Spinster Aunt

So on the one seat we have Harry Pearce, Adam Carter, Henry Tilney & Capt. Wentworth. Le swoon.

Youtube video ( under the cut )

Following on from the Bullet Point meme going around my flist:

• Happy Birthday cynthdiane! Have a fantastic day.



• My Gruen Transfer ad for Gruen Beauty.
  "Be ugly. On the inside." I could have used an editor, but it was fun to make nonetheless.



• For the Amelia Peabody fangirls (of whom I am one):
  Youtube video of a sword parasol! Or at least a parasol that makes a sound like a sword. That is so cool. Geeky cool.



• From Dylan Moran's standup routine whch I saw on 27 March last year:
  "My wife is a smart and capable woman. The kind of woman it's fun to try to win arguments with."
  Is it any wonder I'm a total fangirl?



• Video: How To Speak
  I have sat through some stultifyingly useless presentations, sermons, lectures and meetings in my time. Speaking skills are vastly underrated.



• From Boundless on DIY & the virtue thereof:
  Science-fiction author Robert A. Heinlein once wrote: "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."
  
  I had to look up what "conn a ship" meant, but I am somewhat comforted that I'm in the middle of attaching binding to my corset.



• Knowledge & Information
  "It is possible to know too much. It is possible to care too much. Hunger for information can become gluttony."
  
  A good reminder to myself that my time & attention is limited, so I need to be discerning in what I choose to read/listen to/watch etc. Information clutter is just as much clutter as anything else.



• And more on clutter from the SMH: "Clutter, the persistent curse of the acquiring classes"
  "The alternative to cluttering up our homes is simply to avoid acquiring unwanted or useless items in the first place. Among other things, this requires a more conscious approach to shopping: buying what we really need and will use."



• Unclutterer: Organising work files.
  “This organization was here before you were a member and will continue on after you graduate. If your files are messy, it’s fine for you now, but you’re not thinking of the people who are to serve after you.”
  
  Word. I've recently had a deadline come in late because that tiny extra bit of information that we're sure is in the office somewhere took SIX DAYS to find.



• More from Unclutterer: Confirming my decision to cull and be disciplined about acquisition
  "I used to be the type of person who held onto every object I deemed sentimental. I eventually realized that holding onto so much stuff came with a lot of stress, worry, and financial expense, and that I wanted a different way of life."
  
  That's exactly what happened to me. I'm still rather fond of my "If my house burned down, would I replace this?" evaluation strategy.



• From Dressing in the Dark: Lessons in Men's Style from the Movies by Marion Maneker
  "Do you know that scene in The Thomas Crown Affair," Frank Rostron, a British shirt maker once confided to me, "the one where Steve McQueen's wearing a beautiful Prince of Wales checked suit with a powder blue shirt and a royal blue tie?" Once I'd confirmed that I too appreciated the importance of that moment in film history, the tailor rolled his eyes back slightly, his lids hooding to help him savor the memory. "Seeing that," he went on, "made me want to become a tailor."
  
  Truly, I hear you on that one. ::swoon::



• Wicked! Costume design: A three page article in the SMH on the costume design for the show, opening in Melbourne soon.
  "I love the way clothes are constructed. Dior and Galliano were very much interested in the way clothes are constructed: they are unbelievable engineers."
  
  I'm much the same. Whether it's knitting or sewing or any other kind of textile work, I'm all about the construction.



• And to finish off, a Tip of the day:
  If you're planing on holding up a pub with machetes, you'd best make sure there's not a Bikies meeting going on next door.

Wow. So much is happening right now. Here are some edited highlights:

• First, Pimping a show: The Gruen Transfer, ABC1, Wednesday night.
  30 minute show about advertising, including tactics used by the industry, analysing different campaigns, and my favourite part: "Selling the un-sellable", where two agencies are briefed to come up with an ad for an utterly un-sellable product. (Think: Baghdad Tourism.) And because Aunty is awesome when it comes to new media, the entire thing is vodcast. Check it out.



• New Glasses! ( Pic under cut )
  
  
• Australian universities are starting to get in on iTunes U. So far they have ANU, Griffith, Uni of WA, Uni of Melbourne & UNSW. Come on, Sydney. Get your act together. I'm happy to listen to Economics or Shakespeare or History from the US. Law...not so much.



• I randomly went to a lace exhibit at a local gallery, and ended up randomly moderating a group discussion on the difference between "Art" and "Craft" and presenting the results to a group including curators at the Powerhouse Museum and presidents of the guilds. I did not embarrass myself.



• I graduated from MTC, and on the night my friend mentioned she was going to do a short course at NIDA. I was reminded of the other short courses at NIDA and...



• I enrolled in a corset making class at NIDA. Two weeks in, one to go. I have something resembling a bodice - I need to put the boning in. Pics here



• Went to the Stitches & Craft show on Saturday. Bought some beautiful green laceweight yarn...mmmmm.... Don't know what I'll use it for yet. ( Pic under cut )
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• My Feedback got read out on Filmspotting! Top 5 Best Dressed Characters. Of course that <i>would</i> be the subject upon which I am most opinionated and articulate when it comes to film...) Check it out here: I'm in for two minutes starting at 40:30)

( Cut for length )

For my flist who are home on Wednesday nights I have to rec a show I saw for the first time this week. We Could Be Heroes, Wednesday 9pm. I missed the first two episodes (and only caught this one 'cause I'm on college break), but it's a brilliant parody about five people nominated for Australian of the Year.

The intro is a pitch perfect take off of the Gondwanaland kiddies. The voiceover is Jennifer Byrne. Go. Watch. (Yes, the_least, that means you.)

ETA PS: I catch the train with girls like Ja'mie. They all get on at Eastwood. The resemblance is scary.

From Enough Rope last Monday: The Raiders. These guys recreated Raiders of the Lost Ark. In its entirety. In their backyard. I'm mightily impressed.

As was Spielberg, apparently.

( More 'duh' quizzage, though apparently I did the quiz for blokes first time 'round. Which makes the initial 'duh' a little less 'duh' than I would have liked. OTOH, it shows that I am capable of switching pronouns without explicit instructions. We return to the initial 'duh'. )

This ebay listing has the Best Typo Ever. 

DYNASTY

There is no saga more powerful than that of the warring dynasty- domineering father, beautiful schemeing mother and squabbling murderous sons. In the years that followed the Mormon conquests, this was the drama played out on the stage of British History.

Yep, those Mormon invasions were really something. 

SMH: John Malcovich's fashion label.  Interesting stuff.  I quite like his style.

SMH: Style Notes, containing this wonderful paragraph -

Those fabulous tiaras didn't do any harm, either. And they improve one's posture no end. You can't help but hold yourself regally while carrying several kilos of diamonds and a couple of dozen emeralds or rubies the size of duck eggs on your head. They seem also to keep thoughts of Botox and blade at bay, because the expressive faces under them, especially that of the marvellous Queen Margrethe, were clearly faces earned rather than bought.

The Enough Rope archive.  Transcripts of Andrew Denton's interviews on the show - well worth browsing at your leisure.  Denton is the best interviewer I've seen since Parkinson (and the Parkinson interview is one of my all time favourites!)

A quote from the lovely Ms Gordon at college two weeks ago: "It wouldn't be the first time I've been completely oblivious to the blindingly obvious!"

Tonight's promo for P&P was to "Raining Men", featuring Mr Bennet, Mr Bingley, Mr Collins, Colonel Forster, Mr Wickham, Captains Denny and Carter and Mr Darcy (mais bien sur!) for the second episode - the Netherfield Ball.  Too funny. 

This is SO TRUE! 

Summary of every Harry Potter book.

In other news, baby dribble is the new black.  Martina is way beyond cute.  And the Twin Peaks season one box set comes, not in a cardboard sleeve like every other box set in DVDdom, but (wait for it)...wrapped in plastic.  I've never even seen the thing, and yet I was the one explaining the visual pun to Andrew. 

I'm mid way through the last foot on my socks!  Yay!  The next thing I do will be tedious to the power of nine (thank you Ms Summers) so I can re-engage my brain, but I've also started planning out the Australia/South Africa shawl.  I think I've finally nailed a protea design that I can live with.  Now to translate it into lace and do the same for eucalypts. 

And here is a conversation with my neighbour about the knitting of said socks:
"You knit socks?"
"Yes."
"Haven't you ever heard of Kmart, Sophie?"
::produces almost-finished kilt hose::
"Kmart can kiss my arse."

Firstly the uber-obvious - the announcement of the Episode III title. (If you're the one member of fandom who hasn't heard it yet and would like to, you can get it straight from the source.) La de da. The movie itself is going to have to be fairly spectacular to redeem the prequels from my current mono-jedi view of them.

And secondly... ( Casting spoiler for Goblet of Fire )

I just saw that Blackbooks is on tonight! For those unfamiliar with it, I class it as the best British comedy series since Blackadder. It's *that* good.

::off to revel in snarky goodness::