Greenie, Birdo, Foodie, and Karaoke nut

I really should write more

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:20:05 GMT

I mean, I desperately need to a see a therapist but $$$$. Which is part of what I need to talk to a therapist about. UGH

Instead, I'm probably going to start semaglutide. Scumbags at HBF don't cover it because "too many people are claiming it". OMG, isn't that why we pay for private health insurance, to cover stuff we'll actually use. Insurance is just sanctioned, semi-compulsory gambling, the house always wins and everyone is screwed.

Anyway yeah, my weight keeps creeping up and up and up and I just don't have the energy and pain tolerance for stuff. I was just knocked back from survey work at a mine site because my BMI was too high - which is a shitty rule, especially as I'm not using their weight limited equipment to work IN a mine. But anyway, I was kind of looking forward to coming home anyway because I just HURT. I've had to choose a chore to complete in the evening because anything else is just too much, I can't stand up, it just hurts and it sucks.

If I can lose weight, I'll be able to move and breathe more easily. There will be weight off my scrapy arthritic knees so that should mean less pain. I won't have to worry so much if I go on a long walk what it's gonna be like limping back. Maybe I'll even be able to dance again? Maybe I shouldn't get my hopes up.

Of course there's a possibility that I get horrendous side effects or it just doesn't work. But the statistics are on my side, and it is a drug that you can just stop with no adverse effects (apart from losing the appetite suppressant effects).

Wish me luck I guess.

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In case I ever want to write my memoirs

Wed, 28 May 2025 13:29:34 GMT

1979
I am born in October.
Mum's water didn't break so the doctor broke it with a hammer thingy and scratched my head in the process. They didn't tell mum, just handed her a baby with a massive lump on its head. For years I claimed I could still feel the lump.
The family GP gives mum a copy of "Custard The Cowardly Dragon" which features a heroine named Belinda.

1980

I turn 1.
I don't remember it.

1981

I turn 2.
I don't remember it, but we fly to Melbourne to visit my aunt and newborn cousin. (this might have been in 1982)

1982

I turn 3.
I don't remember anything else.

1983

I turn 4.
For my birthday I get a book about how I'm all grown up now I'm 4 years old.

1984

The family drives to Melbourne to visit my aunt, uncle and cousin. I have vague memories of this trip.
I turn 5.
Either 1984 or 85 we travel to Dongara. Dad plays Ravel's Bolero (made famous by ice dancers Torvil and Dean) as we drive through the sand dunes. Bolero is forever more "sandhill music".
My brother catches blowfish, I keep some in a bucket for a day or two, then my brother "pops" them and disposes of them. I swear they came in blue and green colours, but now I know my local fish, the Weeping Toadfish comes in one colour - a creamy, greenish/brown.

My pre-school teachers are Mrs King and Mrs Hedland.
I have a ladybug cake for my birthday at school.
All us kids dig a complex series of channels and bridges in the sandpit.

1985

The family road trip is to Busselton and Augusta.
Our cabin in Busselton smells of the kerosene heater.
My brother catches a flounder.
We visit Jewel, Lake and Yallingup (Nigilgi) caves. A water drop falls on mum and the tour guide tells everyone, "okay everyone on three. One. Two. Three." *everyone goes "awwwww"*
Oddly I can't remember where we stayed in Augusta.
I turn 6. My mum invites my "friends from school". Most of those girls I didn't regard as my friends.

I start primary school
My teacher is Mrs O'Mara.
My best friend is Lisa Willmot, a girl the rest of the students have collectively decided is the lowest rung on the pecking order. This puts me on the second lowest rung.

For Christmas I get a trampoline (probably a joint gift to me and my siblings). And I get an orange pony toy with apples on her butt. Applejack is my first My Little Pony.

1986

We travel to Cervantes to stay with mum's cousin.
There are sea hares all over the beach.
I am in grade 2. My teacher is Mrs Robinson.
We have two class goldfish named Fergie and Andrew. Eventually they die and some of the kids blame me because I accidentally dropped this craft thingy made of a toilet roll into the bowl briefly.

This year and all through pre-primary school I am bullied, pins are put on my chair, I am accosted for my lunch money and sometimes walk home the long way to avoid this.
Because I have few/no friends I often eat lunch in the toilets, which feels safer.
One time I retreat to the toilets when chased by bullies and make "wooooo" noises like a ghost in hopes of scaring them off. A teacher comes in and tells me off for making the noise and makes me stand in a corner of a building for the rest of lunch. I cry while I'm there. It's also not a safe place to be outside like that.
I see dog faces in the terrazzo walls of the toilet cubicles.
I hate the large gap at the bottom of the doors and walls - some kids peek underneath them.
Thursday is fishburger day. I still remember the taste. I buy fruit balls with my canteen change, that way the bullies can't get money out of me.
If I can, I sit in the library most of lunch. No wonder I became a bookworm. For a few years I pretty much refuse to read fiction, only reading "fact books".

1987

Family road trip to Broome. Nanna Forbes comes with us.
I need to find my diary from this trip. Written in soft lead, smudging, pencil and a child's messy handwriting.
In Minilya we end up camped "next to a cesspit".
We stay at Wittenoom overnight and visit Wittenoom gorge where we have a close call with a kangaroo and collect rocks, some containing asbestos.
In Sandfire a friendly black cat sleeps in Nanna Forbes' feet and cows wander through the campground at night.
I fall in love with Broome.

I am in 3rd grade.
My teacher is Mrs Rennick.
We have a class bunny called Nibbles, who pees in Mrs Rennick's lap one time.

Saturdays are shopping day. I sometimes throw tantrums when I want something. Sometimes I get what I want. Specifically the My Little Pony Pretty Parlour and a beautiful big book called The Atlas Of World Wildlife. I love both things, and I still have them to this day. The book is probably one of the foundations of my lasting love of nature.

1988

Road trip to Monkey Mia. We stay in an onsite van on the beach. The woman next to us has a black cat.
I feed and pet the dolphins. None of these things are possible these days.
We meet a woman with hands attached straight to her shoulders - no arms. She is a thalidomide baby.

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Tue, 11 Mar 2025 08:25:58 GMT

We need a cleaner. This place is filthy and gross.

I need a cleaner who I know I can trust not to steal anything, and not to move important things (at least without asking first).

My mother would be ideal for the job - except for the part where any work done would come with a heaping side of criticism and judgment and I absolutely do not need that.

The first few cleans would be intensive cleans - the floors, the dusty shelves, the nooks and crannies full of breadcrumbs and cat hair, the appliances, the oven, the windows, the icky build-up in the bathroom. After that it would be just a quick once over every week or fortnight and our home would be CLEAN and NICE.

Someone who could help with the clutter and with organising would be great. Someone I could work with if I wanted, or just supervise, or leave completely alone if I felt that was what I needed/wanted to do.

If I have someone else around doing this stuff, I'd probably be more motivated to do it myself. While they were deep cleaning, I could tidy the kitchen table, or organise the endlessly chaotic plastics cupboard.

At the moment it's a case of "when we finally get around to replacing/renovating things, then they'll be clean again." But they will get DIRTY again and I need goddamn help.

Where do I find someone like this? And god can I afford the cost?

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Tue, 11 Mar 2025 08:19:57 GMT

This Podcast Will Kill You has finally started their series on pregnancy, which I have been keen to listen to.

I've already cried once at the tale of a dismissive doctor and a way-too-early labour, resulting in the baby surviving only 3 hours.

I have zero desire to carry, birth, or raise a child. I am TERRIFIED by the concept. Listening to all the things that can go wrong at any stage, from conception for the life of that child, however long it ends up being, scares the shit out of me and that just one of many nopes as to why I don't want my own children.

But, I DO feel the joy and sadness and grief by people who desperately wanted those children. And the fear of those who have unwanted pregnancies and hope that they have access to whatever course of action is best for them.

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Here's your free therapy BJ

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 14:07:06 GMT

I wish we could just all read minds. Then I wouldn't have to keep trying - and failing - to effectively express myself.

Do you even KNOW how many times I went over that phrase in the shower, perfecting it for a Facebook post that I may or may not post now and then be accused of Vaguebooking and once again failing to effectively express myself.

Watching videos of a 23 year old autistic woman going over all the way her autism manifests as an undiagnosed 45 year old woman and I feel like something is trying to yank my heart out of my chest and oh dear I'm crying.

I remember, being 5 or 6 and hiding from bullies in the toilets in school and making "woooo" ghost noises to try and scare them away, and a teacher coming in and demanding who was making the noise and when I came out making me stand in a corner all lunch time because _I_ was the one who had been naughty.

I remember eating almond Magnums in the carpark at Lake Cave, so vividly I can taste it and feel the texture of the slivered almonds in the chocolate and the smooth vanilla ice cream.

I only had 2 Charmkins, but seeing a post about them on Facebook just lit memories in my brain.

I remember one time sleeping over at my cousins and waking up wanting my mum and being utterly inconsolable to the point my aunt ended up calling my mum to come pick me up, it was about a 40 minute drive. I had stayed over many times before (and did afterwards) with no problems.

When I had to give a speech why I wanted to be on student council when I DIDN'T want to be on student council, just all of the students had to do the speech for some reason. When I had to do another pretend goddamn job interview for Centerstink's Jobsearch Training, when my first boyfriend expressed that he "wanted a break", and my clingy, immature, misunderstanding self couldn't (wouldn't?) talk for a few hours...

Those were panic attacks.

I remember playing on a canvas on the lawn out the back of our house in Lockridge. Colouring with my new set of Crayola crayons. Setting up my My Little Ponies. Having a polysterene container filled with sand and I'd put my little plastic animals and trees in there with a jar lid with water in it for a waterhole and make a scene. Or when the pool had a cover over it in winter I'd play with the little plastic animals THERE and it was like a flooded savannah or something, and one time I lost one down a hole in the cover, but it was just before we were about to move house and there were no plans to uncover the pool before then and I wasn't allowed to retreive it. I think it was a green plastic Diplodocus but I was immensely distressed over it. I lost many other small plastic animals in various sand piles out front of the house in elaborate tunnels dug, but I don't think they bothered me so much.

I remember riding Bounty's Revenge for the first time after finally being cajoled into it by my younger cousin and it made my butt tingle but I LOVED it and we rode it many more times that day, and I rode it many, many more times over the years, and I from then I loved thrill rides.

I think I need to sleep now.

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Makin Music

Wed, 22 Jan 2025 13:51:59 GMT

I remember in my teen years I'd always fancy being in a band. Once I even made some posters for a band, asking for other folks who'd like to join. But I had no idea what actually went into BEING a band.

I also thought a song was written by someone, and it was something they came up with in their head then wrote or played the whole thing and recorded it like that. I had absolutely no clue that songs are generally a case of someone writing music, someone else writing lyrics and finding which two pieces fit, then a producer going over the recording and chopping and changing and rearranging until it sounded good and that was the finished piece.

I've only learned about this process really in the last few years. No wonder I was never able to actually be in a band or write any actual music, I
misunderstood the whole process. I feel it's the same way for a lot of things.

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Garden Journal

Sun, 13 Nov 2022 12:11:39 GMT

More golden beets put in near the other ones.
Dwarf peas next to corn.
Leeks where rocket used to be.

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Shower thoughts

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 14:46:15 GMT

Me at various times throughout the years around neurodivergent folks.

"I totally sympathise/empathise with you because my brain does the same dumb things."

But at the same time my un/under-diagnosed ass is like

"Why do YOU get to use it as an excuse/reason for things? Why are YOU allowed to be open about it when I feel like I have to mask mask mask. I mean, I don't even feel like I can be open about it with you, someone with the same afflictions as me, because I haven't been diagnosed so maybe I'm just pretending??"

You could replace neurodivergent with queer/non-hetero/non-monogamous/non-allosexual/non-alloromantic and masking with being subtly in the closet.

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Garden Journal

Sat, 19 Mar 2022 10:00:55 GMT

After saying I wouldn't, I bought 3 more tuckerbush plants. I DID have space for them.
Got - Muntries (Kunzea pomifera), Midyim Berries (Austromyrtus dulcis) and Karkalla/Pigface/Beach Bananas (Carpobrotus virescens).

Putting the succulents/samphires under the front window, plenty of sun, shitty sandy soil. Gotta get a few more from Bunnings to fill out the bed.

Pulled a bunch of the trees of heaven and other weeds from front garden and gave the plants some bokashi juice.

Seasol'd the veggies this morning - maybe alternate weeks on weekends - Seasol one week, Carp the next?

Goddamn Trees of Heaven are getting out of hand, really got to get onto them with the mattock and blackberry poison.

Planted the two new berries in the front garden.
Recent losses - Kennedia Running Postman, Hibbertia (after I finally found a local one too!), one of the Hardenbergias, the Leucopogon, the "Jellybeans" (another form of Pigface). The fancy Boronia died really quickly. Oh, and the Native Violet.

Current plans - Lilly Pillys along carport fenceline. Woolybush along Cat run fenceline.

Asparagus and ginger in bathtub garden. Maybe put the old toilet next to it when it gets replaced and plonk a plant in it.
Big pot with a Mulberry in it, at Tass1Trees they had strawberries planted around the base of a fruit tree in a pot - that could be a plan. Also might get a blueberry for a pot.

BIG garden bed - have a go at some more brassicas. Maybe some fancy herbs or other tucker bushes.

Going to try and get the small pond going. First remove the Tree of Heaven stump (or find another location), dig a big hole for it and put it in. There's room for 4 or 5 plants - Watercress, coriscan mint, any other edible natives? Once established put 5/6 pygmy perch in there and hope for the best. The whole house filtration will mean I can refill it straight from the hose without worrying about chlorine and crap.

Gotta pick the olives, and prune the olives and fruit trees and callistemon trees. Any excess branches can be stored in the 'round thing' until I can get hold of a small chipper to turn it into mulch. Again, Trees of Heaven down that end of the yard need dealing with two.
Of course - long term plans are for ducks or chooks in a pen down there.

Once the trees of heaven along the back are killed again I'll try pumpkins there again. Maybe spaghetti squash too? Perhaps sweet potato? Ooh, I gotta do potatoes in a box. I can start them now-ish too, should grab some WGAC boxes from work.

What to put in the long legged planter?? Decorative flowers in long pots.

So to buy -

F & V

Broccoli
Pumpkin
Potato
Sweet potato
Asparagus
Ginger

Tucker Bush

Blueberry Lily (Dianella revoluta)
Red Back Australian Ginger (Alpinia caerulea ' Atherton') - maybe
Native Thyme (Prostanthera incisa) to replace the one that died (or is just the Native Oregano sufficient?)
Sea Parsley (Apium prostratum var. prostratum)
Sea Celery (Apium annum) - replace the one that died - could be good in succulent garden
Jambinu Zest (Chamelaucium "Jambinu Zest") - edible Geraldton Wax - looks very nice - maybe to go where that white flowering vine is?
Native Lemongrass (Cymbopogon ambiguus)
Native Wintercress (Barbarea australis)
Wild Rosemary (Olearia axillaris)

Bush Mint (Mentha satureioides) - good for boggy areas
Native River Mint (Mentha australis) - good for boggy areas
Wild Mint (Mentha diemenica)

These ones good for succulent garden
Ruby Saltbush (Enchylaena tomentosa)
WA Samphire (Tecticornia lepidosperma)
Round Baby Pigface (Disphyma crassifolium ssp clavellatum)
Seablite (Suaeda australis) (prefers more water)

Natives

Hardenbergia
Hibbertia

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Swallow it Down

Sun, 13 Feb 2022 12:24:40 GMT

Back in the 90s I listened to Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette so much that I became totally over the album and haven't listened to it for many years. Being over an album or song is not hating it. It's just, "this is probably quality, but I have heard it so many damn times that I don't need to again."

But now I'm having a listen again and being surprised by actually how quality this album is, despite Morissette's weird breathy wheezy vocals. Even You Oughta Know is a decent song listened to with an objective ear.

And then there's track 3. A song that hit me hard during my teens and did once again, now I'm in my early 40s.

Sometimes is never quite enough

If you're flawless, then you'll win my love

Don't forget to win first place

Don't forget to keep that smile on your face

Be a good girl

Try a little harder

You've got to measure up

And make me prouder

How long before you screw it up?

And how many times do I have to tell you

To hurry up?

With everything I do for you

The least you can do is keep quiet

Be a good girl

You've gotta try a little harder

That simply wasn't good enough

To make us proud

I'll live through you

I'll make you what I never was

If you're the best, then maybe so am I

Compared to him, compared to her

I'm doing this for your own damn good

You'll make up for what I blew

What's the problem? Why are you crying?

Be a good boy

Push a little farther now

That wasn't fast enough

To make us happy

We'll love you just the way you are

If you're perfect

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Backyard Bird List - Swan View Home

Sun, 09 Jan 2022 04:49:25 GMT

White-faced Heron
Australian White Ibis
Brown Goshawk
Little Eagle (14/3/22)
Crested Pigeon
Spotted Dove
Senegal Dove
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
Carnaby's Cockatoo
Galah
Little Corella
Rainbow Lorikeet
Australian Ringneck
Red-capped Parrot
Boobook Owl
Laughing Kookaburra
Rainbow Bee-eater
Striated Pardalote
Weebill
Western Gerygone
Yellow-rumped Thornbill (H)
Rufous Whistler (H)
Red Wattlebird
Western Wattlebird
Singing Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater (14/3/22)
New Holland Honeyeater (19/2/22)
Magpie Lark
Willie Wagtail
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike
Grey Butcherbird
Magpie
Australian Raven
Silvereye
Welcome Swallow

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It's a year! It's new!

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 03:56:36 GMT

Well, 2021 was a doozy. Brother got diagnosed with cancer. He proposed to his longtime girlfriend. We had some trouble getting the tenants out of our house but by the start of May - 2 months later than originally planned - we moved into our home. My nephew got married. My brother went through lots of treatment and is now in remission! Got engaged. Had my car smashed into. Spilled tahini on the floor right near closing at work.

Here's hoping 2022 treats everyone better than 2021.

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Smoking diary - tomatoes

Wed, 10 Nov 2021 12:53:08 GMT

Hah, it's times like these I wish I still had my old anti-smoking icons I used so often on LJ.

Hark gas powered smoker. Seasoned the smoker with a shallow covering of chips in the tray. After an hour on low about 1/4 of the chips had smouldered. So I figured, let's just keep going and try smoking tomatoes. At least it doesn't matter if they're not "cooked properly" unlike meat, which will require a lot more patience and care.

1. The burner turned off twice when I went to adjust the heat. Apparently I need to have the door OPEN when I do that. Noted.
1a. Smoke in eyes stings worse than onions, but passes more quickly than onions when the smoke goes away.
2. Heat seemed to fluctuate a lot, but maybe that was due to unexpected flame outages.
3. After 1.5/2 hours (recipe suggested 45 min to an hour, but I'm guessing that was keeping constant temperature), I turned it off. Tomatoes are soft and lightly smoked, smoke flavour actually gets stronger as an aftertaste.

Soon I shall attempt to smoke this pork shoulder in the freezer. Hmmm, maybe I should start with cheaper/smaller cuts or just more plants until I get the knack a bit more.

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Food

Sun, 07 Nov 2021 11:57:55 GMT

If I eat from a regular plated meal - I'll tend to eat everything on the plate, even if it's too much.

If I have a small plated meal - I'll eat everything, and sometimes still be hungry.

If I can graze from a big plate/bowl - I often stop myself once I am full. One notable exception is the salads I make which I tend to scoff way too much of. But perhaps this is a way to control my intake?

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Two cat anecdotes

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 13:39:52 GMT

Two cat anecdotes -

We've been regularly visited by a calico kitty lately.  I've taken to calling her "Teo's girlfriend" because he watches intently out of a window or door when she's around.  Thing is, she's kinda yowling and I'm now worried a unspayed female cat is wandering the neighbourhood, where I know there are at least two other outdoor cats around.  She has a collar, but I'm tempted to report it.  Thing is, I can see myself being like "I'll take her in and pay for the spay etc etc" and I am SO not ready for another cat, let alone one recuperating for surgery.

I was just listening to the Bartonella spp. episode of This Podcast Will Kill You.  One of the infections described was Cat Scratch Disease/Fever.  Remember when I had that chicken egg swollen gland around when we moved house?  I reckon that could well have been a mild infection of Bartonella henselae going by the symptoms and history described.

(you should totally listen to this podcast - they also have done an excellent series on the Covid crisis).

https://thispodcastwillkillyou.com/2021/07/27/episode-78-bartonella-keep-calm-and-carrion/

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I like this suburb

Mon, 21 Jun 2021 07:42:09 GMT

The houses are well established and a decent percentage are owner-occupied. There are plenty of big established trees, lots of natives, lots of fruit trees. I wonder if that tree down the road was a pistachio? Plenty of parklands, and a short walk to Talbot Bushland.

From some points you can see all the way across to Roe Highway, across the ugly new Movida estate, where houses that all look the same are situated on tiny blocks with rudimentary gardens, a few small shrubs and goddamn lawn. Come summer they will roast while we'll be quite comfortable in shady greenery.

It's somewhat easy to tell the rentals and owner-occupied places apart. Renters don't have the luxury of being able to make long-term projects of the garden, so the yard usually consists of a few scrappy trees and bushes and a weedy lawn.

After years of renting I finally have the opportunity to work on my yard, take the time to meld it to my vision.

Another thing I noticed - we don't have overhead powerlines! They must have been undergrounded at some stage. Nice.

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Drinks to make

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 04:05:19 GMT

Date smoothie
Strawberry & mint with simple syrup in soda water
Strawberry and mint infused water
Strawberry salad dressing
Strawberry ripple ice cream
Strawberry icy poles
Nutella pops

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Down in the West Texas town of El Paso

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 08:19:54 GMT

I recently discovered that Marty Robbins wrote two sequels to El Paso. In them he tells Rosita’s side of the story – that she met a dashing cowboy who made a mistake and got shot and then in the end she kills HERSELF over it all and it made me throw up in my mouth a bit.

The original song tells the tale of a cowboy who goes to a remote cantina, falls in love with the dancing girl (Rosita), one night sees the dancing girl drinking with another guy so he shoots him in a jealous rage, runs away, steals a horse (a hanging offence in the old west) and goes to ground briefly. Then he is so overcome by his need (‘love’) to see the dancing girl again that he rides back into town and is promptly shot by the local posse. In the last verse the dancing girl is by his side, and she kisses him before he dies.

These days I have a different personal interpretation. Nowhere in the song does it state that his love for Rosita is reciprocated. As the dancing girl, it stands to reason that she might be sitting and drinking with whichever customer pays the highest price, but for the narrator, how dare another man make moves on the woman he’s obsessed with, even if she doesn’t know who he is. So, for an obsession, this guy commits murder and grand theft and then is STILL so obsessed that he gets himself killed returning to the scene of the crime. The last verse to me is obviously a hallucination.

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Living with a cat

Mon, 28 Oct 2019 01:03:33 GMT

I swear having a cat is often like having a toddler.

Bella will often wake me up in the mornings, walking back and forth in my bedhead, scratching at any paper that may be there, sometimes turning off my CPAP if she steps on the button.

If I get up and feed her, then go back to bed, she won't eat the food right away but she still stop bugging me.

This morning I got up though, fed her, she didn't eat it right away.

She came into the computer room multiple times walking near me and getting pets. Despite her positioning so I can't grab her easily, I eventually picked her up and gave her a hug and she purred like crazy about it. I put her down and she continued to walk around me and rub against my legs. Then she left.

Next thing I know she's scratching at the front door to go out. So I let her out and watched what she did. She sat on the front walk, sniffed the air for a bit... then realised I was watching her so she came BACK to the door. I then went outside too and followed her around, she meows at me and kinda walks a bit then waits and looks back as if to say "come on". We wandered around a bit of the garden then I sat down on the verandah couch and she rubbed against my legs a bit then sat on the ottoman. When I stood up to look over the verandah wall she jumped up on it and demanded more pats.

After this was over and I went to go back inside, she dashed inside the door just as I opened it and THEN went to eat her breakfast!

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2018 Music Awards - MOST AWESOME NEW DISCOVERY (Runner Up) - Greta Van Fleet

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 06:48:53 GMT

I’ve spent the last few days of 2018 (and the first of 2019) listening to these guys an awful lot. The three Kiszka brothers (two of them are twins!) and friend on the drums look and sound like they were plucked right from the best of 60s and 70s classic rock. It seems half the world hates them because they look and sound pretty much exactly like Led Zeppelin, and the other half loves them because they look and sound pretty much exactly like Led Zeppelin. I’m firmly in the LOVE camp, I’ll gladly listen to a new breed of musicians working to resurrect the old sounds. Long live rock ‘n’ roll.

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2018 Music Awards - BEST SONG - Enough - SONOIO

Sat, 29 Dec 2018 13:49:12 GMT

Alessandro Cortini wears many hats. In the live lineup of Nine Inch Nails he might be playing keyboards and synths, or he could be on bass or guitar. He’s in another band called Modwheelmood and releases solo ambient synth material under the name Blindoldfreak as well as his actual name. And he had a now defunct solo synthpop project called SONOIO (“it’s me”).

I remember first hearing this song (and seeing the video) just after my sinus operation in June, and I was immediately hooked. This is so goddamn catchy. Then a bit later I read the lyrics and they were also heavily relatable. I still squee a little bit and sing along loudly whenever it comes on when I’m randomly playing stuff.

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2018 Music Awards - BEST ALBUM - Hesitation Marks - Nine Inch Nails

Sat, 29 Dec 2018 13:47:04 GMT

BEST ALBUM
Hesitation Marks - Nine Inch Nails

LastFM lets you click a little heart to indicate a “loved” song. Since I first listened to this album in May (yeah I as a few years late to the party) every song on it has received a little heart. When I was into NIN in the 1990s Trent Reznor was the “King of Angst”. In the intervening years he’s kicked a cocaine and alcohol habit, beefed up, gotten married and had 4 kids. These days the music still has a dark streak, but it’s less destructive. Seeing as I too have grown up in these intervening years, newer NIN still has the same relevance to me as the older stuff did in my teens. This years Bad Witch LP was great, but for me HM has just the right sounds and lyrics for me to just to be able to listen to it over and over and over.

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I officially dub 2012 as the Year of the King

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 08:10:26 GMT

Due to my obsessions with A Song of Ice and Fire, Shakespeare’s Henriad and the politics of Asgard and Jotunheim.

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LJ Dump

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:41:19 GMT

Last 3 posts were just reposted from LJ. I have sinced watched The Hollow Crown and intend to write my dissertation soon.

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Henry V just got a lot more interesting

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:40:41 GMT

I probably would have checked it out. Tom Hiddleston doing Shakespeare? Medieval warfare? Count me in.

What I didn't realise until recently is that Henry V focuses on the Battle of Agincourt. Last night we were watching Braveheart (well, I was in and out of the room and commenting loudly on Medieval battle tactics, because, despite it now being an old game, I still happily play Age of Kings. There is a William Wallace tutorial on it, so I was like, "Bleh, I know this story. NEAT, he got run through with a pike!" I decided to play a bit last night because it got me in the mood, but decided to play the slightly more interesting Joan of Arc campaign instead of the William Wallace tutorial. Then I went, "Hey, there is a Battle of Agincourt scenario too isn't there?" So I played that one and what do I learn - In the scenario you have to keep ol' King Henry alive and get him back to England, all you have is a small army, consisting mainly of Yeomen.

I first learned about this particular fracas in the 1999 production of Joan of Arc starring Leelee Sobieski as Joan (and, as I discovered this morning, Neil Patrick Harris as the Dauphin, which just makes it MORE awesome). This was a 2 part miniseries thing aired on TV, but it's also available now on DVD.

In it I remember one of the generals telling the tale, of how the English archers slaughtered the French cavalry. The character, being French, made it look like the English were bloodthirsty and savage and that the French never stood a chance. (Warning, my knowledge of Agincourt is really limited to this movie and that game, so I may have facts wrong). In reality the English were pretty much resigning themself to a loss and just wanted to get the hell back on English soil. They were seriously outnumbered. The problem was getting through lines of French heavy cavalry.

It was only due to a quirk of the terrain and weather that they won. The cavalry had to charge uphill, across a field that had turned into a quagmire due to rain. Henry figured, if they could get a line of Yeomen at the top, they could pick off the slowed down French cavs as they approached. There is a reason "Elite Longbowman" is the English unique unit in Age of Kings.

They won. Just, it was enough for Henry to retreat back to England. Apparently in the end, because neither the French or English truly won the war, it created a vacuum that was promptly filled by Burgundy.

But shit, I am interested in this. Now I'm even more keen to see Tom rip it up as Henry in this movie.

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