Still writing, and am keeping up so far. The word count widget isn't showing it yet, but I've clocked today's 1667 words plus a few more.
I put an extract on my user page over at NaNoWriMo - do read it, if you'd like (but remember, it's first draft! - constructive criticism or fawning admiration welcome...! - leave a comment here on the blog). The title's changed, already, and it's now The Bluebird Café.
You can help! I don't like coffee or tea, so I don't drink them, but it would be good to have some helpful descriptions from coffee or tea drinkers (given that the novel involves a café) to use for characters/café customers. So, when you go to a café, how do you like your coffee, or tea? Don't just say white or black, tell me something more. Particular temperature, particular blend of either, particular size, what? Why do you take it this way? Or if there is something else that you choose to drink, what is it and why? Please leave a comment on this blog entry!
Thanks!
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Gee's Bend quilt show, Sydney
As part of the Quilt Indulgence festival at Canterbury Racecourse in Sydney, there are Gee's Bend quilts on display. First time in Sydney. I've been reading about Gee's Bend quilts for several years, although haven't had the opportunity to go to the US to see them in any of their art gallery/quilt show exhibits there myself. I've been inspired by the photographs I've seen online and in books, tried my hand at the style with recycled fabrics and OK, call me a fan. So knowing this exhibition was coming up, a friend and I were definite attendees. What follows in this blog entry is, I stress, my opinion. Some may agree, others not, but the world is wide and open to many points of view.
At the racecourse, about a quarter of an hour before the 9.30am opening, we were the third car in the carpark. My experience of other large quilt/craft shows is that, by such a time, the carpark is anything but empty. We were glad there was some signage about, so we were in the right place. Odd. Unsettling, These are GEE'S BEND quilts on show here, acclaimed modern American art.
We wandered up to buy tickets, chatting to some quilting friends (the fourth and fifth cars held quilters we knew, and no, that's not what you usually find, either - Sydney's a city of millions, after all, and the craft show included scrapbooking/papercrafts, thus gathering in people from a different crafting milieu). The longest queue was to get in at 9.30, and we were in that queue for at least two minutes, but no more. Also unheard of. Odder and odder - these are Gee's Bend quilts here...and not unfamiliar, I would have said, to ?the majority of quilters, or at least those interested in art quilts/quilt history, or toddling around the blogosphere or quilting email lists.
In we went, the Gee's Bend quilts our goal. There were quilts on exhibition from several quilt magazines, representing Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan. But where - ? We walked past aisles, around corners, past the five or six retailers (only five or six?) and on to the quilts.
Right at the back, in two alleys, were the Gee's Bend quilts. I can't show you photos, because there were No Photography signs (thus the photo of the flyers instead). The catalogue had thumbnails of each of the quilts on display - all were for sale, for prices mostly in the thousands, a few in the tens of thousands.
Maybe the sales angle was the reason they were here, tucked on temporary white alleyways behind an escalator in a racecourse stand, for one weekend only. When their arrival in Sydney was first publicised, some months ago, I contacted a major museum that exhibits textiles among other things, and suggested they should look again at these quilts, given their standing and the success of such exhibitions in major US museums and galleries. Couldn't get them interested.
So here we were. Desperately glad to get a chance to see the quilts for real, not just moderated through a photograph.
What was good:
Being able to see them at all. Magic. Amazing.
Being able to see detail of workmanship - which varied a lot, and demonstrated a variety of different decisions/choices on the part of the makers.
Being able to see a range, from some one considered more successful to others which seemed less graphically successful. The most successful ones, to me, usually involved plainer or tone on tone fabrics - often still a scrap-based variety, but my preference is for the patterning of piecing, in these quilts, over the patterns on fabrics.
We were there early, so had a fair amount of time to browse them before the aisles held more people - but it wasn't at all crowded.
Reading the few laminated biography sheets there about some of the quilters, their family histories and how and why they quilt. It would have been good if they'd set aside an area somewhere, as many museum exhibits do, continuously running the documentary about Gee's Bend and the quilts, so you could see them talking, hear their voices.
What wasn't good:
The sadness of something this amazing being tucked away into a weekend at a racecourse for the quilting fraternity. One of the things about the Gee's Bend quilts, for me, is their capacity to amaze and engage non quilters with the possibilities of quilting as an art form, modern design, in all sorts of ways prompt the response, "I didn't know quilts could be like that!" My guess is that the only people there who weren't quilters were accompanying quilters.
If you look at Citysearch, or the Sydney Morning Herald, there is NOTHING about this exhibition. Nothing. That's such a shame. If an exhibition like this is to find an audience beyond the quilting fraternity, it needs to be publicised to the mainstream media to reach that audience.
The layout - two alleys of them - meant that you could only stand back a few feet to see each quilt. In a larger gallery situation, you can stand back further, see the quilts in different ways. When I was in Melbourne at the NGV in January, one of the pleasures of the rooms, large and small, was the chance to stand back and see items from a distance, as well as up close.
An hour and a half later, we were done. We'd studied the quilts, discussing what engaged us, what our expectations had been, how they had been met/adjusted by the reality of the quilts. I'm still utterly delighted to have finally had the chance to view the real thing, after reading about them for so long. If you have a chance to go today, then do (parking won't be a problem). Among the rest of the quilts on display, we enjoyed seeing them all and were very impressed with a number. Without the Gee's Bend quilts being there, would we have gone? No.
As a quilter and quilt history enthusiast, I'm so sorry that the capacity of these quilts to evangelise, to connect with people, was confined by their context and the limitations of this exhibition. I hope a major gallery or museum does mount a proper exhibition of them in Sydney in the future.
Added later: The Gee's Bend exhibition that has been touring the US for several years is Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. It's in Philadelphia now (thanks for the tip, Candy). If you want to see what a comprehensive exhibition can involve (and this is just if you access the website, let alone if you go to see the quilts) then here are some links - make sure you investigate the tabs on each page to go deeper/learn more, and also listen to the podcasts:
.
At the racecourse, about a quarter of an hour before the 9.30am opening, we were the third car in the carpark. My experience of other large quilt/craft shows is that, by such a time, the carpark is anything but empty. We were glad there was some signage about, so we were in the right place. Odd. Unsettling, These are GEE'S BEND quilts on show here, acclaimed modern American art.
We wandered up to buy tickets, chatting to some quilting friends (the fourth and fifth cars held quilters we knew, and no, that's not what you usually find, either - Sydney's a city of millions, after all, and the craft show included scrapbooking/papercrafts, thus gathering in people from a different crafting milieu). The longest queue was to get in at 9.30, and we were in that queue for at least two minutes, but no more. Also unheard of. Odder and odder - these are Gee's Bend quilts here...and not unfamiliar, I would have said, to ?the majority of quilters, or at least those interested in art quilts/quilt history, or toddling around the blogosphere or quilting email lists.
In we went, the Gee's Bend quilts our goal. There were quilts on exhibition from several quilt magazines, representing Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan. But where - ? We walked past aisles, around corners, past the five or six retailers (only five or six?) and on to the quilts.
Right at the back, in two alleys, were the Gee's Bend quilts. I can't show you photos, because there were No Photography signs (thus the photo of the flyers instead). The catalogue had thumbnails of each of the quilts on display - all were for sale, for prices mostly in the thousands, a few in the tens of thousands.
Maybe the sales angle was the reason they were here, tucked on temporary white alleyways behind an escalator in a racecourse stand, for one weekend only. When their arrival in Sydney was first publicised, some months ago, I contacted a major museum that exhibits textiles among other things, and suggested they should look again at these quilts, given their standing and the success of such exhibitions in major US museums and galleries. Couldn't get them interested.
So here we were. Desperately glad to get a chance to see the quilts for real, not just moderated through a photograph.
What was good:
Being able to see them at all. Magic. Amazing.
Being able to see detail of workmanship - which varied a lot, and demonstrated a variety of different decisions/choices on the part of the makers.
Being able to see a range, from some one considered more successful to others which seemed less graphically successful. The most successful ones, to me, usually involved plainer or tone on tone fabrics - often still a scrap-based variety, but my preference is for the patterning of piecing, in these quilts, over the patterns on fabrics.
We were there early, so had a fair amount of time to browse them before the aisles held more people - but it wasn't at all crowded.
Reading the few laminated biography sheets there about some of the quilters, their family histories and how and why they quilt. It would have been good if they'd set aside an area somewhere, as many museum exhibits do, continuously running the documentary about Gee's Bend and the quilts, so you could see them talking, hear their voices.
What wasn't good:
The sadness of something this amazing being tucked away into a weekend at a racecourse for the quilting fraternity. One of the things about the Gee's Bend quilts, for me, is their capacity to amaze and engage non quilters with the possibilities of quilting as an art form, modern design, in all sorts of ways prompt the response, "I didn't know quilts could be like that!" My guess is that the only people there who weren't quilters were accompanying quilters.
If you look at Citysearch, or the Sydney Morning Herald, there is NOTHING about this exhibition. Nothing. That's such a shame. If an exhibition like this is to find an audience beyond the quilting fraternity, it needs to be publicised to the mainstream media to reach that audience.
The layout - two alleys of them - meant that you could only stand back a few feet to see each quilt. In a larger gallery situation, you can stand back further, see the quilts in different ways. When I was in Melbourne at the NGV in January, one of the pleasures of the rooms, large and small, was the chance to stand back and see items from a distance, as well as up close.
An hour and a half later, we were done. We'd studied the quilts, discussing what engaged us, what our expectations had been, how they had been met/adjusted by the reality of the quilts. I'm still utterly delighted to have finally had the chance to view the real thing, after reading about them for so long. If you have a chance to go today, then do (parking won't be a problem). Among the rest of the quilts on display, we enjoyed seeing them all and were very impressed with a number. Without the Gee's Bend quilts being there, would we have gone? No.
As a quilter and quilt history enthusiast, I'm so sorry that the capacity of these quilts to evangelise, to connect with people, was confined by their context and the limitations of this exhibition. I hope a major gallery or museum does mount a proper exhibition of them in Sydney in the future.
Added later: The Gee's Bend exhibition that has been touring the US for several years is Gee's Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt. It's in Philadelphia now (thanks for the tip, Candy). If you want to see what a comprehensive exhibition can involve (and this is just if you access the website, let alone if you go to see the quilts) then here are some links - make sure you investigate the tabs on each page to go deeper/learn more, and also listen to the podcasts:
- Main exhibition page , including podcasts
- Teaching materials , including details of quilts and quilters
- The Gee's Bend Photographs , an exhibition by Linda Day Clark, including podcasts
- Quilt Stories: the Ella King Torrey Collection of African American Quilts , a related exhibition running concurrently.
Hmmm. Can we have that in Sydney, please? And just while I'm being curious, why is the exhibition in Sydney not mentioned at all on the Quilts of Gee's Bend website page about current exhibitions ? Or on the Tinwood Media website (publisher/promoter of Gee's Bend quilts)? What was on exhibition in Sydney?
If you haven't read it before, here's the 2002 review from the New York Times which acclaimed the Gee's Bend quilts as astonishing modern art.
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Saturday, November 01, 2008
NaNoWriMo: day one
The word counter widget isn't operational yet, so here's today's tally:
2101 words.
(With the goal of 50,000 words of novel by 30 November, that's 1667 words a day...).
2101 words.
(With the goal of 50,000 words of novel by 30 November, that's 1667 words a day...).
Date loaf
Afternoon tea, after a day including a quilt show, a quilt shop and Ikea (blue Christmas bird lights! Hurrah! - will post a pic soon) in good company.
And home, to the quietness of late afternoon, the day cloudy and enough time to bake a date loaf. The smell drifted about the house, warm and welcoming, and it tasted (as you can see) good. Topped with cinnamon sugar, buttered and eaten with relish (figurative, not literal), warm from the oven.
.
And home, to the quietness of late afternoon, the day cloudy and enough time to bake a date loaf. The smell drifted about the house, warm and welcoming, and it tasted (as you can see) good. Topped with cinnamon sugar, buttered and eaten with relish (figurative, not literal), warm from the oven.
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Friday, October 31, 2008
Afternoon
Yesterday the afternoon sky was clouded with quiet, beautiful shades of grey-blue, and the tree a tracery over it.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Rhubarb
It's a while since I did any fruit and veg shop photography. I was in there the other day, and just took this rhubarb photo - when the misting spray came down and I whipped my camera out of the way.
Wouldn't this make a good colour combination for a quilt? Lime to jade greens, pink to cranberry. Hmmmm. Maybe when I'm finished all the ones I have to get done first.
Wouldn't this make a good colour combination for a quilt? Lime to jade greens, pink to cranberry. Hmmmm. Maybe when I'm finished all the ones I have to get done first.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Crosshatch (a book rant)
I picked this photo because of the 'cross' bit.
The habits of publishers in Australia sometimes utterly bewilder me.
For instance: I read Charlaine Harris' first Sookie Stackhouse novel recently. Lots of fun (Dead Before Dark is the title). O-kay. If I want to buy any more to read from an Australian bookshop (thus supporting local etc) then I have to buy the locally available editions. Which not only have stupid covers in comparison to the charmingly quirky illustrations on the US covers (a small detail, I know, but interesting - why change something distinctive for something which is boring, which the UK covers are?) BUT also cost a BOMB more.
US price for items in this series which have been out for a while: $US7.99. Which even with the battered Australian dollar is under $15AU, plus postage.
Bookshelf price for the same titles here, is $AU30 and upwards. Per book. Hello? The words are the same. They are larger format than the US paperbacks, with aforesaid daft boring undistinguished thematic covers. This isn't Booker Prize material, folks, it's fun reading. When one book is the price of two cinema tickets (and doesn't have to be), well, the readers make their choices too.
I can buy the next five in the series from bookdepository.co.uk for under $60AU, delivered to the door. I couldn't buy two at the local bookshops for that. Even at amazon, and adding the postal charges for five books, beats the local price. (The Book Depository does free worldwide shipping, and discounts many titles as well).
Something is rotten.
Another example: A while ago a colleague was trying to track down a picture book for a present; it had been mentioned on the radio. Two different local bookstores quoted 6-8 weeks and prices ranging from $29.95 to $32.95. From an online retailer, it converted to under $13 AU and arrived a week later. But do any chain booksellers tell you, truthfully, that they're only observing the Recommended Retail Price when it suits them? No, they don't - how many mug punters have been caught by that little game?
I know I might find the Charlaine Harris books in the local library. Might. If it was open after hours and had the stock and I wanted to use the petrol. But its collection is incomplete and its hours incompatible.
Rant over. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
PS. and the audiobook versions of Charlaine Harris' work aren't available on audible.com, if you live in Australia. Like, it seems, a lot of stuff. I wish authors/publishers would do better at audiobook rights, think outside the US market. There are customers here too.....
.
The habits of publishers in Australia sometimes utterly bewilder me.
For instance: I read Charlaine Harris' first Sookie Stackhouse novel recently. Lots of fun (Dead Before Dark is the title). O-kay. If I want to buy any more to read from an Australian bookshop (thus supporting local etc) then I have to buy the locally available editions. Which not only have stupid covers in comparison to the charmingly quirky illustrations on the US covers (a small detail, I know, but interesting - why change something distinctive for something which is boring, which the UK covers are?) BUT also cost a BOMB more.
US price for items in this series which have been out for a while: $US7.99. Which even with the battered Australian dollar is under $15AU, plus postage.
Bookshelf price for the same titles here, is $AU30 and upwards. Per book. Hello? The words are the same. They are larger format than the US paperbacks, with aforesaid daft boring undistinguished thematic covers. This isn't Booker Prize material, folks, it's fun reading. When one book is the price of two cinema tickets (and doesn't have to be), well, the readers make their choices too.
I can buy the next five in the series from bookdepository.co.uk for under $60AU, delivered to the door. I couldn't buy two at the local bookshops for that. Even at amazon, and adding the postal charges for five books, beats the local price. (The Book Depository does free worldwide shipping, and discounts many titles as well).
Something is rotten.
Another example: A while ago a colleague was trying to track down a picture book for a present; it had been mentioned on the radio. Two different local bookstores quoted 6-8 weeks and prices ranging from $29.95 to $32.95. From an online retailer, it converted to under $13 AU and arrived a week later. But do any chain booksellers tell you, truthfully, that they're only observing the Recommended Retail Price when it suits them? No, they don't - how many mug punters have been caught by that little game?
I know I might find the Charlaine Harris books in the local library. Might. If it was open after hours and had the stock and I wanted to use the petrol. But its collection is incomplete and its hours incompatible.
Rant over. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
PS. and the audiobook versions of Charlaine Harris' work aren't available on audible.com, if you live in Australia. Like, it seems, a lot of stuff. I wish authors/publishers would do better at audiobook rights, think outside the US market. There are customers here too.....
.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Purple buds
There's lots on the agenda today, and stuff that's dropped off because one day isn't enough to do it all - things budding and blooming and happening. Got to get some quilting done!
Back of my mind somewhere, have to let my NaNoWriMo idea brew some more. National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org) starts on 1 November, in a week. The goal? One 50,000 word novel in the month. Is it cheating to write notes now, or phrases, or odd comments about characters? Dunno. It's all part of the adventure. I do have the germinating germ of an idea...
Back of my mind somewhere, have to let my NaNoWriMo idea brew some more. National Novel Writing Month (nanowrimo.org) starts on 1 November, in a week. The goal? One 50,000 word novel in the month. Is it cheating to write notes now, or phrases, or odd comments about characters? Dunno. It's all part of the adventure. I do have the germinating germ of an idea...
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Pink flower, white wall
It's been a beautiful sunny spring day today. Warm, not too hot, time to have lunch in good company and get some work done this afternoon. This evening? Some quilting, which will be good too. Might make some soda bread tomorrow - I got two cartons of buttermilk (a key ingredient which I don't normally have in the fridge) and there's still one there.
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Friday, October 24, 2008
Pink lily
With morning light behind them, there was a wonderful pink translucence to these flowers. Still tired today, but mouth not nearly as sore as after the last lot of dental work, so hurrah hurray for that!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Toofless
Today was it - morning appointment with the oral surgeon to finally take the rest of the recalcitrant tooth out. It didn't stand a chance, and if I ever have to have another toof out I'm a huge convert to sedation as part of extraction.... Even though I was silly as a two bob watch coming out of it (which is fairly usual, I believe), and provided my lovely chauffeur with plenty of blackmail material (I didn't say that...you did...). Lots of sleeping the rest of the day, and relief that it's finished.
I should say that these weren't the actual tools the oral surgeon employed, but representative, well, kinda sorta...
I'm glad it's over. Well, except for the bills! Expensive things, teef.
I should say that these weren't the actual tools the oral surgeon employed, but representative, well, kinda sorta...
I'm glad it's over. Well, except for the bills! Expensive things, teef.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Chard and cooking
If I had a vegetable garden, I'd grow chard like this, wonderful colours! It reminds me of Kaffe Fassett fabric, he had a chard one a while back. This is the larger version of my current blog header - the colours were too good not to enjoy for longer. I took the pic at the local farmers' market - it's not a very large one, but still nice to have there each month. I didn't buy chard, but I did get a dozen organic free range eggs from happy chickens.
Jamie Oliver's recent program on eggs and chickens was excellent for inducing guilt - I feel faintly criminal now if I buy anything but free range, after seeing what he showed. More recently, I've been watching his Ministry of Food programs and am utterly bewildered at why so many people are resorting to take-away because they cannot cook at all. It's astonishing, then, when they learn even a little, how transforming it is to their whole lives - not a chore, but a joy.
I also watched his series on School Dinners - another eye-opener. And if you look at the UK schools food trust, or whatever it's called, the standards and expectations on the website now seem vastly different from what appeared to be acceptable when he tied on an apron and went into the land of fried chips and chicken nuggets very few years ago. You've got to respect someone who, having got celebrity, is being so damn good at making it work for good.
In Australia, noted chef Stephanie Alexander is involved in a project to have children growing kitchen gardens at school, and learning about food from soil to plate, so to speak.
We learned to cook at home, as kids, starting with simpler stuff and going from there. Maybe I'm lucky, but when I think of the Ministry of Food idea of "Pass it on" (learn one recipe, then teach it to two people, who then teach it to two more), I don't think I know anyone who can't cook. It would be maybe adding to or refining repertoires, not developing them from scratch as the idea intends.
So maybe I'll do it this way. Dear blog reader, head on over to Jamie's Ministry of Food and look at some of the videos and find a recipe that interests you. See how Jamie makes it and have a go yourself. Then pass it on, in whatever way works for you. It's a very generous website, lots of pictures and information - not one that wants to push you into buying the book by only giving you a squeak to start.
Jamie Oliver's recent program on eggs and chickens was excellent for inducing guilt - I feel faintly criminal now if I buy anything but free range, after seeing what he showed. More recently, I've been watching his Ministry of Food programs and am utterly bewildered at why so many people are resorting to take-away because they cannot cook at all. It's astonishing, then, when they learn even a little, how transforming it is to their whole lives - not a chore, but a joy.
I also watched his series on School Dinners - another eye-opener. And if you look at the UK schools food trust, or whatever it's called, the standards and expectations on the website now seem vastly different from what appeared to be acceptable when he tied on an apron and went into the land of fried chips and chicken nuggets very few years ago. You've got to respect someone who, having got celebrity, is being so damn good at making it work for good.
In Australia, noted chef Stephanie Alexander is involved in a project to have children growing kitchen gardens at school, and learning about food from soil to plate, so to speak.
We learned to cook at home, as kids, starting with simpler stuff and going from there. Maybe I'm lucky, but when I think of the Ministry of Food idea of "Pass it on" (learn one recipe, then teach it to two people, who then teach it to two more), I don't think I know anyone who can't cook. It would be maybe adding to or refining repertoires, not developing them from scratch as the idea intends.
So maybe I'll do it this way. Dear blog reader, head on over to Jamie's Ministry of Food and look at some of the videos and find a recipe that interests you. See how Jamie makes it and have a go yourself. Then pass it on, in whatever way works for you. It's a very generous website, lots of pictures and information - not one that wants to push you into buying the book by only giving you a squeak to start.
I tried his way of making an omelette, which was different to other ways I'd tried (eg. no milk added, just the eggs whisked) and then did some tweaking. Two eggs for a single omelette, not three, and I skipped the salt (rarely add it to anything anyway, so even a little tastes strong). Some smoked salmon shavings on the top, or shaved triple-smoked leg ham. Or served (you don't have to believe me, but it tasted good) with sliced strawberries on the side, instead of tomatoes. Got that last idea from French toast with raspberry coulis that I had at a cafe for breakfast once - before that, French toast was a savoury dish only, nothing sweet with it (although I believe North Americans add maple syrup to it, which I can't quite approach. Bit too sweet. The raspberries and strawberries still have a bite to them).
Hmmm. Maybe I'll head back over there myself and try something else. Not because I can't, but because I can, and I might learn something new, too.
If you do try something from there, do leave a comment here, esp. if you've blogged about it, so I can enjoy reading your take on it.
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Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Power pole puddle
Took this early in the morning - sun up, but the light still gentle. It was interesting to see how it came out nearly monochrome. I don't recollect that being how it struck me when I took the photo. The reflection was what caught my eye, the sharpness and snatch as the puddle had this angular view. I stopped, and stepped back a couple of paces to see it again, then pulled out the camera.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Reading: Temeraire
This book (also known as His Majesty's Dragon) is fabulous! Take the Napoleonic wars (the British side of them) and add in the aerial corps, which is, um, dragons. The prose is restrained and engaging - the characters sound period, not plonked - and the inventiveness of the story is borne out in its telling. Naomi Novik didn't just have a good idea, she made it work. When naval captain Will Laurence finds his whole life turned upside down by being forced to become the handler of the dragon Temeraire... the story begins. And there are sequels. Yay! (And Peter Jackson has the film rights).
I love it when you find/read the kind of book that makes you want to buttonhole strangers to recommend it, so they can share the hit and pleasure too. Consider yourself buttonholed!
You know that list of rooruu's favourite books from a little while ago? Something just lost its place, because this has definitely vaulted on.
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I love it when you find/read the kind of book that makes you want to buttonhole strangers to recommend it, so they can share the hit and pleasure too. Consider yourself buttonholed!
You know that list of rooruu's favourite books from a little while ago? Something just lost its place, because this has definitely vaulted on.
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Sunday, October 19, 2008
Irish Quilting magazine
There's a new magazine coming out, Irish Quilting. It was mentioned in an equilter newsletter, and this is the magazine's website . I'll have to ask the newsagent about it. Wonderful colour in the quilt on their home page.
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Diana Gabaldon and Outlander: the basic poop
This year has been full of Gabaldon words for me, revisiting the Outlander series in written text and the unabridged audiobooks. So, if I've managed to get you interested, here's the basic poop and links to take you onward.
I blogged about my shelf of (paperback) Diana Gabaldon books back in August, and am extremely glad that I went ahead and ordered the hardbacks before the Australian dollar nosedived. Here's the upgraded shelf. I've read and reread these books in paperback, engrossed by the characters and stories and the world of them. I don't own a lot of hardcover fiction - most fiction in Australia isn't published in hardcover, unlike the US - so anything I do have in hardback is usually a firm favourite (or something like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, a shorter book that was published here initially in hardcover).
Candy commented on my last entry that my Gabaldon enthusiasm has finally borne fruit (ha! - I've lost count of how many people I've introduced to this engrossing series!) (and I've only had one failure. I won't mention that it's my dear mama, because she sometimes reads this blog) and she's invested in Outlander, asking what comes next?
Here's a visual record for you, Candy. And yes, there is an order in which to read them:
The Outlandish Companion covers the first four books; there is a plan for another volume, but that would likely be when the series is complete (at least two books away, Echo plus at least one more). Some editions of this were titled Through the Stones.
A significant character from the Outlander series, Lord John Grey, appears in a separate series of shorter novels and novellas:
The audiobooks are available in two versions, and the only ones worth considering are the unabridged readings by Davina Porter for Recorded Books. The abridged ones are as little as 25% of the original text (ie. 75% is gone) and these heavily butchered abridged ones are not worth bothering with, imho. You can find the unabridged ones at Amazon and audible.com, with the unabridged Fiery Cross being the exception, only available to US purchasers from Recorded Books direct. For me in Australia, audible.com, via a membership, was the cheapest way to obtain them, no postal charges and downloaded to iPod. Of course, if you can find a local library with them, that's another option.
A graphic novel with a Jamie and Claire story taking place with the time span of Outlander is also in the works, likely to be published some time in 2009. Diana talks about that on her blog and website.
(Entirely selfishly, while helping Candy I've given myself a one-stop location for the Diana Gabaldon links I use. Ha! again).
* poop as in information. No pejorative associations implied or intended.
I blogged about my shelf of (paperback) Diana Gabaldon books back in August, and am extremely glad that I went ahead and ordered the hardbacks before the Australian dollar nosedived. Here's the upgraded shelf. I've read and reread these books in paperback, engrossed by the characters and stories and the world of them. I don't own a lot of hardcover fiction - most fiction in Australia isn't published in hardcover, unlike the US - so anything I do have in hardback is usually a firm favourite (or something like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, a shorter book that was published here initially in hardcover).
Candy commented on my last entry that my Gabaldon enthusiasm has finally borne fruit (ha! - I've lost count of how many people I've introduced to this engrossing series!) (and I've only had one failure. I won't mention that it's my dear mama, because she sometimes reads this blog) and she's invested in Outlander, asking what comes next?
Here's a visual record for you, Candy. And yes, there is an order in which to read them:
- Outlander (published in Australia and the UK as Cross Stitch)
- Dragonfly in Amber
- Voyager
- Drums of Autumn
- The Fiery Cross
- A Breath of Snow and Ashes
The Outlandish Companion covers the first four books; there is a plan for another volume, but that would likely be when the series is complete (at least two books away, Echo plus at least one more). Some editions of this were titled Through the Stones.
A significant character from the Outlander series, Lord John Grey, appears in a separate series of shorter novels and novellas:
- Lord John and the Private Matter
- Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade
- Lord John and the Hand of Devils (which contains Lord John and the Hellfire Club, Lord John and the Succubus and Lord John and the Haunted Soldier)
The audiobooks are available in two versions, and the only ones worth considering are the unabridged readings by Davina Porter for Recorded Books. The abridged ones are as little as 25% of the original text (ie. 75% is gone) and these heavily butchered abridged ones are not worth bothering with, imho. You can find the unabridged ones at Amazon and audible.com, with the unabridged Fiery Cross being the exception, only available to US purchasers from Recorded Books direct. For me in Australia, audible.com, via a membership, was the cheapest way to obtain them, no postal charges and downloaded to iPod. Of course, if you can find a local library with them, that's another option.
A graphic novel with a Jamie and Claire story taking place with the time span of Outlander is also in the works, likely to be published some time in 2009. Diana talks about that on her blog and website.
- Diana's website is here: dianagabaldon.com . You can sign up for email updates and listen to podcasts by Diana
- Diana's blog is here: Voyages of the Artemis
- Diana is a section leader at the Books and Writers Community (in the Research and Craft of Writing discussion forum), and also answers questions at the Diana Gabaldon discussion forum there.
- Another section leader, Karen Henry, blogs about things Outlandish at Outlandish Observations (thanks for this link, Janelle!)
(Entirely selfishly, while helping Candy I've given myself a one-stop location for the Diana Gabaldon links I use. Ha! again).
* poop as in information. No pejorative associations implied or intended.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Trailer: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
As is the odd and indeed curious wont of filmmakers, you can't have just one film with a kinda maybe similar theme at once; more often than seems explainable, you get a glut.
So while one waits for any more news of the film of The Time Traveler's Wife - no poster, no trailer, no website, no-show at the Toronto Film Festival as had been anticipated, a release date for the US that has vanished from the imdb page linked above, but with so little publicity, one has doubts that its release is anytime soon... and there's no sign of an Australian release date. Sometime in 2009?
There's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also involving (literary) time travel. No poster, but there's an official website , and a new non-teaser trailer. Film starts in Australia on Boxing Day.
So while one waits for any more news of the film of The Time Traveler's Wife - no poster, no trailer, no website, no-show at the Toronto Film Festival as had been anticipated, a release date for the US that has vanished from the imdb page linked above, but with so little publicity, one has doubts that its release is anytime soon... and there's no sign of an Australian release date. Sometime in 2009?
There's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button , based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also involving (literary) time travel. No poster, but there's an official website , and a new non-teaser trailer. Film starts in Australia on Boxing Day.
First jacaranda of the season
The purple blossom on the ground alerted us - when jacaranda season is in full swing, in November, the blossoms carpet the ground unmissably. But today, there were just a few, here and there, so we looked up and saw with delight that the jacarandas have begun to flower.
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Friday, October 17, 2008
Gum trees: evening
The warm light of late afternoon runs along the gum trees, lighting them differently to mornings - still one side, with the sun closer to the horizon, but while the morning light catches quietly, the afternoon light gilds. It's Friday, and the weekend is welcome after a busy week.
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Thursday, October 16, 2008
White plumbago
Such pretty stuff, plumbago, in its blue form or white. Generous enough in flowering to strew on a weekend lunch table. And again, since it flowers so long.
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Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Quiltlet: D is for Duckmaloi
Isn't Duckmaloi a great place name? This is the fourth in my series of quiltlets (small quilts) for Australian Patchwork & Quilting magazine (this is in vol. 17 no. 4).
I based this one on a beautiful, simple, vintage one I saw - it looked like it had been made from scraps, but when you looked again, you could see balance and thought in the placement of the fabrics. The original had clearly led a tough, appreciated life as a doll quilt.
Had a lovely comment on C is for Cootamundra, which I blogged a few weeks ago - she said she was going to make it in pinks and greys (the original is in greens and yellow). It's just great when people see a design and can find ways to make it quite their own. Duckmaloi, in thirties fabrics, or blocks of hand-dyes, would look quite different. And so kind when they let you know.
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I based this one on a beautiful, simple, vintage one I saw - it looked like it had been made from scraps, but when you looked again, you could see balance and thought in the placement of the fabrics. The original had clearly led a tough, appreciated life as a doll quilt.
Had a lovely comment on C is for Cootamundra, which I blogged a few weeks ago - she said she was going to make it in pinks and greys (the original is in greens and yellow). It's just great when people see a design and can find ways to make it quite their own. Duckmaloi, in thirties fabrics, or blocks of hand-dyes, would look quite different. And so kind when they let you know.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Red Cross trauma teddies
I had to visit the pathologist this morning, and felt a tad pale after the unchatty vampire with the rather beautiful Pandora bracelet had finished her work. Unfortunately, being old and, it is assumed, brave, I don't qualify for a trauma teddy. But it was nice to admire the basketful instead of thinking about the monosyllabic vampire (whose bracelet, she mentioned, had ended up costing her over two thou*. Oh, I said.).
Aren't those individual faces and expressions and colours just delightful? Red Cross volunteers knit trauma teddies and supply them in all sorts of places where children may need comfort. Just one wonderful way in which craft skill translates to charity and kindness.
*two thousand dollars? Yikes!
Aren't those individual faces and expressions and colours just delightful? Red Cross volunteers knit trauma teddies and supply them in all sorts of places where children may need comfort. Just one wonderful way in which craft skill translates to charity and kindness.
*two thousand dollars? Yikes!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Gum trees: morning
Early morning walk. Diana Gabaldon on the iPod (Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade), camera in pocket, water bottle in the handy little crochet long-strapped dilly bag I bought the other week. The tall trunks of these gum trees, and the early morning light. It's good.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Irish soda bread
Yesterday I had meant to be at the opening of The Shopping Sherpa's doll house exhibition (see button top right). But circumstances intervened. So today I made one of my favourite foods, because it always cheers me up. Love Irish soda bread. With butter, for sure. Tried it with smoked salmon, and that worked well too. Yum.
In case you don't know it, it's an unyeasted wholemeal bread - gorgeous hot from the oven, good the next day when warm, if it lasts that long. Doesn't keep, but why should it? I tried a whole bunch of recipes till I found the one I always use now.
(OK, if you ask I'll post the recipe on this blog...I don't have it by me just now. It does have a couple of secret - but not obscure - ingredients you don't find in standard recipes.)
In case you don't know it, it's an unyeasted wholemeal bread - gorgeous hot from the oven, good the next day when warm, if it lasts that long. Doesn't keep, but why should it? I tried a whole bunch of recipes till I found the one I always use now.
(OK, if you ask I'll post the recipe on this blog...I don't have it by me just now. It does have a couple of secret - but not obscure - ingredients you don't find in standard recipes.)
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Leaves
One thing I appreciate about a decent macro mode on my small camera is that it makes me see, and consider (and photograph) what I might otherwise pass on or pass by. This may have been a grevillea? - but look at those shadings of greens and pale browns and almost-pinks, and the shaping of the stem.
Friday, October 10, 2008
rooruu's fifty best books
I thought, enough with the lists from other people and companies - what's MY list of top books/reads/authors?
So I thought about it, and wandered along the bookshelves, and here's the list.
It's a brew of children's and adult fiction, classics and bestsellers and bestselling classics, out of print stuff, newer books, some narrative nonfiction (it's my list, I get to make up the rules!). Some I've reread recently, others not so recently. But if I had to have just fifty books (well, some are series, but you get my drift), right now this is the list (note: no guarantee it won't change sometime - heck, I only read a couple of these books for the first time recently - who's to say I won't find more treasure soon. Happy to.).
So I thought about it, and wandered along the bookshelves, and here's the list.
It's a brew of children's and adult fiction, classics and bestsellers and bestselling classics, out of print stuff, newer books, some narrative nonfiction (it's my list, I get to make up the rules!). Some I've reread recently, others not so recently. But if I had to have just fifty books (well, some are series, but you get my drift), right now this is the list (note: no guarantee it won't change sometime - heck, I only read a couple of these books for the first time recently - who's to say I won't find more treasure soon. Happy to.).
rooruu’s fifty books
rules:
alphabetical order by author
fiction and narrative nonfiction
each author only once – so fifty authors (and you can say series)
if you post this list on your blog, please include a link back to the source, http://rooruu.blogspot.com
- Margaret Atwood The handmaid’s tale
- Jane Austen Pride and prejudice
- Geraldine Brooks Year of wonders
- Bill Bryson The lost continent
- Truman Capote In cold blood
- Margaret Craven I heard the owl call my name
- Marcia Davenport The valley of decision
- Annie Dillard The writing life
- Paige Dixon A time to love and a time to mourn
- Louise Erdrich The blue jay’s dance
- M.F.K. Fisher The art of eating
- Frederick Forsyth The day of the Jackal
- Diana Gabaldon Outlander (Cross Stitch) series
- Louann Gaeddert Perfect strangers
- Kate Gilmore Remembrance of the sun
- Elizabeth Goudge The white witch
- Kenneth Grahame The wind in the willows
- Helene Hanff 84
- Georgette Heyer Regency novels (eg. The Grand Sophy)
- William Horwood Skallagrigg
- Ted Hughes The iron man
- Sebastian Junger The perfect storm
- Jan Karon At home in Mitford
- Cecil Maiden Beginning with Mrs McBee
- Robin McKinley Sunshine
- Anne Knowles Matthew Ratton
- Patricia MacLachlan Sarah, plain and tall
- Alastair Maclean The
- Norman Maclean A river runs through it
- Melina Marchetta Saving Francesca
- Ursula Le Guin A wizard of Earthsea (series)
- William Least-Heat Moon Blue highways
- L.M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables (series)
- Audrey Niffenegger The time traveler’s wife
- Tim O’Brien The things they carried
- Arthur Ransome Swallows and Amazons
- Alice Sebold The lovely bones
- Mary Ann Shaffer The
- Nevil Shute Pastoral
- Mary Stolz The seagulls woke me
- Patrick Süskind Perfume
- Rosemary Sutcliff The mark of the Horse Lord
- Agnes Sligh Turnbull The wedding bargain
- Anne Tyler The accidental tourist
- Cynthia Voigt Come a stranger
- Evelyn Waugh Brideshead revisited
- Jean Webster Daddy Long Legs (series)
- Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House series
- John Wyndham The day of the triffids
Do you want to play along? (If you do, leave a comment and a link to your blog so I can see your choices too).
Either
use this list as it stands, and add your own evaluations thus:
*** my top pick on this list
** read it, a favourite
* read it
~ read it, indifferent
^ would like to read it/plan to read it
*** my top pick on this list
** read it, a favourite
* read it
~ read it, indifferent
^ would like to read it/plan to read it
or
write up your own list of fifty favourite books, alphabetical by author, and leave a comment so I can take a squizz.
If something above isn't familiar to you, the Amazons often have either editorial reviews or reader reviews, even for out of print titles.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
LOOK!
There's a new badge on the sidebar! Right up the top! The red one! See????
Anna Maria aka The Shopping Sherpa has the most amazing collection of modern doll houses, and they're on display in Canberra. Follow the badge link for exhibition information, or click here to see the collection in full colour on the computer screen you're using right now....
No, this blog entry wasn't at all prompted by a comment on the previous entry on writing. No indeedy. Entirely separate. Remarkably coincidental. Etc.!!
If I could be in Canberra this weekend for the Official Opening, I would.
Anna Maria aka The Shopping Sherpa has the most amazing collection of modern doll houses, and they're on display in Canberra. Follow the badge link for exhibition information, or click here to see the collection in full colour on the computer screen you're using right now....
No, this blog entry wasn't at all prompted by a comment on the previous entry on writing. No indeedy. Entirely separate. Remarkably coincidental. Etc.!!
If I could be in Canberra this weekend for the Official Opening, I would.
Writing
I recently tripped over NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month and thought, OK, I'll play. It's a crazy idea, but good crazy, and sometimes it's a spur like that which sets you on your way (and note, Sarah Gruen's novel, Water for Elephants, began as a NaNoWriMo project. NY Times bestseller now. Magic happens...).
All my published writing has been nonfiction, mainly articles, and while I enjoy that, writing a novel has always been on my somewhere someday slate.
So I've nothing to lose by playing along with NaNoWriMo come November. If you decide to play too, leave a comment so I can take an interest in your progress. The goal is 50,000 words. Not edited polished finely wrought words (you can do that in December). Just the words, because it is a place to begin.
At the moment, I have an idea, and I'm letting it burble along till November. Asking it questions, to see what answers come. Brewing, like coffee. Or soy sauce. Or beer. None of which I drink, as it happens. Fiction writing, for me, is sometimes a matter of prodding your mind, as though it's the Lion and you're Young Albert. Fish out that stick with the horse's head handle and stir it to action. Even if it didn't go so well for Young Albert. Sometimes you don't know what you're going to write until you start writing it. Such as references to The Lion and Albert.
What am I referring to?
Stanley Holloway audio of this monologue on YouTube here.
Text of "The Lion and Albert" here .
As part of immersing myself in a writing mode, I've taken the possibly crazy step of setting up a separate blog focused on writing/books/words - links, ideas and so forth. It's still new and only has a couple of entries so far, but do take a squizz at Keyboard and Pen if you're interested. Keyboard and pen, because they're two of my most important writing tools. Love that blogger scheduling tool too.
No. I won't bore you about the tooth. Maybe I'll write an entirely fictitious scene about a recalcitrant tooth instead - it's not annoying, it's FODDER!
.
.
All my published writing has been nonfiction, mainly articles, and while I enjoy that, writing a novel has always been on my somewhere someday slate.
So I've nothing to lose by playing along with NaNoWriMo come November. If you decide to play too, leave a comment so I can take an interest in your progress. The goal is 50,000 words. Not edited polished finely wrought words (you can do that in December). Just the words, because it is a place to begin.
At the moment, I have an idea, and I'm letting it burble along till November. Asking it questions, to see what answers come. Brewing, like coffee. Or soy sauce. Or beer. None of which I drink, as it happens. Fiction writing, for me, is sometimes a matter of prodding your mind, as though it's the Lion and you're Young Albert. Fish out that stick with the horse's head handle and stir it to action. Even if it didn't go so well for Young Albert. Sometimes you don't know what you're going to write until you start writing it. Such as references to The Lion and Albert.
What am I referring to?
Stanley Holloway audio of this monologue on YouTube here.
Text of "The Lion and Albert" here .
As part of immersing myself in a writing mode, I've taken the possibly crazy step of setting up a separate blog focused on writing/books/words - links, ideas and so forth. It's still new and only has a couple of entries so far, but do take a squizz at Keyboard and Pen if you're interested. Keyboard and pen, because they're two of my most important writing tools. Love that blogger scheduling tool too.
No. I won't bore you about the tooth. Maybe I'll write an entirely fictitious scene about a recalcitrant tooth instead - it's not annoying, it's FODDER!
.
.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Genteel spoonfuls
Genteel spoonfuls are the order of the day, and probably the tomorrow. And maybe the next day. So I made raspberry jelly with mandarin oranges in it (using tinned ones, because fresh can stop the jelly setting).
My aching jaw was grateful.
The tooth is still winning, however (dammit) so the saga will continue, and the plans for the next few days will have to be revised.
And prancing around in my mind are the charming teeth poems of Spike Milligan and Pam Ayres.
Spike: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/teeth/
Pam: http://www.monologues.co.uk/First_Ladies/My_Teeth.htm
Neither of which applies in the current situation. But never mind.
My aching jaw was grateful.
The tooth is still winning, however (dammit) so the saga will continue, and the plans for the next few days will have to be revised.
And prancing around in my mind are the charming teeth poems of Spike Milligan and Pam Ayres.
Spike: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/teeth/
Pam: http://www.monologues.co.uk/First_Ladies/My_Teeth.htm
Neither of which applies in the current situation. But never mind.
Top 100 books
Australian booksellers Angus and Robertson polled their customers again for their favourite books - here's the 2008 list they've just released. It's a curious brew of classics and best sellers.
Do you want to play along? (If you do, leave a comment and a link to your blog so I can see your choices too).
*** my top pick on this list
** read it, a favourite
* read it
~ read it, indifferent
^ would like to read it/plan to read it
If you're quick, you can toddle over and see the 2007 list on their website here. It does include Cross Stitch, by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander, if you're US/Canadian). Dang. I shoulda voted. There's got to be more love in the room for it than at least some of those listed above. Another note: lookee how Twilight's up there at no. 2. And that's before the film's out.
Do you want to play along? (If you do, leave a comment and a link to your blog so I can see your choices too).
*** my top pick on this list
** read it, a favourite
* read it
~ read it, indifferent
^ would like to read it/plan to read it
1 Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling*
2 Twilight - Stephenie Meyer*
3 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen**
4 The Obernewtyn Chronicles - Isobelle Carmody
5 My Sister's Keeper - Jodi Picoult~
6 To Kill A Mockingbird - Harper Lee*
7 The Book Thief - Markus Zusak^
8 Breath - Tim Winton
9 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini^
10 Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs
11 The Power Of One - Bryce Courtenay
12 Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
13 Magician - Raymond E. Feist
14 The Bronze Horseman - Paullina Simons
15 Mao's Last Dancer - Li Cunxin
16 Memoirs Of A Geisha - Arthur Golden^
17 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold**
18 Cross - James Patterson
19 Persuasion - Jane Austen**
20 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte*
21 The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger***
22 The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
23 Marley and Me - John Grogan
24 Antony and Cleopatra - Colleen McCullough
25 April Fools Day - Bryce Courtney
26 North & South - Elizabeth Gaskell
27 In My Skin - Kate Holden
28 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte*
29 A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini^
30 The Other Boleyn Girl - Phillipa Gregory*
31 Nineteen Minutes - Jodi Picoult~
32 Atonement - Ian McEwan*
33 Shantaram Gregory - David Roberts
34 Pillars Of The Earth - Ken Follett^
35 The Pact - Jodi Picoult
36 Ice Station - Matthew Reilly
37 Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
38 Jessica - Bryce Courtenay
39 A New Earth - Eckhart Tolle
40 The Princess Bride - William Goldman*
41 Running With Scissors - Augusten Burroughs
42 Anybody Out There? - Marian Keyes
43 Life Of Pi - Yann Martel
44 Seven Ancient Wonders - Matthew Reilly
45 People Of The Book - Geraldine Brooks*
46 Six Sacred Stones - Matthew Reilly
47 Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards~
48 Brother Odd - Dean Koontz
49 Tully - Paullina Simons~
50 Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
51 The Catcher in the Rye - J.D Salinger~
52 Eragon - Christopher Paolini
53 Eat, Pray, Love - Elizabeth Gilbert~
54 It's Not About The Bike - Lance Armstrong
55 A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens*
56 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
57 The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho
58 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell*
59 A Fortunate Life - A.B. Facey*
60 The Mists of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley
61 The Notebook -Nicholas Sparks~
62 Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen*
63 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
64 The Host - Stephenie Meyer*
65 Dirt Music - Tim Winton
66 Eldest - Christopher Paolini
67 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon^
68 It - Stephen King
69 World Without End - Ken Follett
70 Emma - Jane Austen*
71 Temple - Matthew Reilly
72 Little Women - Alcott Louisa May*
73 Lean Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
74 Scarecrow - Matthew Reilly
75 American Gods - Neil Gaiman~
76 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
77 P.S, I Love You - Cecelia Ahern
78 All That Remains - Patricia Cornwell*
79 The Last Lecture - Randy Pausch
80 Past Secrets - Cathy Kelly
81 The Persimmon Tree - Bryce Courtenay
82 Husband - Dean Koontz
83 Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult~
84 Wicked - Gregory Maguire~
85 Spot Of Bother - Mark Haddon
86 Always And Forever - Cathy Kelly
87 The Road - Cormac McCarthy
88 Cents & Sensibility - Maggie Alderson
89 Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
90 The Shifting Fog - Kate Morton^
91 We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lionel Shriver
92 Everyone Worth Knowing - Lauren Weisberger
93 Hour Game - David Baldacci
94 Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
95 The Woods - Harlan Coben
96 Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
97 Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
98 Scar Tissue - Anthony Kiedis
99 Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali
100 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
If you're quick, you can toddle over and see the 2007 list on their website here. It does include Cross Stitch, by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander, if you're US/Canadian). Dang. I shoulda voted. There's got to be more love in the room for it than at least some of those listed above. Another note: lookee how Twilight's up there at no. 2. And that's before the film's out.
In case you were idly wondering, according to Forbes magazine the world's ten best paid authors are:
- JK Rowling
- James Patterson
- Stephen King
- Tom Clancy
- Danielle Steel
- Nicholas Sparks
- Janet Evanovich
- John Grisham
- Dean Koontz
- Ken Follett
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Apologies
I apologise for this appalling Australiana Christmas decoration. It's quite the worst I can remember seeing. What you see here is the full abomination - a hybrid koalapine, a species which deserves extinction.
I'm sure every country produces a decoration or two with a local/patriotic theme. I'll admit to having several quite charming Australiana ones. But this? Yikes. Aaaargh. I apologise. Have you found a worse one, from any country?
The dentist apologised today too. Must be the day for it. After two hours, the tooth she was trying to extract had barely budged, despite several strategies which I won't detail here. Suffice it to say that they involved multiple needles (why are dental syringes so enormous?), knives, brute strength and so on. My Quasimodo jaw is gradually coming back to life (why is it that you always feel as though you're drooling when your mouth and jaw are anaesthetised?). Rather too much life. Not much talking going on here - it hurts to move it much at all, even with painkillers, and dinner for me will have to be something mashable and consumed in very genteel spoonfuls. And guess what? I'll be back there in less than twentyfour hours, when the dentist is determined not to come second to an unco-operative tooth (did I mention that she said she expected the extraction to take ten minutes? She apologised.).
.
I'm sure every country produces a decoration or two with a local/patriotic theme. I'll admit to having several quite charming Australiana ones. But this? Yikes. Aaaargh. I apologise. Have you found a worse one, from any country?
The dentist apologised today too. Must be the day for it. After two hours, the tooth she was trying to extract had barely budged, despite several strategies which I won't detail here. Suffice it to say that they involved multiple needles (why are dental syringes so enormous?), knives, brute strength and so on. My Quasimodo jaw is gradually coming back to life (why is it that you always feel as though you're drooling when your mouth and jaw are anaesthetised?). Rather too much life. Not much talking going on here - it hurts to move it much at all, even with painkillers, and dinner for me will have to be something mashable and consumed in very genteel spoonfuls. And guess what? I'll be back there in less than twentyfour hours, when the dentist is determined not to come second to an unco-operative tooth (did I mention that she said she expected the extraction to take ten minutes? She apologised.).
.
Monday, October 06, 2008
Appliance adventures
Part 1
The picture is the easy one, in recent Adventures in the World of Appliances.
Old iron:thermostat dicky. Result: things melt. Not good. Consequence: need new iron. Thoughts in advance: nonstick surface on iron (old iron had stainless steel) and hmmm, how much is auto cut off, because when you're quilting you sometimes do leave it on a long time and don't always remember....
Solution: toddle off to shopping centre, comparison shop between a department store and two discount department stores, and luck into this one at 50% off in a catalogue sale - with teflon and auto cut off. I do like ludicrous discounts on decent quality items.
The auto cut off is tripped after 30 seconds of horizontal inaction and 15 minutes of vertical inaction. Remains to be seen if that beep becomes an annoyance, but it is safer.
Part 2.
Buy a refurbished iPod nano for carting about in the car and handbag with audiobooks on it. Refurb section of Apple site has confidence-building phrases like "stringently checked" and "quality control" and so forth.
iPod arrives. Connect to computer. Nothing happens. No battery charging, nothing on the screen, nothing at all. Connect to a separate dock. Still nothing.
Ring Apple tech support. Tech support guy suggests three things, none work, pronounces it DOA (that would be Dead On Arrival, they have a readymade term for this when they're selling stringently checked and quality controlled goods?).
Transfer to another phone operator. They expect that someone will be At Home for a whole day for pickup of DOA nano, and At Home for another whole day for delivery of replacement nano. Nope. This holiday's not long enough to be trapped at home for Apple's convenience for two whole days.
Transfer to supervisor for discussion of Plan B, connected to Friday's visit to the city. Plan B is finally worked out, and supervisor throws in a free nano case. O-kay. Supervisor says he will personally check that the replacement works.
Friday: exchange occurs.
Friday night: replacement unit connected to computer. It wants to know if I speak English, but my computer (Windows) doesn't recognise it as any kind of known hardware. Greaaaaaat! Is that steam coming out my ears? Stringent, quality-controlled steam?
Monday: Supervisor says oh, you have a Windows computer? I forgot to check that - I tested it on an Mac. Transferred to technician, who guides me through a restoration of the operating system on the iPod to Windows.
Eventually, iPod works as it should. Sigh. I've had a long term love/hate relationship with Apple and Mac and iPods. When they're good, they are fine, but when they're bad, throwing them at a brick wall is too good for them. The computer I've hated the most, ever, was a Mac (not one that I owned, but one that I had to use at a place where I was doing volunteer work on computer).
Did I tell you that the iron worked just fine, right out of the box?
The picture is the easy one, in recent Adventures in the World of Appliances.
Old iron:thermostat dicky. Result: things melt. Not good. Consequence: need new iron. Thoughts in advance: nonstick surface on iron (old iron had stainless steel) and hmmm, how much is auto cut off, because when you're quilting you sometimes do leave it on a long time and don't always remember....
Solution: toddle off to shopping centre, comparison shop between a department store and two discount department stores, and luck into this one at 50% off in a catalogue sale - with teflon and auto cut off. I do like ludicrous discounts on decent quality items.
The auto cut off is tripped after 30 seconds of horizontal inaction and 15 minutes of vertical inaction. Remains to be seen if that beep becomes an annoyance, but it is safer.
Part 2.
Buy a refurbished iPod nano for carting about in the car and handbag with audiobooks on it. Refurb section of Apple site has confidence-building phrases like "stringently checked" and "quality control" and so forth.
iPod arrives. Connect to computer. Nothing happens. No battery charging, nothing on the screen, nothing at all. Connect to a separate dock. Still nothing.
Ring Apple tech support. Tech support guy suggests three things, none work, pronounces it DOA (that would be Dead On Arrival, they have a readymade term for this when they're selling stringently checked and quality controlled goods?).
Transfer to another phone operator. They expect that someone will be At Home for a whole day for pickup of DOA nano, and At Home for another whole day for delivery of replacement nano. Nope. This holiday's not long enough to be trapped at home for Apple's convenience for two whole days.
Transfer to supervisor for discussion of Plan B, connected to Friday's visit to the city. Plan B is finally worked out, and supervisor throws in a free nano case. O-kay. Supervisor says he will personally check that the replacement works.
Friday: exchange occurs.
Friday night: replacement unit connected to computer. It wants to know if I speak English, but my computer (Windows) doesn't recognise it as any kind of known hardware. Greaaaaaat! Is that steam coming out my ears? Stringent, quality-controlled steam?
Monday: Supervisor says oh, you have a Windows computer? I forgot to check that - I tested it on an Mac. Transferred to technician, who guides me through a restoration of the operating system on the iPod to Windows.
Eventually, iPod works as it should. Sigh. I've had a long term love/hate relationship with Apple and Mac and iPods. When they're good, they are fine, but when they're bad, throwing them at a brick wall is too good for them. The computer I've hated the most, ever, was a Mac (not one that I owned, but one that I had to use at a place where I was doing volunteer work on computer).
Did I tell you that the iron worked just fine, right out of the box?
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Current reading
Travelling northwards on the pile: The Story of Edward Sawtelle, which I first heard about through Amazon publicity. It's a version of Hamlet (John Marsden's just brought out a novelised version of Hamlet too) and has garnered enough positive reviews to give it a whirl. Oprah now likes it too: although I'm not a slavish follower of her choices and haven't read many of them, as far as I'm aware. Still, I hugely respect the promotion she's given to books and reading.
The Historian. I'm part-way through this and finding it a bit of a battle. Persistently ominous without the om turning into anything else, and I'm not sure that I care much what happens to any of the characters. I've read good reviews of it, but it's yet to grab me.
The Good Thief. Another new one, well-reviewed where I've read reviews of it. Haven't started it yet.
44 Scotland St. This is the first Alexander McCall Smith I've tried - I know plenty of folks who enjoy his work but I just haven't got around to it yet. I kinda like the setup of assorted stories of people living at the one place, so we'll see how it goes.
Dairy Queen: one I'm reading for adolescent fiction purposes. Which means that sometimes you have a lovely time, and sometimes you have duty.
What's on your current reading pile? Leave a link in the comments so I can browse your choices...
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The Historian. I'm part-way through this and finding it a bit of a battle. Persistently ominous without the om turning into anything else, and I'm not sure that I care much what happens to any of the characters. I've read good reviews of it, but it's yet to grab me.
The Good Thief. Another new one, well-reviewed where I've read reviews of it. Haven't started it yet.
44 Scotland St. This is the first Alexander McCall Smith I've tried - I know plenty of folks who enjoy his work but I just haven't got around to it yet. I kinda like the setup of assorted stories of people living at the one place, so we'll see how it goes.
Dairy Queen: one I'm reading for adolescent fiction purposes. Which means that sometimes you have a lovely time, and sometimes you have duty.
What's on your current reading pile? Leave a link in the comments so I can browse your choices...
.
Saturday, October 04, 2008
New china: birdsong
After mumble mumble quite a number of years, um decades of the same everyday china (nice though it is, and economically purchased from a church sale), this is the new everyday china chez rooruu, as has been alluded to recently.
What appealed? The white background, so the plain white platters etc that already reside in the cupboard will work with it. The aqua inside these two bowls, so the plain aqua pieces that already reside ditto ditto. And the silhouette - there are quite a few nice silhouetty designs around in images, homewares etc. This is simple and looks nice with food on it (some china looks like you shouldn't EVER put food on it).
The range has another bowl and of course mugs and also some other plates in aqua and white if you want to buy yet more (no). If you want the details, it's called birdsong, is made by Marie Claire and came from Myer department store and is a seasonal range, ie. they only stock it for a while, then it's gone forever. They have regular %-off sales on homewares, too. The reflection on the larger bowl is a reflection, not a shadowed design - it's just black on white.
I don't know what your kitchen cupboards are like, but few people seem to have empty ones...so this acquisition was the cue for a major spring clean of the kitchen cupboards and pantry, with exciting detours into "if there isn't a lid for this plastic container, it's not staying" and "the use-by date on this is WHAT?" and so forth. Rubbish in the bin, recycleables in the recyclable bin, several boxes of saleable stuff to the op shop (Goodwill/Oxfam/charity), a good cleaning of the emptied cupboards and the new china's out of the box and on the shelf and in use. Just have to go to Ikea for a couple of white metal shelf thingys (can't find them on the site, so I'll show you when I have them to hand) for stacking purposes.
What appealed? The white background, so the plain white platters etc that already reside in the cupboard will work with it. The aqua inside these two bowls, so the plain aqua pieces that already reside ditto ditto. And the silhouette - there are quite a few nice silhouetty designs around in images, homewares etc. This is simple and looks nice with food on it (some china looks like you shouldn't EVER put food on it).
The range has another bowl and of course mugs and also some other plates in aqua and white if you want to buy yet more (no). If you want the details, it's called birdsong, is made by Marie Claire and came from Myer department store and is a seasonal range, ie. they only stock it for a while, then it's gone forever. They have regular %-off sales on homewares, too. The reflection on the larger bowl is a reflection, not a shadowed design - it's just black on white.
I don't know what your kitchen cupboards are like, but few people seem to have empty ones...so this acquisition was the cue for a major spring clean of the kitchen cupboards and pantry, with exciting detours into "if there isn't a lid for this plastic container, it's not staying" and "the use-by date on this is WHAT?" and so forth. Rubbish in the bin, recycleables in the recyclable bin, several boxes of saleable stuff to the op shop (Goodwill/Oxfam/charity), a good cleaning of the emptied cupboards and the new china's out of the box and on the shelf and in use. Just have to go to Ikea for a couple of white metal shelf thingys (can't find them on the site, so I'll show you when I have them to hand) for stacking purposes.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Daytripper Mosaic
If you follow the link (click on the image), the largest size is there in my Flickr photostream.
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