Interview with Myself

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR? 
That my depression will keep me from being my best self

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT STATE OF MIND?
Alternately Flat and Stressed

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE OCCUPATION?(WAY OF SPENDING TIME)
Curled up after a hot shower in bed reading a good book with good chocolate

WHAT HISTORICAL FIGURE DO YOU MOST IDENTIFY WITH?
Georgia O'Keeffe, a true artist who lived solitary in the desert and defied conventions

WHICH LIVING PERSON DO YOU MOST ADMIRE?
Lady Gaga. She is a persona larger than life, who lives and breathes awareness, symbolism, art and chaos.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE FICTIONAL HERO?
La Belle Dame Sans Merci

WHO ARE YOUR REAL-LIFE HEROES?
My sister, she is tall, exotic, at times soft, other times arrogant. She always speaks her mind, doesn't really care about other people think, and I treasure my relationship with her, even if she is a bitch sometimes.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST TREASURED POSSESSION?
My books

WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU HAPPIEST?
When I take my son to an art gallery, and he wants to go to the kids section and make things

WHAT IS YOUR MOST OBVIOUS CHARACTERISTIC?
I am extremely emotive, I seem to feel things harder than most people

WHAT IS THE TRAIT YOU MOST DEPLORE (HATE) IN YOURSELF? 
I have very little emotional control, and the fact I can't take rejection in any form.

WHAT IS THE TRAIT YOU MOST DEPLORE IN OTHERS?
I hate it when people are close minded and can't see the world clearly. The world is full of many shades of grey, not just Black and White

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE? 
Loose leaf tea. Good Chocolate. Corsets.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE JOURNEY?
The one I have yet to take to Paris

WHAT DO YOU MOST DISLIKE ABOUT YOUR APPEARANCE?
My nose has a weird bump. My boobs are huge (and saggy) My belly has a line where the muscles kind of grew apart when I was pregnant, and it never has quite gone back the way it was. Some days I love these flaws and work with them, they make me who I am. Other days I am extremely insecure about them.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER THE MOST OVER-RATED VIRTUE?
Unselfishness. I once lived my life only to make others happy. All it did was make me miserable.

ON WHAT OCCASION DO YOU LIE?
There is truth and lies in every aspect of life, My biggest lie is the persona and mask I put on when I walk out into the world. But everybody does it. If I didn't, if I showed myself truly, the vulnerability would be exploited.

WHICH WORDS OR PHRASES DO YOU MOST OVER-USE?
You know?

IF YOU COULD CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I would not have Depression. People underestimate the power in which it can take over every minute of every day and deprive me of colour, joy and motivation.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT?
My son.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO LIVE?
In a small Queenslander on some land in the bush, but still close to shops and the city. I would love to own some weird animals, a llama, a deer...

WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN A MAN?
Sincerity.

WHAT IS THE QUALITY YOU MOST ADMIRE IN A WOMAN?
Positivity.

WHAT IS IT YOU MOST DISLIKE?
Anger and Rejection

WHAT DO YOU VALUE MOST IN YOUR FRIENDS? 
I have very few close friends, because I am waiting for a friend who can handle my intensity.

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO DIE?
In my sleep.

IF YOU WERE TO DIE AND COME BACK AS A PERSON OR AN ANIMAL, WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE?
A jaguar.

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE AN OBJECT TO COME BACK AS, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE? 
A sculpture

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO (WORDS YOU LIVE BY OR THAT MEAN A LOT TO YOU)?
Kia Kaha. Maori for 'Be Strong'

WHO HAS BEEN THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON YOU?
My son

Delight, Enchantment and Madness...

Finishing the His Dark Materials series for the third time in as many years. Evrytime time I read them, I get something new, especially the last book, The Amber Spyglass. So much better than Narnia, which I have read... zillions of times.

God of Cake

I had tasted cake and there was no going back.  My tiny body had morphed into a writhing mass of pure tenacity encased in a layer of desperation.  I would eat all of the cake or I would evaporate from the sheer power of my desire to eat it. -Hyperbole and a Half

Salmon marinated in Coriander, Garlic and Lemon.

Singing along to the Musak at my nightfill position, ripping open boxes, getting free donuts.

White Chocolate Tim Tam Slams
This is the act of using a Tim Tam to drink tea, hot choc, milo or coffee, by biting off to opposite corners and then using it as a straw to suck up hot tea. Note that the structural integrity of the Tim Tam will become catastrophically reduced soon after this process is started, and the whole biscuit must be crammed into your mouth as soon as this happens, lest your tea will be filled with pieces of melted tim tam.

 culinaryculture

threadless had a great offer going for 10.10.10... get a tshirt for $10! So I ordered the one above.

Waiting to get a parcel from the USA, with coconut M&Ms, a Bumblebee costume and clothes and toy for my 3yr old boy. Mint Milky Ways and New York Peppermint Patties.

Sleeping in

Maori Tattoo design

Checking out Venues and Dresses for my sisters Wedding next April.

The American Tea Party is officially stupid.

Meeting new people at the Bombshell Burlesque Class.

Watching Vintage Burlesque on youtube

Watching this Blog grow, planning on ways to make it better.

What are you infactuated with this week?

Mark Ryden

Facebook: Inked

by deryck at Custom Ink Tattooing Ltd - Cambridge ------ this is a copy of a mark ryden picture called rose......

 lookintomyowl

Other Mark Ryden Art (I would love to eventually get a print)

The Last Rabbit: from the Collection Bunnies and Bees

White Oak Tree Nymph: Collection 'The Tree Show'

Incarnation Drawing

Maggie Gyllenhaal

chinadaily

Modelling Agent Provocateur. LOVE...

Serena Rees, co-founder of Agent Provocateur, said: "Maggie is not an obvious sex symbol."
"She is interesting looking, confident and beautiful in a way that is non-threatening, which makes her appealing to men and women alike."

Agent Provocateur

Bombshell Burlesque Academy To Do List

For my Chair Tease Class I need to get:
Stay up stockings
Garter Belt
Lace and Ribbon
Heels with No Strap
Halterneck Bra
Halterneck Long Fishtail Gown

I already Have:
Brown Stole
White Gloves
High Control Briefs

How am I going to do this?
OP SHOPS!!!

The first Wednesday night lesson of the Bombshell Burlesque Academy was last night, with Kat Fink teaching Hair, and Viola teaching a Bellydance Burlesque Fusion 'Dance of the Seven Veils' and a 'Chair Tease', which is more old school Traditional Strip.
Classes are $20 each, if you pay as you go, you can find more information here

Daken

My favourite comic book character is Daken
The Dark Wolverine Comics are amazing!!!

Miss Burlesque Final

Prescription Tattoo's?

Tattoos are no more just to beautify someone’s body or just way of expression. Scientists at Draper Laboratory have given tattoos another meaning. They will soon be prescribing semi-permanent medical tattoos a noninvasive way for diabetic people to keep tabs on their glucose levels. The “Prescription” Tattoos composed of nanoparticles when injected into the skin will respond to glucose in the bloodstream by fluorescing like DayGlo under infrared light thereby letting the diabetic patient to determine if an insulin shot is necessary. That’s sounds amazing for tattoos can be stroke of luck of many diabetic people.

tattooblog

 Well that would be an improvement on the current method of pricking a finger every day. Just wave your little tattoo under a light to see your glucose level. That's pretty damn awesome.

webMD

Hell yes, we are!

yumnaaa.

Gala Darling has finally done another style tips post, one tip for each day of the week! Tuesday's tip is:

Tuesday 12th October
Do this on every Tuesday from now on! Write in your Filofax, Moleskine, calendar page or phone, “Organise weekend”! This way, you’ll always have something to do, you have three days to prepare & get excited about it, & you can give anyone else you want to bring along ample notice! (Thanks, Tim Ferriss!)

Ever since it's opening, I have wanted really bad to go to the Mana Bar.
It's a Video Game Bar.
As in a bar you sit down and button mash to kill zombies, race cartoons and save damsels in distress - while drinking cocktails.
Genius.
And the cocktails look great:

Mana Potion

 Ocarina of Lime

Did I mention it's Free Entry? And they are sponsoring the Brisbane Zombie Walk?
Now I just need to find someone to go with... any takers?

Dr. McNinja

What Would Batman Do?

Symbolism: Water

aeon-100

This week the symbol I will be dissecting is: WATER.

guide-to-symbols

Some Burlesque Routines with Water:
Dita Von Teese does Perrier Ad
Also a Cointreau Performance in Tokyo (skip to 2.00 to see the performance)
Lovely Male Burlesque Cirque Aerial and Bath Act
1953 Bettie Page having a Bubble Bath

Don't get set into one form, adapt it and build your own, and let it grow, be like water. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless — like water. Now you put water in a cup, it becomes the cup; You put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle; You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend.

• Bruce Lee as quoted in Bruce Lee : A Warrior's Journey (2000)

Classical Element
 As a classical Greek symbol, Water was said by Aristotle to be both Cold and Wet, placing it between Air and Earth. In Ancient Greek medicine, each element was also ascribed a humour, Water was ascribed to 'Phlegm', symbolising feminine attributes, the Brain, Winter Cold and the Alchemical element of Mercury.

Babylonian
The Enuma Elis, a textbook written in the 16th or 18th Centuries BC, ascribes the element of water as the Sea.

Indian
'Ap' is the Vedic Sanskrit word for Water. In the Rigveda, several Hymns are dedicated to water.

1. MAY we obtain this day from you, O Waters, that wave of pure refreshment, which the pious
Made erst the special beverage of Indra, bright, stainless, rich in sweets and dropping fatness.
2 May the Floods' Offspring, he whose course is rapid, protect that wave most rich in sweets, O Waters,
That shall make Indra and the Vasus joyful. This may we gain from you to-day, we pious.
3 All-purifying, joying in their nature, to paths of Gods the Goddesses move onward.
They never violate the laws of Indra. Present the oil-rich offering to the Rivers.
4 Whom Sūrya with his bright beams hath attracted, and Indra dug the path for them to travel,
May these Streams give us ample room and freedom. Preserve us evermore, ye Gods, with blessings.

sacred-texts

In Hindu philosophy, the term refers to water as an element, one of the Panchamahabhuta, or "five great elements". In Hinduism, it is also the name of the deva, a personification of water, (one of the Vasus in most later Puranic lists). The element Water is also associated with Chandra or the Moon, and Shukra or Venus, who represent feelings, intuition and imagination. Water is also linked to the north east direction.

Astrology
Those born under the Signs of Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces are said to have Dominant Water Personalities. People with Water personalities are extremely sensitive souls and natural healers. They have strong intuition, compassion and feel emotional energy in all forms.

 sinto-risky

Water signs always bring their water and their emotions into their surroundings, and into others. Unless there is a fine balance - they either are known for exposing their sensitivity, or burying what they feel. Water rules sensitivity and emotions, and its elements find it necessary to "touch" or "feel" what is going on around them. This can be both physical or emotional. Too much fluid or feelings can make some water signs appear to be moody, needy, or controlling. Water is naturally a deep and cool element, and it is also tasty, moist, soothing, intriguing and beautiful. Too much water or emotions can be forceful, stormy, tormented, overwhelming, and dangerous. But on a balanced energy - their intention is always good and meaningful, as they are care-givers.

Trying to control a Water God or Water Goddess - can be like trying to control the forceful ocean while sitting in a rowboat. Water is strong and focused on what others do and how it makes them feel. Calming those tidal waves and raw emotions does not happen instantly or easily. It takes alot of time until Water is able to control their own fury. Like the sea, the they are serene and gentle... but under pressure, they represent the Perfect Storm, consuming and destructive. Should you hurt them or their feelings, they will become revengeful, vowing to wipe out anyone or anything that stands in their path. Like the captain of his ship, the captain doesn't try to test or challenge the strength of the waters, but accept that it is easier to go down with the ship - rather than to fight. He understands and appreciates the overwhelming depth and it's dangerous force. Water is to be enjoyed - but also respected. Water God and Water Goddess need love, and you need to really communicate and express that if you REALLY want to know them. Like the seas, they are deep, mysterious, and always pressured by some sort of outside influence. They are constantly changing their unsteady moods, and their rough seas always seem to be brewing something deep inside of them... which eventually rises to the top. Changing WITH their bouncy emotions, will make the rough waters alittle easier to deal with until the storm ends. They offer unconditional love and understanding, but if you don't appreciate what they offer - their waters will dry up, as they turn off the their faucet.... to walk away and replenish what they feel you have taken advantage of them.

I am a Scorpio water personality, and this description fits me to a tee.

Wicca/Pagan
Water is one of the five elements that appear in most Wiccan and Pagan traditions. Common Wiccan attributions for water include:

• Cardinal direction:West
• Season: Winter
• Time of Day: Dusk/Twilight
• Time of Life: Adulthood
• Elemental Being: Undine
• Colors: Ocean Blue, Sea Green, Dusky Violet, and Grey
• Magical Tools: cup
• Tarot suit: Cups in the Minor Arcana
• Energy, inspiration, passion
• Altar Tool: Cup
• Feminine energy
• Other correspondences include emotions, love, compassion, healing, dreams, divination, intuition, psychic abilities

The manifestations of the element of water are rivers, oceans, lakes, wells, fog, all drinks, and the rain. Animals, especially the dolphin, seal, turtle, frog, and all types of fish, are also thought to personify the element of water. Other mythic and legendary creatures of water include the Mermaid, Oread, Naiad, Sea Serpent, and Dragon.
Water's place on the pentagram is the right hand point.

Chinese
水 is the low point of matter, or the matter's dying or hiding stage. Water is the fifth one of Wu Xing. Water is the most yin in character of the Five elements, its energy is downward and inward and its motion is stillness and conserving. It is associated with the planet Mercury, the north, winter and cold, darkness, night and the colour black. It is also associated with the moon, which was believed to cause the dew to fall at night. It governs the Kidney and Urinary bladder and is associated with the ears and bones. The negative emotion associated with water is fear, while the positive emotion is calmness. Its Primal Spirit is represented by the Black Tortoise.

In Chinese Taoist thought, water is representative of intelligence and wisdom, flexibility, softness and pliancy; however, an over-abundance of the element is said to cause difficulty in choosing something and sticking to it. In the same way, Water can be fluid and weak, but can also wield great power when it floods and overwhelms the land. In the birth and nurturing cycle, Water spawns Wood, and is spawned by metal. In the conquest cycle, Water overcomes Fire, and in turn is overcome by Earth.
Water also plays an important role in Chinese Astrology. In Chinese astrology water is included in the 10 heavenly stems (the five elements in their yin and yang forms), which combine with the 12 earthly branches (or Chinese signs of the zodiac), to form the 60 year cycle. Yang water years end in 2 (eg 1992), while Yin years end in 3 (eg 1993). Water governs the Chinese zodiac signs Pig, Rat and Ox.

天下莫柔弱於水。而攻堅強者、莫之能勝。以其無以易之。

• Translation: There is nothing softer and weaker than water,
  And yet there is nothing better for attacking hard and strong things.
  For this reason there is no substitute for it.
• Laozi, Tao te Ching, Ch. 78.

Water usually represents wealth and money luck in Feng Shui, although it might differ in some subjective scenarios. Black, White, Grey and Blue colors represent Water.

Polynesian

Tangaroa,Tangaroa,Tangaroa, Siva in Cook Strait by Michael Tuffery

In Maori Mythos, Tangaroa (also called Takaroa) is the God of the Sea, Son of Ranganui, God of the Sky and Papatuanuku, the Earth Mother. He joined with his brothers in forcing his parents apart so the world could begin. There was tension between Tangaroa (the sea) and Tane (the forest). Before making sea expeditions the Maori would make offerings to Tangaroa to soothe any anger there might be against them, being Tane's people.

In Mangaia (Cook Islands), Tangaroa is a child of Vatea (daylight) and Papa (foundation) and the younger twin brother of Rongo. Rongo and Tangaroa share food and fish: Tangaroa's share is everything that is red (the red taro, red fish and so on). Tangaroa is said to have yellow hair and when Mangaians first saw Europeans they thought they must be Tangaroa's children.


Modern World

Water, water, every where,
And all the boards did shrink;
Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

 Common Round-About sign, same shape as Alchemical Water Symbol; also used as a Yield road sign.

TLC - Waterfalls
1994. Me and my sister used to dance and sing to this song over and over and over. Because we are cool like that.

"Peace" fingers making a downward V shape.

creativelife
Modern Religious Education can ascribe many meanings to many symbols, and they all work, because that's how powerful Symbols are.

In Dan Brown's Book "The DaVince Code", the V, or 'Cup' also symbolised the Holy Grail.

The Water Cycle, as I was taught in school.

I want to finish this post by saying that Water, is one of the things we take for granted in the Modern World. We are so so lucky that we have a tap that will give us safe drinking water, that we don't have to sorry about parasites or human excrement in our water. So many people around the world do not have the Luxury of Clean Drinking Water. Be Grateful.

Routine Musings

anniegotgun

Hopefully I can make it to this year's Brisbane Zombie Walk to support the Brain Foundation. Starting 2.30pm on Sunday the 24th October at Wickham Street and stumbling it's way into Fortitude Valley.

I have my head swimming with idea's for a Zombie Routine I may or may not be performing at the after party.

Theme: Cadaverous Criminal
Music: Fiona Apple - Criminal

lemec
Costume: Dirty, Gritty, Unravelled Wool and Picked Lace

cheerzombie
Makeup: Bruised, Blue, and Bloody

miss-deathwish
Dance: Slow, Long and Lean with Sharp Shimmies.

Sydney Morning Herald
Basically:

A sanguine, seeping spurt of a show perfect for Halloween It will be featuring Dirt, Gore and Glamour rolled into a Demonic Delight. Watch the Lady Viviane Mae as a Zombie dicorticate not only layers of livery but also shreds of stale skin!!!