd*. Yes, and proud of it! What's more, I was raised on Star Trek. Literally. My first memory of death is Spock dying. Of course, the fact that he subsequently comes back has *nothing* to do with the event's impact on my young mind! My family used to eat dinner in the living room (a huge concession from my parents) to watch Star Trek TNG together. We even discussed each episode, often including the statements made and their implications on society today, etc. Yes, geek family.

So, I've had the opportunity to revisit my childhood a little and rewatch Star Trek TNG from the beginning. Oh, holy hell, it was hokey! Its really interesting to look at it now and remember how awesome it looked to me when I was a kid and how hokey the original Star Trek looked in comparison. I never liked the original as much as TNG but now I am seeing in action how the original got to look as hokey as it does/did. :) The computers! Holy shit, the computers! The screens look so . .. wrong. Even the tricorders they have are bricks! They looked awesome and handy back in 1987 and now they look so antiquated! They needed iPhones! :)

And, now that I am a woman and more comfortable in my feminist skin, I am really starting to notice things that went under the radar as a kid. Namely that the entire Star Trek franchise (not just the hokey original), while pretty progressive in many other aspects, is pretty damned backwards in the sex politics. I mean, there are attempts to *look* like they are not (female chief of security, for example) but then they are outweighed by the rest (female chief of security dies in first season, security is taken over by a male chief, only woman on the bridge is wearing glamour hair and a non uniform bodysuit, barely any other women at all in the show, etc**). But, I must say, it was pretty good for 1987 even.

Can I add, also, that I am still reeling from the realization that the show began in 19 fucking 87? I feel old! Sooooo old!!!!

*Disclaimer: I do *not* own any pointy ears, I have never attended a Trek convention and I do not (well, I don't now) read Trek fiction.

**Don't get me started on Seven of Nine in Voyager. GRRRRRRRRRR . . .

Oh, the humanity!

2009-04-13T14:37:16Z

We just watched the first two eps of Being Human. For those who don't know, it is about a vampire, a lycanthrope and a ghost living in a house together. Sort of Big Brother for the supernatural or something. I like it. It has its good points and its bad like any show.

The good points:

1) It's British. It's a refreshing change from all the US shows AND the accents are sexy. ;)
2) It's British AND it's not a cop drama . . . definite plus for me. (What is WITH the Poms and cop dramas?)
3) The soundtrack (apart from one bad song choice that I will elaborate on later) is pretty cool.
4) The dude who plays the vampire Mitchel is HAWT. Seriously, he is likely pretty much the main reason I will keep watching. The man is lickable.:)

The bad points:
1) The effects are cheesy.
2) It has some unfortunate sexism issues. Allow me to elaborate:

There are three main characters. The vampire and the lycanthrope are both men, the ghost is a woman. The woman (being a ghost) is mainly bound to the house. She compulsively makes tea and does household chores while being completely simpering-ly dependent upon the men. Yes, I realise that this is a part of the whole "ghost" storyline, however the fact that the only *woman* character is following this pattern is quite annoying. Also, during the werewolf change scene in the first ep, the song "Smack my Bitch Up" by Prodigy was playing. Most disturbing choice of music. However, I do still like the show in general (drool, Mitchel) and will attempt to put my fingers in my ears and say "la, la, la" to the blatant sexism for a while. We'll see how long that lasts.

In other, and completely unrelated news, Corbin has finally cut his first tooth. He fed hourly (in fact, I am pretty sure it was more than hourly) last night and woke up ridiculously early this morning. When we recovered from the sleep deprived haze (sort of), we noticed that a tooth had cut the surface. Another one must be quick on it's heels, too, because he has woken up a few times already crying and writhing. Once he didn't even want to feed, he just stuck his thumb in his mouth and cuddled up to me while he tried to fall back asleep. The poor kid. He's sweating and drooling like mad and his shirt and the bed protector underneath him are already quite damp. I've never heard of sweating as a symptom of teething. I'm not quite sure what to do for him if anything. I don't like giving panadol at all and am a little lost as to any gentler relief methods other than letting him feed for comfort. I hope it passes soon.

Grrr

2009-04-09T13:26:28Z

Recent events have made me angry and very very sad for several friends and online acquaintances. One day I might do a proper essay on the subject but right now my brain is mush so I will leave it simple:

Home birth is not only a viable choice but often the safest and healthiest choice for normal pregnancies. Hospital birth is often fraught with more danger than the naysayers attribute to home birth. I advise educating yourself on birth and your choices fully and adequately. That is, do not blindly follow what a doctor tells you to do or what mainstream media depicts about birth. Research it. It is not hard.

Oh, and Miranda Devine is a disgusting, low life brain donor who is not worth the hard drive space her column is saved on.

I am going to go eat some chocolate and pretend the world is sane and that women do not get raped daily by "health professionals" and "journalists."

Diet changes

2009-04-08T12:54:23Z

Since Justin's visit (yeah, not that long ago, I know) I've been thinking a lot about vegetarianism (he's veggie so we modified our meals accordingly while he was here). I like meat and I also think that the human animal is meant to be omnivorous ideally (that is not to say that I think a totally vegetarian or vegan lifestyle is not compatible with health). However, I also believe that the human animal is *not* meant to eat *as much meat* as we currently do in Western Society. I am also really thinking about the environmental arguments for vegetarianism as well as the issue of what your typical meat was fed/injected with. I think I've come to a conclusion about all this.

I've decided that we need to cut WAAAAAAAY back on our meat consumption. It should be an occasional thing ... perhaps once a week, sometimes less but never more than twice. An added benefit to this would be that organic meat would then be more feasible (buying less of it so the price isn't as much of an issue). A few problems: I need to drastically change my easy routine meals. I need more recipes and help being motivated to try new things. I also need to find a good source (that's also easy to get to/order from) of organic meat in Perth. Who on the flist can help with any of these issues? :)

Heroes . .. WTF?

2009-04-07T13:20:10Z

We just watched another episode of Heroes. WHAT. THE. FUCK? In case the writers are reading (I know they're not but its fun to pretend) then I would just like to say a few things:

1) Peter getting the Emo hair back does not suddenly improve the quality of the random horseshit you are writing. It's still shit. Fix it.

2) A good rule of thumb is for *characters to act like their character.*

3) Quit insisting that Clare wear that awful wig. FFS, not all teenagers have to have long, blonde hair to look like teenagers. She looks too old for the role no matter what you do to her hair.

4) Don't think I haven't noticed that all the female characters (not that there are many) seem to be expendable fillers. Oh no, god forbid we should have a female superhero with more than a passing role!

5) What the HELL ever happened to Emo Pete's Irish girlfriend? Seriously. I want to know. Can we please tie up some loose ends someday??

I'm beginning to wonder why I keep watching this show . . .

I made wings!

2009-03-23T13:11:26Z

Lots of stuff is happening lately and, well, most of it is meaning that I don't have time to post much on LJ. BUT, I wanted to show off my nifty craftiness. We went to a faery festival at City Farm on Sunday and I spent a week making far too time consuming wings for the event. I am very proud of them.

You can't tell in the pics but there are actually a few Swarovski crystals in each wing.

And, just because he's cute: My little tiger :)

So I Married a Geek

2009-03-17T11:38:31Z

Chris just got his Think Geek order in the mail. Sigh. He got two tshirts. One says "I void warranties" and, my personal favourite, "I failed the Turing test." Yep, still a geek with serious nerd leanings. LOL

Um, but I guess I'm a geek, too, since I want about 90% of the things in the catalogue that came in the box . . ..

But it has big naaasty teeth!

2009-03-15T10:22:02Z

Grabby was officially 7 months yesterday and, after I went on about how I couldn't feel any teeth coming through yesterday, it seems he has cut a tooth or two on the bottom jaw today. I can just feel a little point poking through but Grubby got his first two at the same time so I am thinking there may be two but it's too early to feel both for sure. Ah, he's growing up. :( No more babies soon . . . both a good and a bad thing, I suppose.

It Needs to Be Readed!

2009-03-14T10:40:04Z

The above title is a direct quote from my three year old. I felt the need to share. :) The "it" he is referring to was a picture book at his Granny's house. My MIL's partner finished reading him a book and then got distracted by the adult conversation happening around him. Grubby was insisting that he should read another but was getting fobbed off a bit (as you do when you are actually having a conversation). He then grabbed the next book and loudly announced "It needs to be readed!" ROFL

"I'm only five foot two and I'm giggly, wiggly"

2009-03-08T13:36:02Z

Bonus points for anyone who can name where the title quote is from.

I just got home from the Nectar Festival, a Red Tent Event for International Women's Day . .. and it was FUCKING BRILLIANT! The event itself was nothing special, really. A few booths, some belly dancers and musicians, some food. However, the atmosphere was fantastic and I got to really talk (without interruptions from toddlers and booby monsters) with some fantastic women. It was very healing in that I just really needed time in my own head to have my own conversations outside of my usual day to day if that makes any sense. The Fremantle Arts Centre is absolutely gorgeous, as well, which helped. Originally I wasn't even sure I'd be able to go and I certainly didn't plan to go without the baby. BUT, as I was about to leave (a little late) I sat down to feed Grabby one last time before chucking him and the freshly packed nappy bag in the car . .. and he fell asleep! I put him down, stuffed a little bag with my phone, some money and my driver's license and booked it out the door. I was so excited to be able to go without kids! Yay!

Funny story: I was sitting on a ginormous ottoman in the food tent having a nice conversation with some friends when a kid started running into my back and sort of climbing me. I totally tuned it out for a full minute before I realized that it was not my child doing it! I turned around when the mother told the kid off for it and said "OMG, I forgot I didn't have my kids with me!" LOL

We also took Grubby to the zoo for the first time today. Never expect to see everything at the zoo with a three year old. We got through a good portion but flaked before we saw everything, unfortunately. We even had to give the meerkats a miss. :( BUT, it was a lovely day before we all got too hot, dehydrated and grumpy.

Another funny story: I was talking to Chris about the time we went to the zoo and saw a bear (can't remember what kind but it may have been a sun bear) frolicking in the stream in his enclosure. He had been picking up logs, tossing them and generally being a loon under the waterfal, etc. It was hysterical. Anyway, I had said "frolicking bear" in the sentence to Chris and Rowan suddenly started talking about seeing the "fucking bear." "Lets see the fucking bear, mom." I kept a straight face for all of two seconds before the laugh burst out of me. I couldn't hold it in. Sigh. I really really need to watch my language around him. I had been doing pretty well lately but then I got my period this weekend and went into UBER BITCH mode and choice words have been coming out everywhere before I even realize I'm doing it. I've always had major issues controlling my emotions (especially anger) at the best of times but I am even more shocking when on the rag. *oops*

Now I should take myself to bed to recharge for playgroup tomorrow. Happy International Women's Day, everyone! :)

Damn, I am stupid

2009-03-06T12:20:01Z

I am on Twitter. I follow both Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer. Amanda Palmer announced a free random gathering at Fremantle Oval today. I almost went but thought better of it for these reasons: a) It was hot and sunny and I didn't want to sunburn the kids, b) I wasn't sure about bringing the kids to something like this (would they get bored, be a nuisance, etc) and c) I'm not a rabid fan so thought it might be weird for me to go. Well, I am not seriously kicking myself. Not only would I have gotten to meet Amanda Palmer but she CALLED NEIL GAIMAN ON SPEAKER PHONE!!!! *facepalm* Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. You'd think I would have learned my lesson after missing out on meeting The Cure (its a longish story . . . I can tell it if anyone cares enough to ask).

*mopes about her own stupidity*

School Stuff and Nappy Woes

2009-03-05T11:45:45Z

Grubby is going to a private alternative school. I am not normally a private school type of person. I always planned on sending my kids to public school regardless of my income because I believe in public schooling . . . in theory. Then I became a mother and I chose a parenting path that might be considered "non mainstream." I started looking into schooling and I decided that I do not like the way that mainstream schools handle education but I also decided that I would make a *horrible* homeschooling mother. So, we settled on a lovely community school that bases itself on Social Constructivism and the Reggio Emilia philosphy. It's brilliant and quite experimental since it is one of the only schools to take the philosophy beyond early childhood and into the primary and secondary levels.

However, because of this experimental nature, many people send their children there for the three and four year old programs and then transfer them into snooty mainstream religious schools for the remainder of their schooling. I find this really sad but I digress. The point is that this school, being private and being in a trendy, fashionable area of Perth tends to have a lot of trendy ex yuppy type parents. You know, the kind who dress in designer clothes and makeup and hair just to bring their three year old to school? I have social anxiety as it is but I find it is much worse in this situation. Its kind of like the "cool popular" crowd in school and I am once again on the outside feeling stupid. I cannot believe myself! I am nearly 30, I am (usually) loud and proud about being different and I highly doubt I will have balls thrown at my head and be taunted in the playground while picking my son up from school (yes, it happened a lot and yes, it scarred me). Yet I find myself freaking out about what everyone else (including the teachers) think! Its frustrating. This is supposed to be a community school, I am supposed to be mingling with the other parents and creating a community. Instead I find myself sitting on the outskirts, smiling if someone looks at me but otherwise keeping to myself. Sigh. Sometimes I really don't understand myself!

The good news is that Grubby is really flourishing in the school. One of the teacher's aids and the head teacher told me today how much he's improved since the first week. Of course that sent me on a "what was wrong with him before" irrational train of thought. I really am a piece of work. Anyway, I have come full circle and have decided to just ignore my neurotic brain and be happy that my son is thriving in his new school environment.

On to the other son and his nappy (diaper in case los Americanos are reading) situation. The kid is huge. He has a really long rise and he is consequently growing out of most of his nappies. The problem is almost certainly just the rise. His legs and waist fit into most nappies, he just has plumbers crack. So, I decided to do the Great Down Under Nappy Hunt again this month if only to get the discounts and stock up on some better fitting nappies. One problem: I can't find any! Pretty much every time I find a nappy I like, I check the dimensions for the large size and the rise is too low! Grawr! I'm at a loss. I don't know what to order and I *do* need to order some. Damn Itti Bittis for not making an extra long in Itti Bitti D'Lish. Those are The Perfect Nappy in every respect but the damn rise. Sometimes I really wish I had small, compact, easiliy carried and nappied babies.

Vampires and Weres and Fairies ... oh my!

2009-03-04T11:44:23Z

Well, after two weeks of reading, I have finally gotten to the end of the currently published Vampire Smut . .. uh, I mean, Sookie Stackhouse series. Not bad considering my previous post pregnancy reading speed. I loved them. As predictable and lame as they could be, I loved them. The idea is great and watching the show first helped keep me interested, I have to admit. They are, in many ways, almost like a first draft by an otherwise good author . .. but they got published before they were revised and fixed. All I said in my previous post about them still stands although they got better as the series went on . . . I even didn't predict some of the stuff that happened! Although, that could also be because reading them all in one hit like I did lowered both my standards and my IQ to such a degree that the books just *seemed* to get better and less predictable, lol. A few observations off the top of my head, though:

1) WHAT THE FUCK is a thousand + year old Viking Vampire doing in Northern Louisanna? I mean, seriously.

2) The Bill/Eric shit is getting old. Its pretty damn obvious that Sookie is not going to "end up" with a vampire so what's the point, really? I mean, Eric is *not* all that he's made out to be. I find him kind of boring and we all know I like Bill but, let's face it, the vampire thing is against them. Why can't Sookie just get with Sam, like we all know she will, and call it a day?

As for the show . .. well, I can't freaking wait till it's back for the new season! Knowing what I know now about how much Alan Ball really did fuck around with details, etc, I am very eager to see how it all pans out. It should be interesting. :)

As for the damage caused by reading so much brain candy in such a small amount of time, I think I have a cure. I borrowed a Neil Gaiman book from azhure amongst the bag of brain candy I took home from her place that day. It should restore the normal functioning of my neurons well enough. :) I'll get on to that after tomorrow, though. I need to catch up with Heroes in the hopes that it saves itself from the utterly lame storyline going on right now and catch up with the cleaning that was neglected in lieu of reading Vampire Smut while Grubby is at school tomorrow.

Who Says Unathletic Nerdiness Isn't Genetic?

2009-03-01T23:34:42Z

Chris and I witnessed proof that Rowan has inherited our aversion to athletics yesterday. He was watching that Diego show that's a spin off of Dora The Explorer. Its semi interactive in that they try to get the kids to answer back, etc. Here is a transcript of what happened:

Diego: Are you big and strong like an anaconda?
Rowan: No, I not strong like anaconda
Diego: Can you help the anaconda *squeeeeze*?
Rowan: No, I can't

I see computer games and elaborate schemes to appear to be participating in gym class without actually doing much. That's our boy! :)

Weird Weekends and Vampire Bill Love

2009-02-28T13:44:11Z

Oh, what a strange weekend it's been already.

On Friday I had my first true migraine complete with visual disturbances and light sensitivity. Oh, what fun! It started with a weird flashy light in my vision like I'd looked at something too bright for too long . .. only it didn't go away in the requisite amount of time. I called Chris and asked if he thought I should be concerned because it was, well, weird. He told me to go into a darkened room and close my eyes for a bit which I tried and was interrupted by Grubby. Then it got worse. I tried to read and noticed that I couldn't actually see the page out of my right eye. Hhhmmm, not good. Then the pain just sort of slowly rolled in. Ok, really not good. It really scared me! So I called Chris and got him to start home so he could watch the kids before I was totally incapacitated. He arrived a little late. I did not handle the kids well until then. I proceeded to literally sleep the thing off after he took over childcare and blocked the windows in the bedroom. I still feel weird if not in pain. I have a strange buzzy feeling similar to my reaction to pseudoephedrine. I have a new level of sympathy (not that I wasn't sympathetic before, mind) for people who have regular migraines. They are the pits.

Today was, as I said, dominated by that wierd buzzy feeling and just general weirdness. We had a big kids and parents meet up at a picnic area by a beach for dinner. It was fantastic despite my shakiness. Grubby enjoyed himself thoroughly and got completely worn out. His little friend, Maeve (who is visiting her father after her recent move across the country), even professed her love for him, lol. We tried to talk dowries with her father but he was not interested in entering negotiations for some reason. :) All in all, it was a good day if still a little coloured by the migraine of yesterday.

Some random stuff I wanted to mention:

This morning Chris asked Rowan if he learned any new songs at school. When he answered "yes," Chris asked him to sing one. Rowan promptly started dancing around the sitting room with his arms waving and sang "Twinkle, twinkle little star! Up the water spout!" I could not hold the laugh in. I tried. I knew it would embarrass him, etc, so I tried my damnedest to hold back the laugh but it just burst out. It was probably one of the funniest things he's done ever. The cute and the funny added together to make one big moment of win. :)

On the Sookie Stackhouse books: I just have to say this: I LIKE BILL, DAMN IT! I know, I know. He did lots of bad things. He is supposed to be a dick. I know this. However, I like him. I really really like him. And I know why. It's the show. Trueblood is running with Bill's character and making him just awesome not to mention HAWT. Now I am reading the books and he is coming off as more of a dick in them . .. but I can't shake my initial crush on Bill in the show. Sigh. I am a Bill lover and am proud of it! I realise this little tirade is going to make very little sense to most of you. Sorry. Maybe you should get on the Sookie brain candy bandwagon with me. Come on, its fun. :)