A Forest

Bumping this back up to the top for Stuff Portrait Friday by RandomAndOdd
Anything goes for the music theme this week. Here's my tribute to The Cure's A Forest

Autumn leaves, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Closer and see
see into the trees
find the girl
while you can
Closer and see
see into the dark
just follow your eyes
just follow your eyes

I hear her voice
calling my name
the sound is deep
in the dark
I hear her voice
and start to run
into the trees
into the trees

into the trees

Suddenly I stop
but I know it's too late
I'm lost in a forest
all alone
The girl was never there
It's always the same
I'm running towards nothing
again and again and again

Friday Fill-ins

1. For me censorship is the opposite of creativity.
2. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger was the last excellent book I read.
3. I like fill-ins because I dunno why, I just do.
4. In nature I like looking at all of it.
5. The best person for the job should win the US elections.
6. The last time I laughed with all my belly was yesterday when I saw Skelly's new hairdo.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nothing special, tomorrow my plans include work as usual and Sunday, I want to be smiling. So come on Saints, get your act together!

FFI

Survey Addicts Anonymous

Seen at Kwizgiver

Do you wear slippers? When it's cold, yes.

How many pictures are in your living room? One big print and dozens of photos

Do you wear a bra to bed at night? No

Do you ever watch Brady Bunch reruns? No.

Are you allergic to anything? Penicillin

When was the last time you called in sick? 2 or 3 weeks ago when I sliced my finger

Have you ever been in a car accident? Yes

What is your favorite snack food? Cheese

Do you think you have a big butt? No need to think -yes.

Would you like to look like your mom when you are her age? No, but I hope I have her energy.

Have you ever seen a tornado? No

Do you think Barack Obama is sexy? No

If you won a million dollars, what would you buy first? '59 Les Paul

What time is it right now? 10.18pm

Are you pregnant? No

Have you ever been pregnant? Yes

Do you like men who wear pink shirts and flip-flops? Not at the same time

How many pairs of shoes do you own? Including my thongs, five.

Do you think you are a hypocondriac? No

Do you own a dictionary? Yes

Where was the last place you went on vacation? Queenscliff

Do you talk about your friends behind their back? Only the good stuff

Are you actually fat but are in complete denial about it? Yes but there's no denial about it.

What color is your mouse pad? N/A

Does your kitchen have a theme? Chaos

Do you like to mow the yard? Pffft, no.

Are you addicted to using Febreze? I don't know what Febreze is, so no.

What is your ring size? No idea

When was the last time you consumed alcohol? About an hour ago.

Do you know someone who gets food stamps? No. We don't have them here.

Do you have a basement in your home? No

Are you still in love with 1 of your exes? No

Any big plans for the summer? Who knows, so far away.

What is your favorite comfort food? Alcohol

Do you prefer broccoli or asparagus? Broccoli

What color are your bedroom walls? Peachy

Who do you live with? The boss, his girlfriend (off and on), his dad.

Which Star Wars movie is your favorite? None

How about Harry Potter? Haven't seen them all so probably the first, cos I know I've seen that one.

What was the last movie you saw in theatres? Mr Brooks

Did you get the popcorn or the candy? Neither

What is the most romantic text in your inbox? Hahahaha! Yeah right.

Have you ever played miniature golf on a date? No

What's a phrase you overuse? Fuck it.

Where do you buy most of your shoes? Rebel Sports

Do you always use good grammer? Yes.

Do you have an accent or a speach impediment? I think not but people overseas might think I have an Ocker accent.

What did you eat today? Grilled fish for lunch, spinach and ricotta pasta for dinner.

What do you do at work? Sell used books, occasionally.

Do you know the rules to any sports? Yes

Do you prefer to watch or play sports? Tennis - play. Others - watch.

What is your favorite kind of hat to wear? Don't wear hats.

Do you pray? No

Who do you pray to? No-one.

What is the closest mountain to your house? Mount Dandenong

When is the next time you will move? No idea.

Isn't there something better you could be doing right now? At 10.30pm, probably.

Is there anything good on TV? not now.

Does your significant other have a myspace? N/A

What is your dream marriage proposal? The one the man of my dreams comes up with.

What are your nicknames and who gave them to you? Jules - family. Jewels - the boss (he can't spell), Strahanie - what I was known as when I was still teaching.

How often do you wear jewelery? Rarely.

What size engine is in your vehicle? 1800cc

What do you need to do tomorrow? Sell books

Who do you hope never to see again? My ex-boss, the principal at ESC. Bastard!

Which friend of yours lives the farthest away? Shirl.

D'ya drink beer?

Fancy a trip to The Ocean?

In The Light

Alarming headline

Local paper up in the Yarra Valley. Apparently, a laptop exploded, was tossed on to the sofa which caught fire and the whole house burnt down. The family escaped unharmed.

Alarming headline, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Referral :: medical


2. Indiana :: Jones - haven't seen it and probably won't.


3. Foil :: aluminium


4. Horizon :: never straight


5. Event :: happening


6. Sailing :: yachting


7. Footage :: film


8. Sunday :: today


9. Breathtaking :: photograph


10. Dude! :: what Janet calls me

from here

Sob

Saints are getting slaughtered.

Edit: came back from 75 points down to lose by 40something. *sigh*
4 wins, 5 losses now. Not good enough.

This week's collaboration

with Janet. My sister's dog, Lily at Phillip Island, Vic., and Janet's Wolf at Salisbury, MA.

It's a dog's life, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Meme time

Saw this at Janet's.
What were you doing five years ago?
Teaching.
What are five things on your to-do list for today?
Sell books
Shelve books
Add books to database
Cook Janet's recipe for dinner.
Listen to the Saints game
What are five snacks you enjoy?
Cheese
Dips and crackers
Toast
Cashews
Peppers stuffed with fetta
What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
Pay off my debts.
Pay off my family's debts.
Buy a swanky house.
Travel the world, several times.
Buy a '59 Les Paul.
What are five of your bad habits?
Smoking
Grinding my teeth
Idleness
Frowning
Procrastination
What are five places where you have lived?
Liverpool, England.
Melbourne, Australia
That's all.
What are five jobs you’ve had?
Teacher
Bookseller
That's all again
What five people do you want to tag?
Whoever wants to play along.

Saturday Photo Hunt

This week's theme is shoes. Here's the shoe phone :)

"Get Smart!" "How?" "On the shoe phone of course!", originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Friday Fill-in

1. On my laziest day I like to read and listen to music!
2. Books on shelves makes me feel like I'm being productive.
3. I love little acts of kindness and big presents.
4. This summer I want to who knows? It's so far away.
5. Shirl made me start my blog.
6. Red roses and orange juice.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to being toasty in front of the fire, tomorrow my plans include work as usual and Sunday, I want to be celebrating a Saints win. Ha!

FFI

The Time Traveler's Wife

by Audrey Niffenegger. Gorgeous book.
Essentially it's a love story, which is not normally my cup of tea. It's the story of Clare, firmly in the here and now, and Henry, the time traveler. He has a genetic disorder which causes him to flit back and forth in time. However, he only ever visits his own lifetime, doesn't travel to the distant past or future. Chronologically, the book more or less follows Clare's life from the age of six, when she first meets Henry who is aged 36 at the time. They eventually get married when Clare is 22 and Henry 30. Each "chapter" is titled with the date and the ages of Clare and Henry. The writing is first-person present tense. Sometimes the first person is Clare, sometimes it's Henry. I think it takes an very talented writer to produce a story in a particular voice, rather than just as a narrative. To produce it in two voices takes extraordinary talent.
There are various philosophical undercurrents throughout the book - particularly the concept of free will versus determinism. When Henry is travelling is he really free to do as he chooses or must he stick to the script, so to speak? One thing he does do is hand out some advice on stocks and shares and lottery ticket numbers :). Another theme is how people deal with loss of loved ones. Genetic engineering is another. I won't say more on those as it would give away too much of the story.
All in all I loved this book. It's beautifully written, tender, funny, poignant, scary, sad.
Very highly recommended.

Thursday Thirteen

Haven't done one in a while, but today I thought I'd share some of the stupid things people, other than me, say...

1. * Lawyer: "Was that the same nose you broke as a child?"
* Witness: "I only have one, you know."

2. * Lawyer: "What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?"
* Witness: "He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'"
* Lawyer: "And why did that upset you?"
* Witness: "My name is Susan."

3. * Lawyer: "How old is your son, the one living with you?"
* Witness: "Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which."
* Lawyer: "How long has he lived with you?"
* Witness: "Forty-five years."

4. Lawyer: "You were there until the time you left, is that true?"

5. Lawyer: "The youngest son, the 20 year old, how old is he?"

6. * Witness: "He was about medium height and had a beard."
* Lawyer: "Was this a male or a female?"

7. * Lawyer: "Do you know how far pregnant you are now?"
* Witness: "I'll be three months on November 8."
* Lawyer: "Apparently, then, the date of conception was August 8?"
* Witness: "Yes."
* Lawyer: "What were you doing at that time?"

8. * Lawyer: "How many times have you committed suicide?"
* Witness: "Four times."

9. * Lawyer: "She had three children, right?"
* Witness: "Yes."
* Lawyer: "How many were boys?"
* Witness: "None."
* Lawyer: "Were there girls?"

10. * Lawyer: "Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?"
* Witness: "All my autopsies have been performed on dead people."

11. Lawyer: "Now, doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, in most cases he just passes quietly away and doesn't know anything about it until the next morning?"

12. * Lawyer: "What is your relationship with the plaintiff?"
* Witness: "She is my daughter."
* Lawyer: "Was she your daughter on February 13, 1979?"

13. * Lawyer: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"
* Witness: "No."
* Lawyer: "Did you check for blood pressure?"
* Witness: "No."
* Lawyer: "Did you check for breathing?"
* Witness: "No."
* Lawyer: "So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"
* Witness: "No."
* Lawyer: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"
* Witness: "Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar."
* Lawyer: "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"
* Witness: "Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."

T13

Huge discovery

If I look at things with my right eye they're always out of focus. If I use my left eye, voila!, everything's all there. Explains a lot about my photography. Now I just have to train myself to hold the camera to the right, in this case the left, eye.

Totally obscene!

Just saw a thing on TV about the outgoing CEO (or whatever he's called) of Macquarie Bank, the largest corporate bank in this country. Poor guy had to take a 24% pay cut this year. He only got 24.8 million dollars. That's obscene. He could give a million bucks each to every person in the country and still have 4.8 million left for himself. Corporate bastards.

Edit: As someone so politely pointed out, I can't count. Still doesn't alter the fact that that's an obscene amount of money.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Concentration :: sadly lacking


2. Relocated :: moved


3. Clot :: blood


4. Joints :: aching


5. Satellite :: Sputnik


6. Money back :: refund


7. Kittens :: cute


8. Shady :: tree


9. Drain :: -ed


10. Stroke :: breast

from here

Reading....

This Charming Man by Marion Keyes. I've read just about all Keyes' books and enjoyed them all. Funny Irish chicklit. This one, however, is testing my patience. The style it's written in is very annoying. It's a bit like Bridget Jones on steroids. In fact, it's so much like Bridget Jones that, as I'm reading, I can hear Renee Zellweger in my head. Pronouns, prepositions and conjunctions have been thrown out the window which makes for a very jerky read. There's also very little colloquial Irish. That has always made Keyes' other books so very charming and I'm missing it in this one.
I'm seriously considering not reading any further because I'm just not enjoying it.

Saturday Photo Hunt

This week's theme is "candy". This is a Crunchie which I broke open just to take a photograph. Of course, then I had to eat it.

Crunchie, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Friday Fill-in

1. There is absolutely NO way you can get me to touch a spider!
2. Haha, absolutely nothing reminds me that summer is almost here!
3. I cannot live without my computer.
4. Scuba diving and climbing the Eiffel Tower are two things I'd like to try.
5. When life hands you lemons squeeze them like stress balls.
6. Saturday nights at Nanna's is my favorite childhood memory.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to watching my team play Bronnie's team over at her place, tomorrow my plans include just work as usual and Sunday, I want to cook without slicing myself to pieces!
FFI

Stuff Portrait Friday - Song lyrics

Randomandodd hosts SPF. Pics that relate to song lyrics this week:

Ramble On - Led Zeppelin
Leaves are falling all around,
It's time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged
For such a pleasant stay.

But now it's time for me to go,
The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain,
And with it pain,
And it's headed my way.
Ah, sometimes I grow so tired,
But I know I've got one thing I got to do,

Ramble on,
And now's the time, the time is now
To sing my song.
I'm goin' round the world,
I got to find my girl, on my way.
Ive been this way ten years to the day, ramble on,
Gotta find the queen of all my dreams.

Leaves are falling all around, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Misty Mountain Hop - Led Zeppelin
Walkin' in the park just the other day, baby,
What do you, what do you think I saw?
Crowds of people sittin' on the grass with flowers in their hair said,
"Hey, Boy, do you wanna score?"
And you know how it is.
I really don't know what time it was, woh, oh,oh
so I asked them if I could stay awhile.

I didn't notice but it had got very dark and I was really
Really out of my mind.
Just then a policeman stepped up to me and asked us, said, "Please,hey,
would we care to all get in line, Get in line."
Well, you know, they asked us to stay for tea and have some fun; Oh, oh,oh.
he said that his friends would all drop by, ooh.

Why don't you take a good look at yourself and describe what you see,
and baby, baby, baby, do you like it?
There you sit, sitting spare like a book on a shelf rustin',
ah, not trying to fight it.
You really don't care if they're comin'; oh, oh,
I know that it's all a state of mind.

If you go down in the streets today, baby, you better,
you better open your eyes. WOAH WOAH YEAH
Folk down there really don't care, really don't care, don't care , really don't , which, which way the pressure lies,
so I've decided what I'm gonna do now.
So I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains
where the spirits go now,
over the hills where the spirits fly.
I really don't know.


Credit to Janet for the mountains half of this.

Secret Garden

Did my regular Tuesday trek out to Warburton yesterday. I was a bit early to pick up Georgia from the bus stop so I wandered along the road a bit to check out this place I drive past to get to Clare's. It's right on the road so it's not that secret really :) The bit of creek comes down the hill and empties into the Yarra, which is directly behind me, across the road. It's private land on this side here so I didn't venture off the road to get better shots. No tripod with me so, to get the long exposure, I set the camera on the ground and pushed the button in hope. Turned out okay I think.

Secret Garden reprise, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Track :: down


2. Snake :: one-eyed trouser


3. Assignment :: homework


4. Blockbuster :: movie


5. Bombastic :: loud


6. Adventure :: story


7. First time :: long time ago


8. Aged :: vintage


9. Grip :: get a


10. Shortcut :: desktop icon

from here

Why do I not know these things?

Man: I want a book for my mother. What do you think she'd like?
Me: Umm, what sort of books does she read?
Man: I don't know. She comes in here a lot.
Me: Sorry, but I don't know which of my customers is your mother. Crime fiction? Romance? Biographies?
Man: I think I'll just get her some flowers.
And off he went.
*sigh*

This week's collaboration

with Janet. I think these two go really well together. Kudos to Madame Snape for spotting the match :)

Circles of pink, originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Saturday Photo Hunt

This week we get to share any photo:
I thought I'd go with one of my more successful pics on flickr.
Taken in January 08 at Woolomai surf beach, Phillip Island.

Friday Fill-in

1. The lasagne had an extra secret ingredient; it was my finger and its blood!
2. I see grey skies through my window.
3. Right now, I need coffee.
4. Home is where I went Thursday night; it was chaotic. People over for dinner, much red wine. No-one found my finger but the lasagne was a big hit!
5. Why does a Tetanus shot hurt so much?
6. All I can think of is the pain - in my arm (see above) and in my head (see further above).
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to an early night, tomorrow my plans include family bbq for Mother's Day and Sunday, I want to hopefully have a shower without having to wear a plastic bag on my hand!

FFI

Looking for that extra special flavour?

Bleed into your food.
I was using the very sharp kitchen knife to slice open a packet of shredded Mozzarella to put in the veggie lasagne. The knife went flying right through the packet and right through my finger as well. Well, not right through, just half way through. Ouchies! Mucho blood. After much sucking of blood the gauze and tape were found and the finger bandaged up. Then off to the hospital. Three hours I was there. By the time a doctor got around to looking at it the wound had started to close up (thanks to Sylvia for bandaging it properly!!) so stitches were not required, fortunately. So they cleaned it up, put some sterile strips over it and bandaged it up.
So now I have this whopping great bandage for people to stare at. Much nuisance value in not being able to use the index finger - just as well it's my left hand or it'd be even worse. Now I have to shower with a plastic bag taped around my hand. No doing the dishes for a week (or year) either - so maybe not that much of a nuisance :)
A bit hurties today but I think I'll survive.

Phone thinks I should use the other hand for texting., originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Weekly Word Challenge

Hosted by Pickled Beef but seen at The Snapery. The words are "three" and "fire".

Three little cocky birds sitting on a fence:



Three daisies



Three sculpted children



Fire reflected in the Phone

Unconscious Mutterings

1. State :: of the Nation - by New Order


2. Lively :: up yourself


3. Valet :: butler


4. Traction :: grip


5. Official :: bureaucrat


6. Red hot :: Chili Peppers


7. Powder :: finger


8. Replies :: answers


9. Flagrant :: obvious


10. Tweet :: -ie Pie

from here

Heart stopper!

Saints by 3 points over the Tigers. Oh man, what an exciting game. The lead changed so many times during the game, it really could have gone either way. Tigers had a chance to kick the winning goal right in the last second but missed. Phew big time!!
Unbelievable game.
Go Sainters!!!

There and back again on April 22nd.

This week's collaboration with Janet.
Both pics were taken on the same day, not intentionally I might add. But, they show the opposite seasons pretty well I think.

There and back again on April 22nd., originally uploaded by jsarcadia.

Saturday Photo Hunt

This week's theme is "time".

My sister-in-law's clock. I think it's pretty spiffy.



The Flinders St clocks which show what time the next train leaves on any given line. A Melbourne icon.



The Melbourne Town Hall clock



And, of course, the Phone

Apparently I am...

I'm an apparently intelligent, liberal, tight as fuck, relatively well adjusted human being!
What are you?
Brought to you by Rum and Monkey

Seen at Shirl's

Just read the most bizarre book

Diary of an Amateur Photographer by Graham Rawle.
It's about a guy who decides he wants to be a photographer. He buys himself an old Rollieflex camera and discovers it still has film in it, which he gets developed. It turns out to be a photo of a murder victim, although he interprets it as a picture of an angel. So he sets out to find out as much as he can about the photograph.
The central character, Michael Whittingham, is one of those socially dysfunctional types who lives entirely inside his own head. People he interacts with always have to rush off to appointments, although he never realises that they just want to get away from him. When he's out and about he counts the women he sees and has sex (imaginary) with every tenth one. His imaginings lead him into quite a bit of trouble, especially when he decides to dabble in nude photography and tries to acquire a model.
As I was reading I was constantly reminded of Mr Bean. This guy is that sort of character.
Everything is recorded in his diary - which is the book. It's basically a record of the events and his bizarre interpretations of them. The book itself is set out as a diary. Whittingham's entries are typewritten (on a typewriter, not a computer) and are interspaced with other bits and pieces he's collected; photographs, newspaper ads, all sorts of odd bits and pieces. It's beautifully put together.
The crime is eventually solved - the answer is tucked away in an envelope glued to the inside back cover.
It didn't take long to read but it's a fascinating study of a man not quite in tune with the reality around him.

Stuff Portrait Friday - Song titles

Randomandodd hosts Stuff Portrait Friday. Today the theme is Song Titles. I think I can do that :)

Pictures of You - The Cure



Dazed and Confused - Led Zeppelin



Over The Hills and Far Away - Led Zeppelin



Stairway to Heaven - Led Zeppelin (again)



I, Robot - Alan Parson's Project



Fascination Street - The Cure



I think that'll do :)

Friday Fill-in

1. Two of my favorite ingredients in a drink are alcohol and more alcohol!
2. The stupidity of people often amazes me.
3. You can keep doing that forever, the dog is on guard.
4. Vodka, Tia Maria, coke mix it all together and voila! You have a Black Russian!
5. If I had a yard with a garden, I would love to grow herbs and veggies.
6. Not me, that's for sure! is best au naturel.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to nothing in particular, tomorrow my plans include an underwear party and Sunday, I want to see the sun!
FFI

It's nice, I think I like it, but......

And is it just my imagination or does Percy have man boobs?