I've been reading the book Ghost Hunt by Julie Miller, which is the book of the TV show of the same name: a sort of New Zealand version of Most Haunted. I've never seen the TV show and actually, the TV accounts are the least interesting part of the book...the history of the haunted spots and the accounts of ghost witnesses are much more interesting and scary!
The book put me onto NZ Ghosts which is the best online documentation for ghosts in Aotearoa. It has a nifty function where you search your area from a map of the country.
Do you believe in ghosts? I believe in something. I believe that my sister, mother and I have a sort of bond, we can tell when one of the others is about to call on the phone for instance. I had a weird experience at Morgue's old place one time, although I'm not sure if it was supernatural. It was a curtain billowing up into the room as if from a breeze, but the window was shut. I went to check the seal and couldn't feel a draft. Of course, no one else in the room was looking in that direction so I was the only one to see it.
Lee doesn't believe in ghosts because he doesn't believe in any sort of life after death. The only thing I'm sure of is that I'm not sure of anything!
I'm mostly updating on my lj still, so in case you've forgotten it's here. You can comment on there.
Stonesoup is going to disappear.
This means I'll be moving permanently over to LiveJournal land and that has a couple of implications.
The biggest one is that I can 'friends lock' stuff over there and I probably will. I have more totally random people reading my lj than I knew about having here, so I do friends lock some stuff. (Although not, apparently, the stuff with me saying 'come on over to my house'.) So, if you want to keep reading the full illustrious scope of blogging that Jenni does can I reccommend you get a livejournal if you don't already?
You don't have to post in it, just let me know who you are, add me to your friends list and I'll add you back.
In the meantime I might run a "best of Talula" until Stonesoup shuts down. I'll be keeping everything I've written backed up on a cd but I don't know if I can be bothered moving the archives anywhere. If anyone feels very strongly that I should keep the archives online please let me know.
So. For Jenni go here.
I had a weird thrill of fear last night when I went out to my BookCrosser's meeting. I wanted Lee to come with me because I was scared to be in the 'bad' end of town on my own in the dark. Lee refused to come because let's face it, he would've been bored to tears so I had to drive the car into town and park it on Ghuznee St and walk to Olive cafe all on my own and convinced that I was about to be attacked.
I blame my upbringing. All this stranger danger stuff and being told not to catch the bus after dark and everything. At every moment I was on a main road in plain view of people and cars, but I was still scared and I locked the car doors once I was inside.
On the other hand the meeting was really nice. Olive cafe is expensive but the service was friendly and the room was warm. I like the other BookCrossers, they're a really nice bunch and friendly as anything. I took a huge stack of books so as to make some shelf space and some of them were taken, which is nice. I managed to procure two lovely vintage books, one is an Alexandre Dumas title and the other is an account of Scot's voyage into the Antarctic. Just beautiful little books that I will either keep forever or pass onto Rachel who also loves old books.
Lee is frustrated because he's having problems with the tech. Something about the wireless? I don't really know but it might mean we can't watch more Veronica Mars tonight and that makes me sad.
I got two trademe purchases delivered yesterday: a long sleeve tshirt and fabric for Zephfi's quilt. I'm still waiting on a pair of pants, another long sleeve t and about 6 more fabrics. Fingers crossed for today.
Tonight is the grand night of ordering off Amazon.co.uk. They have Manos the Hands of Fate for three pounds, so I'm getting one for me and one for Seraph. Plus I will order Yoko! Jakamoko! Toto! and the 5,000 fingers of Dr T. Maybe some Nightwing comics as well, depends how crazy I'm feeling.
Todays socks are the super-long purple tubes with striping at the top. They are baggy around my ankles but they are resolutely staying mid-thigh height so I am very happy indeed.
Point of Fashion: Purple strip dream socks
Current Obsession: ordering off amazon
I was thinking about hypocrisy after Svend mentioned something on Sunday morning. IIRC it was a general trend in America to ridicule the Victorians because they had all these very high ideals and they didn't live up to them.
I was thinking about everyday life and the difference between ideals and what you actually do day to day and I came to thinking that hypocrisy isn't all bad.
Here's the thing. If it's about huge stuff, like raising your teenager then you shouldn't be a hypocrite. If you're leading the biggest, most powerful country in the free world you should definitely practise what you preach. On the other hand, in most of our lives, the things we have double standards about don't really matter, so we should go easy on each other about them.
Obviously this is about perspective. It's one thing to say you don't drink and then have a few beers (yes, these are examples from my own life) but it's quite another to hold your partner up to this standard of perfection and then deride them when they make mistakes (that one's off Dr Phil).
Here's an obvious example: I am idealistic. I would like to live in a country not dominated by capitalism. But I am bombarded with images and desires and I can't help myself and I consume (see previous entry). Does that make me an inherently bad person? No. Should y'all stop being my friend because of it? I don't think so.
Political views are always contentious though, so the example isn't perfect but I think my point is clear. If it doesn't really matter why make an issue out of it?
There's some interesting discussion coming out of this entry, now made public, which I intended to be a sort of diatribe about self-centredness but has turned into a kind of 'what is happiness?' thing. Good reading in there, although I'm not that articulate on my meaning.
This will likewise be crossposted to my lj so y'all can comment on this one over there.
New socks new socks new socks! La la la la laaa!
Thanks to the Lovely Rachel I have an abundance of new socks. I also have two new pairs of armwarmers, sock garters with dangly cherries and a pink frilly petticoat. Sock Dreams, I sing your praises.
Unfortunately my idea to buy lots this time so I would never have to purchase form there again hasn't worked. I want more. More!
So. I wore my pirate thigh highs with my pleated mini, black "I'm just glad I'm not you" thsirt and biker boots for roleplaying last night, with my black'n'white stripey armwarmers. I was dressed in character, for my favourite character pretty much ever: Jo.
We played Buffy using the Prime Time Adventures system which seemed to work quite well, although I do have an issue or two with it. Mostly I miss drama points, which are an incredibly helpful Buffy system mechanic. Other than feeling like it was too meta-gamey with narrating what would happen rather than actually roleplaying I'm OK with it.
It was a really fun session too, including some wonderful one-liners and an in character argument between Elric and me. His character is a vampire and Jo is a slayer so it was always bound to happen, plus my boyfriend has just been snacked on by another vampire and Elric had saved him by stabbing him (a little). I was so angry in character that my hand was shaking a little afterwards. Good times.
Today I am wearing my new pink and seafoam over the knee socks and (deep breath) THEY REALLY STAY OVER MY KNEES! OMG! SQUEEEEE!!!! (AHEM). I like them a lot, although they're a natch scratchier than my other long socks. I am also wearing my black and white stripey armwarmers with the pink bombs on. I like them because they don't have articulated fingers, just a hole for your thumb so it's really easy to push them back onto the wrists and wash your hands. I was gonna wear my fluffy pink chenille armwarmers but it was too many pinks. As it is I'm wearing (checks self) more than five different pinks although many of them are in small amounts so it isn't overwhelming. Grey tshirt and demin skirt are really the dominating features.
Ahem. Other than socks I don't have very much to say. Soon I shall write what I've been thinking lately about hypocrisy.
Point of Fashion: socks, obviously.
Current Obsession: also socks
I shall be ridiculously good at only Singstar 80s. I've only had it a few days and I find myself jonesing for the other disks.
I was home alone last night and I found that it greatly improved my singing, not having others there. I beat a couple of the high scores and came very close to a couple of others. I've spent some time on some of the songs I don't know that well and I am basically honing myself into a singstar 80s shark.
Last night and this morning I read Nightwing: year one which I loved to bits and want to own. I think I need the other 'year one' titles as well because they're so well done. Light hearted but still a bit dark and a bit nasty. It is Batman after all, it can't ever get that nice.
Point of Fashion: favourites
Current Obsession: will my class show up?
On Saturday Lee's sister and her baby came over in the morning to drop back Firefly (baby liked it very much and in the end had decided that Wash is Lee). I got to catch up with them very briefly before I was collected by Giffy and Nick.
We drove up the coast with much amusing conversation and 3 litres of pineapple juice.
Visiting with my parents was really nice and it was a lovely hot, mild day up the coast. I was pleased I'd thought to pack my jandles. Went to Lindale for cheese and the pate from the farmer's market. Then it was over to Luke and Sam's where I was informed of my imminent kidnapping. I was made to run I know, Right? which I was pretty happy to do. It was one of those dream teams of the right roleplayers in the right moods, you know. The kind of group where they start interacting in character before you've told them the rules?
Debbie was a truly inspiring Queen Bee with her obsession with England and the fantastic slang she invented "That is SO cockney!" She was also very big on just ordering her clique around, to an extent I've not seen before in game.
Giffy was the terrifying sort of sidekick that actually extended the meanness of the QB. Everyone was great in fact. Here are some quotes I managed to scribble down between giggles:
Valerie (QB) after having fixed someone's nails: Kelly? Can you blow?
Sakura (on Kelly and her boyfriend): Oh My God! He's totally gonna want to do it with you at the dinner party!
Sakura: we've only got sake at my house and that's just not English!
Sakura (on Kelly and her boyfriend): that was so weird that he didn't even talk to you?
Val: Yeah, it totally means he wants to sleep with you.
Kelly: You know the whole thing with girls?
Chad: breasts?
Then it was back to Luke and Sam's for some hot tub action with Giffy. The I'd stuffed myself with pate, cheese and crackers so I didn't really want to eat anything, just a beefy kebab and a bit of corn.
After I managed to get out of the tub I rounded up some players for Wuthering Heights. As with any time I've run this game it was completely hilarious. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breathe and my stomach cramped up.
It was quite closely based on the first time I ran it, with Sam's character haunted by her dead husband. The biggest difference was the extra characters, the fact that she wasn't so much torn up with pain over her loss, but with a tiny bit of guilt and a lot of eccentricity.
I nearly killed Giffy when I played the part of the six year old stable boy ("Oi sleep with the hosses. Dis is Blacky, ee's moy fav'rit") and I nearly died over the scandalous gift giving and Malcom's outrage.
Hyacinth (Sam): What a radical idea! (beat) I like it.
Athene (Giffy, being very honest): But I'm only averagely pretty!
Atehene (not wanting to go for a walk in the garden): But I fear I shall die of tuberculosis!
The gentlemen concerning Nasia's character (one of her problems was 'small') what she lacks in height, she makes up for in wealth. And think of the money you'd save her dresses would be cheaper, need less fabric.
Nasia's character was also a drug addict. After the roast hogget was revealed to be full of live, angry ravens: I've sat back down and continued eating.
I was pretty toasted after that. Svend drove us back to my parent's place and I slept in the fold out bed in my parent's lounge. It was a bit cold but Mum had left me a hottie so that was lovely.
In the morning I had a nice long conversation with Svend, which I haven't done in ages. Then we took my parents to their favourite cafe for brunch. I had a very nice meal of French toast with bacon, banana and maple syrup. Svend ate everything on the menu and everything else that was going.
We got to Luke and Sam's in time for me to play a game of Twister (it's always funner than I remember) then Giffy and I began to head home. We did have a good conversation in the car, and it was great to catch up with her.
Wash was pleased to see me when I got home and we finished watching first season Veronica Mars. I found the episode where she figures out what happens at the party really, really squicky and we had to take a break and watch light stuff for a couple of hours, then we watched the end of the season and the first ep of the second season. No cliffhangers for us!
I love Logan. Man the reveal of the Big Mystery was awesome although I had a problem with the climax (where essentially Veronica is useless and has to be bailed out by Daddy.)
Today Wash is in Auckland on business and I tried to watch Closer, but I found it to be bad. I just....I didn't like any of the characters and I felt...the men had all the power somehow? I was bored anyway, and when one of the guys (not Jude Law) called his girlfriend a whore one too many times I turned it off. Now Centre Stage is playing in the background.
Point of Fashion: cold feet
Current Obsession: awesomeness
I must mention Philippe Tromeur so that he will see that I have run his game again.
Cross posted to my lj since comments still are broken.
I finished the second one last night and they're ready to go!
Pictures are here for the strip quilt that I made first. I tend to call it the girl baby quilt, and here for the "I spy" quilt which is a little smaller and in my head is the boy baby quilt.
I really love these quilts and I want to make some more. I have fabric being delivered to me from trademe purchases which will eventually become a birthday quilt for Zephfi. (Your present will be way late Zeph, just warning you now.)
Cross posted to livejournal where you can comment on the craft genius of me :)
To the tune of the Makeover Makeover song from Clone High:
Playstation playstation! Playstation playstation! Playstation playstation, playstation!
So, yeah. Happy Jenni.
It's raining really really really hard right now. I heard thunder before I left for work, giant purple clouds were looming over the harbour towards me, but it held off raining til just recently.
Stonesoup is currently eating comments, so I'm a gonna post this over on my lj as well, and you can comment there.
I'm pleased people liked Ong-Bak last night as it really is one of my favourite martial arts movies. It did make me think we should watch Zatoichi as well and that makes me want to watch Samurai Champloo so it's all circles within circles.
My stomach makes threatening movements every so often but I feel mostly fine. Fingers crossed for the rest of the day.
Point of Fashion: why oh why didn't I wear a long sleeve tee?
Current Obsession: deep breath Playstation playstation! Playstation playstation! Playstation playstation, playstation!
edit: OMG! Hail!
I just got home. I seem to have a stomach bug which is muchos unpleasantos, I thought I might be alright after a sit down and a bland ham sammich lunch. I really regret the sammich.
I am teetering on the edge of a fever and I have this idea that a bath will make me well again. In a moment I am going to have said bath, follow it up with some napping and then I expect to be once again a picture of health.
The baby quilts are coming on nicely I was somewhat set back last night when I couldn't find my rotary cutter. I searched for it in all the normal places, then in random places and then it turned up in a vege bin full of plastic toys.
Such is my life.
Point of Fashion: karma must be angry with me. I'm wearing the 'for good luck rub my tummy' tshirt
Current Obsession: bath
Uh. I got some more blog spam and it said "It is healthy!" I don't know what that's about.
Nothing much to say but I'll be told off if I don't update.
Oh, my livejournal based roleplaying game has started up, so head on over to Random Weird and check it out. And join. You must join and play. This is the ony way I'll ever get free of Hogwarts Hocus, and let's face it. I will never get free of Hogwarts Hocus without your help.
Watched some more Veronica Mars last night and really enjoying it. Read some more Jonathan Strange and it's getting really exciting too. I am looking forward to going home and reading.
My other big plans for tonight include finishing the baby quilts. I have one wee corner to handquilt and then I'll do the binding. Not sure if I can bind both tonight but I will try. *cue valiant noble hero music*
Hmmm. Must take home an innocuous DVD that I can have on while I quilt. Or I could watch one I already have, like say, Moulin Rouge, or Crazy/Beautiful or something. OOoooh I haven't watched Phantom of the Opera for a while!
Point of Fashion: angry cat
Current Obsession: getting things finished.
Lee's bought a playstation off trademe. What we'll do is write a letter to fly buys asking them to cancel the voucher and make our points into something else. If they refuse, well, we'll have two playstations and we can sell off the one we like less for a profit! Profit I say!
We have to wait for it to be delivered from Tauranga but Lee thinks it will be this week! Bwah-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaaa PS2 will be mine!
If it turns up on Thursday or Friday I may have an impromptu singstar 80s night at my house. With added Buzz! Of course, I'm busy on the weekend with roleplaying stuff so if it turns up later y'all will have to wait.
Squeeeeee!
Despite the fact that we've had stuff in the mail from them, fly buys had our old address and that's where they sent the playstation voucher.
What this means is that on March 23rd when the issued voucher expires I have to call fly buys back and they'll issue me a new one and post it to my actual address.
I am half tempted to go to my old flat and see if they've kept the mail for me, but I'm also somewhat terrified of doing that too. So. No PS2 for a few weeks. Suck.
My weekend was lovely, too short as usual but lovely. I really enjoyed Brokeback Mountain on Friday night, it's just really good although not everyone's cup of tea. I say that less because of the subject matter and more because of the way it's filmed too. You know, long periods of silence, sweeping shots of gorgeous landscape...they aren't everyone's cup of tea.
Got caught in the freezing rain on the way to dinner which wasn't great but the food at Big Thumb was very nice, as usual.
Saturday I didn't get up for ages, just stayed in bed wrapped in blankets reading Jonathan Strange. Eventually I got up because if I hadn't I would have gone back to sleep, I moved onto the couch and stayed there wrapped in blankets, playing online and reading. Lee and I played a rollicking game of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the Xbox and some Rampage and some Bubble Bobble. Then my wrist gave out.
We left the house briefly to buy groceries and then watched ep 2 of Band of Brothers and some Veronica Mars. My neck got crazy sore from all the lying around and then my sinuses started to ache which kind of spread over my entire head. I felt fine Sunday.
Sunday we went out into the sunshine and saw the photographic exhibition in Waitangi park. Very good. Brunch at Zing, very yummy. Went back home, did cleaning and then my parents came over to see the professional wedding photos. After that it was off to Svend's for a delicious turkey dinner with wonderful potatoes kumera and apple crumble.
Point of Fashion: cold
Current Obsession: stoopid fly buys
Y'know what I hate? Wellington weather. I'm done defending it. I've been to warm places with lots of warmness and now I hate Wellington. It doesn't have autumn! It has a teeny bit of summer and then the entire rest of the year is winter.
I am wearing four layers on my top half: from inside to outer layers: singlet, long sleeve t, short sleeve t and woolly cardy. Then it's jeans, long socks and boot on the lower half. We have all the heaters on in the library, I had to pull a duvet on in bed this morning and we've run out of milo. I am not a happy Jenni.
I am seriously considering cancelling all my weekend plans and just staying at home in bed. If I do *everything* I'm considering for the weekend I won't see Lee until Sunday night and since Sunday's our "one month anniversary" that seems unfair. Plus I've been busy most nights this week and we've both got stuff on evenings next week.
So. Movie tonight, yep. Although I may be Moaning Myrtle. Trip up the coast tomorrow? Very tentative. Especially since I'm going up next week for roleplaying funstuff. Sunday? Play it by ear I think.
In good stuff I read the second volume of Batman: Hush and it was really really good. The ending was sorta non-climaxy but then I was rushing through it in my lunch break so it's to be expected. A good solid story drawing on lots of neat characters and with some freaky twists.
If I was in the Gold Coast right now? I'd be wearing short shorts and a tshirt.
Point of Fashion: winter
Current Obsession: warm bed and sleep
This morning's spam was quite fawning. Examples:
I love you so much!
Which is y'know, kinda designed to make me think "aww, friendly spam makes me feel good. I'll leave it right there." But I'm smarter than the spam. I delete it anyway!
I have loved your site for its useful and funny content and simple
design.
On the surface this one seems lovely too, until you see the past tense at the start there. I did love your site, once. But alas, the leaves have turned red with autumn's arrival and my love wanes also. The simple design that once delighted me so now causes me only annoyance, the funny content becomes shallow and meaningless, our love is truly over.
À good site, good short contents of the good work.
This one makes me think they read some other blog that writes mini-summaries of bible stories. Or possibly sells shorts. I can't decide.
Hello all! Very nice site and very informativity!
This one starts by appealing to everyone, getting all you readers on side by acknowledging you're there. Then it makes up a word. I am pleased my blog is very informativity, and I bet you are too.
Finally I got a long involved letter which at first seemed like another old Nigerian thing, but turned out to be a Pakistani company soliciting for my order of their surgical scissors. I'm tempted to forward the information onto Giffy's beau but since it's entirely typed in caps I think I won't after all.
This spam attack means I have to go through and turn comments off on my old entries. I'll do it later cause it takes ages and is annoying.
In the mean time, dog blog has updated again, so click the wee link on the right hand side of your screen and check that out.
Point of Fashion: pinks and blues again, but different from yesterday
Current Obsession: what is it about Thursdays?
Yo have nice site, admin! keep up good work man!
Yo. Have a nice site. It's kinda a gangsta rap code for something. Something cool. If I knew what it was I'd be able to break into the rap market and release my album. Who's Admin?
Nongratulations!
This is actually the opposite of Congratulations. Like when you have to say something nice, but you don't like the people at all. That's nongrats!
Hello admin, nice site ! Good content, eautiful design, thank !
eautiful design reminds me of ears, landscape gardening and some sort of environmental art based on instablility. I'm glad they think my blog has all that, but who'e this Admin they keep talking about?
I'm not an admin, I'm a writer.
Point of Fashion: cold knees
Current Obsession: sore neck
The wind outside is really very chilly. I am unimpressed and wish to move to the Gold Coast, where it is lovely and warm. I have a nice warm tan but I have to keep covering it up with long socks, shoes, pants and warm jerseys. It's supposed to be summer still dammit.
On the up side I have sent thank you cards and pictures to my tiara lady and my celebrant. Last night I did the dishes before going to bed and this morning I tidied some in the lounge so I am good and virtuous.
Looks like we'll have a big crowd tonight for the Wicker Man, which makes me happy. Especially if these people bring me coronas. Lee isn't playing squash so I don't know what he'll be doing.
I bought the PS2 game Buzz off trademe and it arrived this morning. Now everyone keep their fingers crossed that the voucher for the PS2 arrived today. Cross those fingers! Perhaps the power of the blogosphere will combine to create some luck for me.
Point of Fashion: pinks and blues, with tokidoki tee
Current Obsession: PS2 and XBox
