I have a thing for masked balls. Of course, I have never been invited to one (nor have I crashed one!), but I always thought if I had a reason to have a lavish party where money was no issue, everyone would come elaborately dressed with the most magnificent masks. And the party would be held in an ornate ballroom. And we would all dance like a choreographed scene from some costume drama. And everyone would be polite, and dapper, and chivalrous, and not at all crude or uncouth or ...drunk. You know. Fantasy. . One of my most beloved films in the ENTIRE UNIVERSE is The Labyrinth. I love the ballroom scene (though Sarah was a stupid, stupid girl not to choose David, I mean Jareth) and the masks bordering on grotesques. Her dress is a little frou frou, but hey, it was the 80's. . Where is all this going? I found (and I'm sorry, but I can't remember HOW I got to their site, but it would have been through some other lovely and clever persons I'm sure) some very talented people who make the most amazing masks: Goblin Art. Do you think it is ok to want to walk around in one of these masks all day? It would make for an interesting day at work.
I know, I should be smacked like a bad, bad donkey, but I am not sure entriely where the days have gone this past couple of weeks - time is moving too fast, and rather scarily so. Does anyone have some spare seeds for a money tree? I promise I would plant them with care and nourish them well! I am behind on a bunch of stuff - including posting a pressie made weeks ago for a lovely Obsidian Kitten (Sorry Shannah!), but with this weeks pay and (hoepfully) some 'stimulation' from Big Kev I might get my shit together. And only 140-something sleeps til the big trip! Ah! Freak out! Deep breaths...
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The blog and shoppe are a year old! So, I think a little celebration is in order, including a give-away and a discount day or two - don't you? I will work on this the next couple of days, try and contain your excitment.
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For now though, a couple of funnies to get you through, Dear Reader. Try and behave, won't you?
It is raining outside again, and it is dark and dreary and absolutely delicious. The kind of day that makes me wake up with a smile. Perfect for reading, or watching DVD's or just lying around and contemplating life, something I have become very good at doing of late. I had to share this with you, it came via Little Brown Sparrow's new blog Dark Woods - why haven't I ever heard of this band? Though, it's not like I am heavy into folk music (I own nary and album of said genre), but I have such a thing for the "medieval" that I should have stumbled across this sound at some point. Well I guess I have now. In any case, it's very British, but I swear to you it will be in your head all day, and probably the next day too. They were my obsession yesterday, and I watched all I could find on Youtube, and I have concluded I will have to buy one of their earlier albums sometime soon. See what you think, may hap I am crazy (or crazier than I thought anyway!). The bassist gets quite the work out!
What a day. So far I have done absolutely nothing productive. Akasha keeps trying to convince me I need to feed her something other than what is on her plate (this is the second can this morning that has not been to her liking, people) and is currently using my bare leg as a pin cushion. But I do love her, so I will just sit here and grimace. So I did the Twitter thing. Still trying to work it out. And the widget I put on my blog disappeared because of the black writing (looked as though I wanted you to be psychic about what I had twitted 26 minutes ago. Well I found it amusing anyway), don't know how to fix that, but I'll work it out eventually. Anyway, come follow me! And create an account yourself (or let me know if you have one), so I can follow more than Oprah and Ashton Kutcher (I know, really?). I'm not convinced of the awesomeness of these social networking sites, but I will play, all be it at a bit of a distance. Suspicious much. Hey, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
I know I haven't done the flashback thang yet, I will try and get to it on the weekend - I'm not really sure where this week went, but I know I'm bloody well exhausted. Just got done playing hide-and-go-attack with Akasha, which made me giggle like a kid (she is now crashed in the middle of the floor - it's tiring work playing kitten when you're nearly a geriatric). I actually have loads of stuff to share with you Dear Reader, but while i eat my breakfast, I HAD to put this one. Via Kitten Fluff, - did you go through a The Doors (or perhaps more particularly, a Jim Morrison) obsession stage? While they were well and truly before my time, I have a bunch of their tapes and I must have read "No-one Here Gets Out Alive" a half dozen times. And the movie? I know it copped a lot of flack, but I liked it (especially Billy Idols cameo!). I was awestruck by Uncle Steves reference to Jim in "The Stand" (again, something I have read at least six times). But the killer for me, was that this song is in the opening sequence of one of my favourite movies of all time, The Lost Boys. Enjoy!
So my birthday is in about six weeks, and just in case you were wondering what to get the gal who has everything (well, more than I reasonably need anyway), here are a few ideas for you. Now, I don't expect you to go overboard, one of each will be plenty. They're some new items at the amazing Uncle Festers in Victoria, and oooohh, pretty.
Now I'm not one to wear crosses, but the symbolism here is just too much, and oh how I love this poem:
From the site: In homage to Edgar Alan Poe, this mourning cross is inscribed with the
raven's single word answer to all questions, 'Nevermore'; from the 1845
poem, The Raven. Centre piece approx 7.65 cm long
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And then, for the days I just don't feel like wearing a cross, but still want to 'represent' for Mr Poe:
A graphic representation of the subject of Poe's most celebrated and
tragic narrative poem of the same name, supernaturally lamenting the
death of a young lover. Crow and feathers a massive 11 cm long . And look, there are matching earrings:
Best I stop drooling all over the keyboard now. And I really have been (relatively) well behaved this past year, so I probably deserve ALL of the above, don't you think? Just thought I would give you some ideas, of course...
Leonilda Leonilda is a member of Banco Comunal El Roble. Leonilda is 65
years-old, married, and has 9 children. She dedicates herself to
knitting and sewing beautiful pieces of work such as bedspreads,
sweaters, baby clothes (depending on her clients' orders). She sells
these items in both Lima and Selva. Leonilda needs a loan of 1000 soles
that she will invest to buy thread and wool. Leonilda would like to
improve both her business and her health.
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I love that as soon as I have $25 back in the kitty from loans repaid by other recipients, I can loan out straight away again. This means my $150 investment is directly helping seven groups of people. And oh with the warm fuzzies inside! Go join Kiva, it will make you feel all warm and gooey (and like you are actually helping someone, not just giving a handout) - but be warned, helping other hard working individuals gets addictive...
Here it is Dear Reader, your Flashback Friday, brought to you by...Hot Metal magazine, issue number three! See, nothing to do with "Cold Wood", get it!? Oh, my sides. This mag is, believe it or not, some 20 years old. Wow, way to make a gal feel ancient. Being an efficient hoarder, I found a bunch of these old music mags in my old wardrobe at my parents. There were once many many more, but where they went is any ones guess...hopefully to where ever good magazines go. I must have rabidly covered many of my school books with pics from this issue, as there are more pages with large parts missing than those without. Without further ado, from "Australia's Hard Rock, Thrash and Heavy Metal Monthly":
Even the skull that separated the "Hot" from the "Metal" is missing. It is a cute skull though. You will see it in further Flashback Friday editions. Is it just me, or did Kiss suck after they took off their makeup? If you ask my brother, they always sucked...Now they just kind of seem lecherous. Creepy old men. I choose just to remember the early music I was enamoured of in infants school, when my best friend and I would sing "Shandie" in the playground. Good times.
Oh how I would have loved to have gone to the Hordern to see Metallica on this tour. But I was only 14, and none of my other friends were really into Metallica. My lovely parents did take my best friend and I to the Sydney Ent Cent when we were 15 to see Poison, but I think the Metallica crowd would have been a little different! And oh how I loved the image of Justice bound, I thought it just so damn clever and meaningful.
The requisite album review page - click to enlarge if you would like! I have all but the Rush and Brittany Fox albums, and when I say album, I mean on vinyl. I have since bought the Ozzy album and The Cult on Cd, because I adore them still. I grew out of Vixen pretty quick, and I think I only played the Tesla album a couple of times, I couldn't even tell you what any of the songs were now. So what will we play? Has to be something from these albums. My fave Ozzy song on this record is Crazy Babies:
And just because it is hilarious, and I mean HILARIOUS, I have some Vixen for you. Why do I remember all of the words to these songs? Why couldn't I remember my Uni work that well? Can you believe the amount of hair product? I love how hair styles for men and women in the heavy metal scene were identical. Have fun!
