for a minute there...

random musical meanderings on the information superhighway while on the microscope this week. and it only confirms that im completely out of the musical landscape loop ;D

:: daytrotter really love the simple line drawings of the profiled artists, though i don't always know who they are so i take it as an opportunity to hear some new sounds with a free download or two ;)

and great feature on kurt vonnegaut (r.i.p)

:: stereogum presents OK_X, a 10th anniversary tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer.

eek! it's already been 10 years! in my youth, this album was a constant in my earholes on the train to uni. when i learnt how to play my mum's acoustic guitar (cos anyone can, right? ;p), i downloaded the geetar tabs from this album and also jeff buckley's Grace.
on reflection, it wasn't as ambitious as you might think and i did manage most of the songs on OK Computer.
Grace on the other hand... mmm

anyway, no surprises that i eventually retreated to the sunshine power pop chords of jason falkner's Author Unknown and teenage fanclub's classic Grand Prix.
diversions aside, download the tribute album while you can - it's all legal and free! i have only just grabbed it so a [ ] yay or [ ] nay report soon!

a scratch to itch...

sometimes i think my biggest lesson in returning to study has been learning how to exercise patience and restraint.
lately, this seems to be mostly derived from frustration *grrr-bah*!
dr b poses a good question: where _do_ all the unanswered emails and phone calls go?
don't worry, i'm ok! i merely diverted some of that frustration-energy into the sewing machine and made a bag using gorgeous fabrics from kimono house (with some help from amitie textiles, and a friendly cup of tea from son ;) ).

presto vest-o

The winter cold is killing me! After being spoiled with sunnier climes this time last year, I am finding the current Melbourne weather a bit bite-y and chilly - brrrr! With all the studying and stressing, i haven't found spare time to go shopping for winter duds (and ok, i actually really really hate shopping. do we really need all this *stuff*, more *stuff* and that shiny *stuff*?)

when it was a little warmer, my friend pierre burkensoir hosted a garage sale at his joint for a friend and, like seagulls swooping on a recently vacated fish and chip session, my sis and i got to pick through the leftover dregs.

in this cold shivering weather, i was extremely grateful for the goodget of a grey lambs wool/angora jumper. a few centimetres taken in on the side and a couple of larger snips taken off the arms, it makes for a toasty, fleecey, vesty thing. i wore it for about a week after i made it, such was its warmth (and goodget glow: that feeling kept me warm too! ha!).

you may wonder where this scavenging for the el bargain-o comes from: my mum is the queen of good gets. in fact, we used to trawl after her on saturday mornings at various op shops, and she often passes on random goods from treasure hunting; handbags galore "it was only a dollar!" or skirts to turn into bags " just sew up this bit here, and then add some handles - easy!".

she'd be so proud :D

ps: would anyone like some grey lambswool/angora arm warmers? ;p

creative fix

with the piano at my parents' place, i find myself at a loss without some creative release. all-day-every-day: experimenting, confocalling -scan-scan-scan, writing, experimenting, reading, writing, photoshopping, reading, more writing, procrastinating, experimenting, ... arrghhhhh!

i bought some red fleece on sale to make a hoodie for winter. out of pure laziness the fabric remains all rolled up, hanging in a spotlight bag on the back of my bedroom door. i did manage to pin the pattern pieces on (huzzah!) but the project remains eerily silent, inert. meanwhile, winter soldiers on, taking all with its icy tentacles. every morning i see that fabric as i leave for work and think, gee i should get onto that soon. before winter's really over.. then again, i could use that fabric to sit on the beach... mmmm.
[Procrastinators Unite Tomorrow! i'm currently claiming lack of time. on the plus side, all this practise at procrastinating means i'm going to be SO good at it!]

my current favourite quick and easy creative burst is to play with paper. i looooove paper. cammers and i went to a paper expo at st kilda town hall many moons ago (yup. they exist. and we actually went). we were amazed / somewhat frightened by how many other people really looooooove paper. despite the fact that the majority of the crowd were middle aged women, it was roll-up-your-sleeves, elbows out and into the fray.
and don't think that it didn't cross our minds that we may well have glimpsed our future either!

i like to make cards for my mates: it's so simple and each one is unique. it's really so satisfying! i have finally given this lot away, so they can be posted without spoiling any surprises... ;)
now, back to procrastinating, er.. writing, experimenting, more writing, confocalling -scan-scan-scan....