We can rebuild them, we can make them larger, fluffier...

Awww Herpes I would love to get you.



A Pocket full of Black Death or Bubonic Plague


Platelet there you go clotting up my heart


Neuron/Brain Cell I hardly need think



Chicken Pox, you seem much nicer than last we met

My friend Alice has been obsessing over these delightful science themed toys recently. The perfect combination of plushy, virulent and adorable.

PS sorry for the cheesy comments I felt somehow obliged by these little creatures.

Londinium...

Between more and more frequent bouts of uni work I have been busily planning and researching for my imminent trip to Europe. Most recently I have focused my attentions on London, perhaps the destination I am most looking forward to; markets, vintage shopping, Camden Town (home of Vince Noir and Howard Moon), Museums, THE British museum, the Roman amphitheatre, the architecture, potential Charlie hunting (I so want one of those I found Charlie badges, and to leave him with an oragami stegosaurus, if I ever find him), the accents... And now this delightful chunk of magnificence my friend sent me today....

www.doctorwhoexperience.com

"Packed with amazing special effects and exclusive filming with Matt Smith this multi-sensory experience is fun for the family and fans alike. Join the Doctor on an interactive journey takes you on a spectacular adventure though time and space."

Oh I am such a nerd, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Black Sleep...

19th century neuro scientific research performed by an evil surgeon with on-screen exploratory neurosurgery and extreamly unconvincing lunatics. Yay. Thank you Obscure Hollow for leading me to this 1956 black and white treasure.



Potential Career Two: Biologist/Research Scientist and Academic

 

Apologies...

I have just been reading over some older posts and have realised that they are rife with spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and inconsistency. I assure you I intend to remedy this asap.

Pshyco...

I watched the 1998 psycho remake last night; not at all as good as the original, not that I expected it to be. In truth I found it difficult to watch, tedious and lengthy, despite it being a shot for shot recreation of the original. It had none of the intrigue or charm of the original and I found some of the performances irritating, despite my usually liking the actors. Hitchcock remains the undisputed master, of course.

A bit of borrowing...

It may have come to you attention, as it has come to mine, that allot of my visual content lately has been derived from the magnificent blog, she walks softly. This has been largely unintentional hence my lack of attribution up till now, but I find our interests so similar and the visual content so fascinating that it has become something of a guilty pleasure of mine. Hence my picture file is filling with images from the archives of Dana's blog and when I look through them for inspiration they tend to stand out a bit. Just thought you ought to know...and now a little bit more.

My room is particularly dull at the moment but one of these could certainly liven it up....

Because It Has Been A While...

Potential Career One: Paleontology/Paleoarchaeology

Tivial to Travel...

For years I have been pining for UK; the accents, the culture, the shopping. Soon however my fantasies shall become reality. In about three months time I shall be touching down on the tarmack of Heathrow airport for three months bumming around the UK and Europe; at which time this blog shall track my path through Britain, Scottland, Ireland, France, Italy, Greece, Turkey and perhaps Wales.

Semester Two...

First week back of the new semester and, although I approached it with trepidation, I am optimistic it will be a good one. I have resolved to select my Arts major by the end of it with my first ancient history and anthropology units; how it was possible to do a general knowledge degree so I could do a pit of everything. Here is to a new semester of science and arts.....

I want to ride my bicycle....

 



 

Cannibal Holocaust...

An 1980 Italian horror movie, it is undoubtedly the most disturbing film I have ever seen. The film sieved following the premier  and the director,  Ruggero Deodato, was arrested and charged for making a snuff film as it was rumoured that the graphic footage actually showed several actors killed on screen. He was cleared of all charges, though having watched Holocaust of the Cannibals I would be inclined to believe them. The film was banned in several countries due to its depiction of extreme violence (including on screen decapitation), explicit sexual violence, full frontal nudity and the onscreen slaughter of seven animals.

Filmed in the Amazon,  Cannibal Holocaust tells the story of the search for a documentary film crew who had gone to film indigenous tribes and went missing for two months. A second team, headed by the New York anthropologist Harold Monroe, recovers their lost cans of film and learns their fate. Much of the film is the portrayal of the recovered films' content; the sections of "documentary" film function similarly to a flashback and grows increasingly disturbing as the film progresses.

The amongst the most controversial film content is the onscreen murder, decapitation and, rape of the missing crew members. Rumors that the actors were actually murdered on screen were fueled my there disappearance from the media for a year following its release, a contractual condition to promote the film.
The most disturbing scene in my opinion however was the impalement scene were a native girls, the crew had pack raped in an earlier scene, is depicted impaled on a wooden post, in through the genitals and out the mouth. The scene was so hideously realistic it was believed that Deodato had murdered and impaled the actress however having explained how the effect was achieved with a bicycle seat mounted on as post and a piece of balsa wood held in the actress's mouth, he was cleared of all charges.

Seven animals were killed during the film's production:

• A coatimundi (mistaken as a muskrat in the film) has its jugular veins cut open
• A large turtle  is captured then decapitated; its head, limbs, shell, and entrails removed on screen then the actors proceed to cook and eat it.
• A large spider is killed with a machete.
• A snake is killed with a machete.
• A squirrel monkey has the top of its skull chopped off with a machete; this scene however was shot twice so two monkeys were actually scalped.
• A pig is kicked twice and then shot.

Personally I don't care that no crimes against human were committed during the making of this film, what the footage depicts is so disturbing, graphic and inhuman I couldn't help feeling that the film was real. In one respect I suppose the film was a success, conversely I never want to see it again and almost certainly wish I never had.

 

Public nudity is generally frowned upon in polite society...

I need clothes; this is not a just a consumeristic, spoilt childish desire but a genuine requirement. Whilst wearing the same thing to uni twice in a week if find, donning seemingly the same outfit (mostly the same cardigan, scarf and jacket but as it has been cold no-one ever actually sees that I am wearing different clothing underneath) every day starts to give the impression of poor hygiene and/or vagrancy. What I have is limited, often ill-fitting, uncomfortable, inappropriate (if only I had the courage to wear full-skirt, vintage frocks every day) and not at all warm enough. Unfortunately however there is the issue of financing which, being an impoverished student, seems bleak even for my vintage/op-shop tastes. So for now it seem I will just have to make due with my awkward bag lady chic look and continue living vicariously through my horded stockpile of magazines.

If only...

The Sharpness of Death...

...Death, you've become obscene.
Nobody calls you sweet or easeful now.
You're in the hands of philosophers
who cut themselves and bleed,
and know that knives are sharp,
but prove with complex logic
there's no such thing as sharpness.
              - Gwen Harwood ( I couldn't find my full copy of the poem, this is but a snippet of stanza one)

Diana Rigg...

The one and only Mrs Emma Peel, how could any one think Uma Thurman could possibly take her place.
I have recently discovered her new series, 'The Mrs Bradley Misteries', I adore the 1930's setting and style. Ms Rigg just as charming, elegant and beautiful as ever.

"Unless some sweetness at the bottom lie, who cares for all the crinkling of the pie?"

- Alan Bradely, Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

 (An excellent work of crime ficiton with an effervescent protagonist) 

Rango, Bridesmaids and Date Night...

This is how I spend by Tuesday after tutoring a new student in Maths.



Ok so I had a lazy day...I reserve the right to be lazy in my holidays.

One Down...

So that is semester one done with. Whilst it was interesting and insigntful I cant help but be relieved and look foward to my 6 weeks break. Now to begin my lounging, blogging and collecting for the next month and a bit.... a little bit of Nicoletta Cocelli

Soon I Shall Rest...

Semester one is almost over but not before they subject us to a drawn out three week exam period. Although I only have one a week, leaving plenty of time to study, I can not wait until it comes to an end. While I have immensely enjoyed my uni courses so far I can't help but long for a rest; some time when I am not so busy with assignments, reading, early starts and late nights (which have left me looking like a roughed up corpse). I look forward to lounging for a couple of weeks, occupying my time with pointless projects, hours of televisual entertainment and catching up with neglected friends as well as allowing plenty of time for some regular, dedicated blogging, and this time I really do mean it ...honestly I do.
After my irritatingly early chemistry exam and what seemed and almost endless commute on train and bus I made it home and treated myself to a break before I settle down to apply myself to biology study by watching Rosemary's Baby which I recorded a couple of days ago. Unfortunately I was disturbed part way through and have yet to finish it. I have rather enjoyed it so far despite strange scenes such as the awkward, unromantic love scene in the beginning, her surprisingly calm reaction to the rape nightmare from which she wakes to discover her husband has raped her whilst she was unconscious and the old fashion values which see the husband make up for his recent cold behaviour by 'giving her a baby' not my idea of a present but still it was a different time, a different girl with different values and aspirations.
I can somewhat anticipate the end but still thoroughly look forward to finishing it. Perhaps it could be the beginning of a project for the break, watching all the classics; tomorrow re-watching Psycho or The Birds.

Trilobite

Skeleton you are my friend but you are made of bone...

 And you have got no flesh and blood running through you to help protect the bones.

The only thing that keeps me focused in the 3hr Tuesday afternoon lecture...

Im a big kid now *dun, dun*....

Scratch that I am an adult. Today I am finally 18 years of age and am legally allowed to drink, gamble, vote, attend better concerts and R rated movie, enter legal contracts, smoke, get married, by porn and prostitutes (however I don't intend to do the latter four). I was awoken this moring by my parents who bestowing upon me an IOU for birthday presents before hurredly leaving for work and collage. My only hope is that I get to choose something I truly want and that my birthday gathering is better than last year when my friends turned up an hour late while I waited at the wharf in the freezing wind only to show up and decide that we were not going to a movie like I wanted but were going to go to a crappy resterant for dinner and bearly even acknowledge that it was my birthday celebration; however three of them later delighted me with presents. (Oh god I sound so materialistic and greedy but I had hoped that when attending a birthday party of a friend they would atleast bring a small token or turn up on time or acknowledge the person whose birthday it was as I would for them). Even worse I later found out that one of my best friends, who had been conspicously absent after assuring me she would attend, waited at the cinema for us for over an hour because she didn't have her phone and thus did not recieve the text telling everyone where to meet; I felt so terrible when I found out, especially since I almost went looking for her there after waiting for her another 15mins after everyone else arrived and subsequently went ahead to the resterant.
Well enough with my complaning, I am off to do grown up things. Until next I write...

Tip of the day...

Do not trust the forest coaches bus time table; I don't care what it says there is no 8:39am 280 to Chatswood. If it doesn't show up until 9:09am, the time of the next bus, then it does not exist. In a reasonable world it should not take me 2 hours to get to my uni 45 minutes away

Combining my love of oragami creatures and my love of Hayao Miyazaki films, I give you...

ORIGAMI TOTORO

Oh To Be A Naturalist...

I would treasure an insect collect the caliber of those displayed in natural history museums or even one or two select specimens however I couldn't bare to kill so many beautiful creatures, especially those with lives so fleeting. Thus I  have devised something in the way of an alternative; paper butterflies. Cut from leftover pages of magazines I have already scavenged, I can produce an almost inexhaustible supply of pseudo-butterflies for my collection. It may not be quite the same and certainly up close doesn't hold the same appeal as the true specimens but on mass they are magnificent; particularly as they flutter in the breeze.
Now, what to do about the beetles?

Terra Cotta Warriors at the Art Gallery of NSW...

Amazing if there weren't so many people shouldering me out of the way, pumbling me with bags as they turn around or force their way past and rambing their childrens strollers into the backs of my legs or entirly blocking the way into the room. I shall simply have to visit them in there original home in China; get the full affect.

First Day of Uni....

The day has finally come and gone, my first day as a uni student and it was not without its moments. Beginning the day with my mother threatening to follow me around all day weeping, a joke I hoped at the time, as she lovingly drove me to my first day appropriately getting lost for me in the tangle of streets surrounding the uni. My anxiety steadily growing as we arrived at our destination 10mins late and she insisted on driving up as close as possible to the main walkway and stopping awkwardly close on a road I maintain was restricted access. I promptly made my way to my first lesson as it began to sprinkle, ominous clouds closing in which in most instances I would quite enjoy but in this instance they only added to my overwhelming sense of impending doom as I rushed to the farthest building on campus, getting suitably lost as there was a distinct lack of signs and I forgot my map, eventually discovering it hiding behind a group of trees. To my delight on arrival, then 25 minutes late, I discovered a darkened abandoned class room; practicals start second week stupid.
So with a two hour wait ahead before my next lecture I mosied on down to the campus hub to hide in a corner and read my book, avoiding eye contact with the sprukers of the various uni clubs and societies along the way lest I be coerced into joining some cult. The time passed pleasantly enough and the following two hours of lectures were some what informative, as is the am of the whole endeavor.
I left the campus in reasonably spirits and it was not until I reach the train station that I discovered  my favorite badge, "Postmodernist Panda" featuring a faceless cartoon bear, was missing from where I had pinned it on my bag. A quick search of the vicinity proved futile and I trudged home cursing my naivety at trusting my bag to hold on to it for my.
Despite this graver lost my moon was lifted as this afternoon my friend introduced me to another amusing show (I know, more TV, sorry) My Life As Liz and and curious movie "Bronson". So until I have anything else to say i bit you adue.

Op Shops I love you...

A pristine pair of black Tony Biacno court heels for $20 and the complete first season of one of my favourite shows, Pushing Daisies, for $9. It has been a good day.

The Picture of Dorian Gray...

Having intended to read Oscar Wilde's original novel before viewing the mist recent cinematic adaptation, I found myself unable to resist as it appeared on one of the movie channels this week. This is how I came to spend my evening, after a long day of Uni orientation and my debut as a tutor, curled up on the sofa with young master Maximus P. Periwinkle and fraulein Mitze Genevieve Vonschnitzel, my beloved Fox Terrier x Jack Russels. Despite my hesitation to see the film, lest I spoil my chance to read it, I have found that I am rather more compelled to begin it, that is after I complete my current book. The Passage, recommended to my by my aunt, is a strange and interesting account of future America as it is decimated by a curious virus which turns its victims, those who survive, into vampiric creatures though not at all of the idealised Twilight persuasion; think more savage blood thirsty, frighteningly human yet bestial creatures driven by base instinct. Surprisingly good really and interestingly, as the rest of humanity dies out, Australia survives; score one geographic isolation.

Oh that they where mine....

Alice by Temperly - £208.51

Proenza Schouler PS1 - £1,500

  

Allsaints Spitalfields, Queen of Bones tee - Sold Out (NOOOOOOOOoooooooooo)

I watch far too much television... Isn't it grand

A whole day whiled away on Supernatural (The first few seasons, before it got all weirdly christian, when it was all faerie, magick and folklore), the Sims and origami stegosauri as I hid from the sweltering heat, locked away in my air conditioned oasis.