w h o c h i c k

what the eff, lj?

whochick — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:53:31 GMT

Livejournal you are killing me, killing me, bb!

What the eff?

how? when?

whochick — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:30:17 GMT

I have a huge backlog of emails I'm working through from the last 3-4 weeks or so. Apologies to those who have been left hanging. Not really sure how it happened ...

*eyes inbox sideways*

AiA - I have no words for how excited I am about this

whochick — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 10:53:22 GMT

Will be there in person for both parts in repertory on the closing night. This is seven hours of one of the most important plays of my generation and I can't even begin to explain how excited I am.

I may explode.

Interviews and some sneak peeks.
Collage of scenes captured from preview performances.

I'm busily resisting the temptation to read my copy of the script again, because I want to view this with fresh eyes and minimal preconceptions come February. Good luck, me. I think it was burned into my subconscious the first time I read it.

what constitutes respect and compromise?

whochick — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 23:06:32 GMT

Lowering a veil on men's right to see justice being delivered is a somewhat poorly written but interesting article written by the the Herald Sun's Andrew Bolt today.

Islam in Australia is a very touchy subject right now, as I'm sure it is in many other countries. I can't help but wonder what the purpose of this article might be. Is it actually intended to spark insightful debate in the community, or (in keeping with many opinion pieces by Bolt) is it merely designed to bring out extremists from both sides so that more newspapers are sold?

To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure which way I go on the actual issue. As a health care provider, I often attempt to cater to the preferences of clients from many diverse cultural backgrounds, Muslims included. Where possible I seek out female doctors, midwives and technicians in order to avoid violating my client's cultural and religious mores. Conversely, every client of mine is aware that sometimes this might not be possible and they will have to deal with a male performing whatever procedure is required. They live in Australia, they are constantly confronted by how our culture differs to the one they espouse, and I have never had a woman refuse care from a male practitioner before.

Then again, the scenarios I'm talking about are private and personal, not court rooms and public swimming pools. I'm genuinely interested in your opinion, both on Bolt's writing and on the issue in general. What think you, flist?

meme: alphebet stuff

whochick — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 09:50:33 GMT

Stolen from everyone, but most specifically causticchick

A is for ACCENT: Australian to everyone else, vaguely scouse to Australians.

B is for BREAST SIZE: 32C ... not my biggest asset.

C is for the CHORE YOU HATE: Cleaning the shower recess. Bah.

D is for my DAD'S NAME: The one I speak to? Jim.

E is for the ESSENTIAL MAKE-UP ITEM: Laura Mercier mineral foundation in soft porcelain. It breathes, it's natural looking and I don't have to bother with taking it off if I get home late and crash.

F is for FAVORITE PERFUME: I have never had a perfume I love more than Le Labo Patchouli 24. This is the scent I will wear for the rest of my life, even if it does make me smell like a dirty hippie.

G is for GOLD OR SILVER: Does white gold count? Um, mostly gold, but that's circumstantial.

H is for HOMETOWN: Melbs! Go Melbournites.

I is for INSOMNIA: Yeah, hello old friend. Apparently I'm cured by listening to rain, though.

J is for JOB TITLE: Registered Midwife - Specialist Women's Clinic.

K is for KIDS: Just two mutts.

L is for LIVING ARRANGEMENTS: A house I bought with my husband, who's left me, so I have no idea where that leaves me in the near future.

M is for MOM'S BIRTHPLACE: Punta Cardón, Venezuela.

N is for the NUMBER OF APPLES YOU'VE EATEN: Today? Two.

O is for OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: Two; one for a cardiac arrhythmia, one for hip surgery.

P is for PHOBIA: Mould. Like whoah.

Q is for QUEST: Be daring, live life.

R is for RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION: Raised to question, historically pagan, mostly buddhist now.

S is for SIBLINGS: Adopted sister x 1, full sister x 1, half brothers x 3.

T is for the TIME YOU WAKE UP: For an early shift, 5:45 am. For a late, usually about 8:30 am. For night duty, after 5:30pm if I'm lucky.

U is for the UNNATURAL HAIR COLORS YOU'VE WORN: Everything from pink to black (I'm a natural strawberry blonde).

V is for the VEGETABLE YOU REFUSE TO EAT: Never met a veggie I don't like.

W is for WORST HABIT: Emotional eating, although I'm getting better.

X is for the X-RAYS YOU'VE HAD: Chest/thoracic/heart x 4, VQ scan x 1, hip x 3.

Y is for the YUMMY FOODS YOU MAKE: Lately? Apple, raspberry and walnut loaf with ricotta and honey. Mmm.

Z is for ZANY QUIRK: I spend at least the first song in any given set singing with my eyes closed. It takes me that long to chillax.

dislocated another knee

whochick — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:38:13 GMT

My heartfelt apologies to the_arc5 who had to listen to me languish on the end of a skype connection when I dislocated my knee on the way back from greeting P tonight.

I'd had such a good week. Daily gym for strength training then every second day, two or three hours of kung fu. Everything was going so well, then I misjudge a single step around a couch and my knee falls apart.

I think about 50% of my tears were for the injustice and the rest for the pain. I've got ice to it at the moment and a lot of anti-inflammatories in my system, but it's several kinds of red and purple which is not good for me ... normally I don't tear things (which is the only advantage of my ligaments being so fucked).

I don't know what to expect now. I'll visit the physio tomorrow, but all they'll probably do is tell me to strap it and maybe make me use my cane again for a while. Fucking thing.

I'm angry and it hurts like hell. Whoever put the "benign" in Benign Joint Laxity needs a smack up the head.

can we get one thing straight?

whochick — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 11:54:51 GMT

I absolutely can't and won't read anything where the synopsis is marked "summery."

Bitch, please.

nobody wants freebies?

whochick — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 01:23:19 GMT

~~If nobody wants these free clothes then I'm going to donate them to the Salvos tomorrow. Last chance ...~~

free to good home | will post worldwide

whochick — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 06:48:39 GMT

So, I'm trying to be a tidy person and that's resulted in a quick wardrobe clean-out. I normally donate to charity, but I'm feeling like the charity ought to go to my friends this time around, so pipe up if you want free clothes ;)

Styles are mostly mod, hipster-ish, slightly alternative, in hues of blue, grey, denim, purple and pale lace. Will suit smaller-chested people, but you're allowed to have hips. I do!

You're looking at a mixed bag of Sunny Girl, Modcloth, Urban Outfitters and Aussie geek-chic boutique-type stuff in Australian sizes 8-11 which is approximately USA sizes 4-8. There are a couple of dresses in there that I've never worn and everything else is in very good condition, no marks or damage that I'm aware of (they were literally hanging in my closet ready to be worn). Smoke free house and my pets don't hang out in the wardrobe or anything.

First in, best dressed, no pun intended.

All comments screened, so shoot me your address if I don't already have it and I'll pop the box in the mail tomorrow. Hope someone can get some use out of this lucky dip ;)

EDIT: Also throwing in a pair of magenta gladiator-style ankle sandles in size USA/AU 8 (EU 39).

Claimed!!

you just don't know your shit 'til robert louis stevenson

whochick — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:19:39 GMT

So, about six weeks ago, while riding a bicycle drunkenly around Rutherglen, I picked up a copy of R.L Stevenson's Travels With a Donkey in the Cévennes, c.1879.

The weird thing is, I'm only reading it now and it would have been so much better for me as a human being if I'd read it oh, I don't know, the moment I was born or something. My first cat would have been called Modestine, uppity bastard that he was, and I would probably know what to do with my life.

In the words of Alastair McIntosh, Stevenson showed me the landscape that made me who I am. Where the fuck was this book in 2007? You can bet your ass it would have led me to the Cévennes, cheap 120 camera around my neck and journal in my pocket, ready for a pseudo-literary expedition of pretentious proportions. What's more, it would have been good for me.

The greater part of poetry is about the stars;
and very justly, for they are themselves the most classical of poets.
These same far-away worlds, sprinkled like tapers or shaken together like
a diamond dust upon the sky, had looked not otherwise to Roland or
Cavalier, when, in the words of the latter, the had 'no other tent but
the sky, and no other bed than my mother earth.'

Stephenson, I want you to have my babies, but I'm taking Modestine in the divorce.

amusing icon meme: picture > words

whochick — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:55:34 GMT

I've been pretty serious around the place of late, so I thought I'd spare a moment for a cracky icon meme snagged from all over, but I think I saw it first at verizonhorizon.

01. How do you feel right now?

02. What's your favorite pastime?

03. Do you consider yourself a strange person?

04. What's your main fandom?

05. OTP?

06. How do you describe yourself?

07. What's your favourite icon to use that's not default?

08. Do you have an icon of your future husband/wife?

09. Do you have a WTF icon?

10. How do you feel towards love?

11. Saddest icon?

12. Happiest icon?

13. Crackiest icon?

just what I always wanted ... no, really

whochick — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:04:57 GMT

I GOT A LEMUR FROM frzn_mmnt!!

Goldfrapp is liefde

whochick — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 14:53:58 GMT

Goldfrapp leidt tot een prachtige dag, is het waar. Iedereen zou hun album, vooral vroedvrouwen moeten kopen, die altijd moeten optimistisch zijn!

band and fishcustard

whochick — Tue, 11 May 2010 14:13:19 GMT

What? How did it get to midnight and I didn't notice? Last time I looked I'd had an early dinner and it was sitting around 18:30 and I was wondering what the hell I was going to do with myself for a few more hours.

Hell. I have to be up in 6.5 hours or my personal trainer will hurt me. She's evil like that.

So, there have been huge amounts of band dramas over the last week; so much so that I can't even begin to go into it. I still really have no idea what's going on. As soon as I have any idea at all, I'll be sure to post some kind of nonsensical bullshit about what it means.

I can be relied upon for that much.

I couldn't get the digital to work at the cinema today. Apparently there's some ridiculous flaw in the controller kernel that means you have to press pause on the playlist before you actually, well, you know ... play the movie. What?

CAN WE NOT JUST GET THIS FIXED ALREADY? Or better yet, ditch the whole DP idea because frankly it's overrated. I'm sure I'm not the only anachronistic bastard out there who wants their movies with cigarette burns to mark the spools, complete with sound pops and goddamn sprocket noise when the port glasses aren't fitted correctly. BRING BACK REAL CINEMA!

Also - fish custard? y/n? (especially considering they'd be soysticks).

made it to wahgunyah alive and found ... books

whochick — Thu, 06 May 2010 06:52:17 GMT

Arrived early evening yesterday to the sight of an unexpectedly suburban street and a grey cat who insinuated we were on a good behaviour bond. A makeshift dinner of lentil soup, rice and banana loaf. Followed that up with S5 DW eps 4&5 which were the most watchable yet. I'm still not sold on the companion.

Today was a 16km return trip ride to Rutherglen. We came, we saw, we left with antiquarian books. I picked up a gorgeous 1882 Thackaray I'm insanely happy with, as well as a 1923 Robert Louis Stevenson and a slightly trashed copy of the very famous Geology by Bird. Some maps torn out but the text intact. It's like porn for rock nerds, and oh so pretty.

Managed two hours with the next chapter the first night, followed by half an hour while nursing a cup of chai this morning. It's almost ready to be set aside in favour of the next one.

Right now is champagne from a local cellar door and a very tactile experience with my Thackaray ... Don't judge me.

Massive catch up, because I've been slack about posting

whochick — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 03:27:00 GMT

My blogging slackness is pretty much summed up by the fact I've got a twitter account now. If I can't say it in 160 or less, apparently it takes too much effort now. For those of you on the "peeps who know me" filter, you can twitter search for my real name, keeping in mind that for some strange as fuck reason, there's a dude out there impersonating me, so I'm using my maiden name.

What's with that, wannabe-me? I have no fame for you to bask in, you weirdo.

On the weekend (at the ass crack of dawn), guys with trucks came and dropped off $4,000 worth of furniture. It was kind of awesome. Finally, I can do that wardrobe cull I've been hankering for, because I actually have room to, you know, wash and dry and iron and fold away my things. But the problem now is, it seems I'm a fucking hipster. When the hell did that happen? Or does everyone's wardrobe clash this perfectly when you lay it all out in a pile at once?

I hate renovating, for serious.

Also, if I could only get the band together in a room, it would blow your mind, because I have about 2 albums of new songs to pitch to the guys. This batch are heavily metal-influenced with touches of keys (omfg, did I just say that, even?) and are a total departure from anything I've ever written before. I'm so fucking excited I don't even have the words. God, if we can get this recorded before November, we're going to have one hell of a Summer release to flog.

the_arc5 has been a doll about editing my stupidlong fanfic for me, which is going well and seems to be well received. Weird though, that it's always when I've nearly finished a project that my imagination starts casting around for the next thing and I really have to force myself to remain on track.

I saw a fantastic Melbourne band last Friday night, I will def do a gig review when I don't have somewhere to be. I have to get to American Apparel on Chapel before 2:30pm, or else I'll be late home for personal training, and Sofia is one scary motherfucker.

Hell, sorry for all the cussin' you folks from the South. Night duty short circuits my politeness filter.

This weekend: The Threadbitches BBQ (I <3 you all, you nerdy, nerdy bitches)
Next weekend: Bek's wedding (so excited there are no words!)
Breaking news: Vaughan and Jenny got engaged! OMG!

USA, it's time to be counted

whochick — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 01:33:53 GMT

Sorry I haven't posted much lately, life has been filled with writing and working and renovations. Had a great night out with the Threadbitches, something we do about three times a year. GoodBoss was lame and went home early, but Nesbit and I had a great night out, so GB can stick that in his pipe and smoke it.

Speaking of sticking your pipe places, it's time for the US census to show how many GLTB couples there are out there. Takei says so, and he da man ...

tech: email and website on the blink

whochick — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:40:11 GMT

Hi all,

No email, no website.
I have decided this is the final straw and I will probably be changing hosts.
Bear with me and please note that if you've sent anything important, it will not have got to me!

Over and out.

latfh.com

whochick — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 06:44:35 GMT

So I've decided to admit to one of my secret shames - latfh.com.

If you've never been there and you enjoy a good giggle at the expense of the super ~~trendy~~ crazy, then go ahead and click.

I'm rather partial to those captioned "look at this fucking love connection."

TC Laurence touches down

whochick — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 13:19:12 GMT

Tropical Cyclone Laurence real-time map.

So far:

No reports of loss of life.
One fishing vessel sunk.
Intense rain and gale damage.

TC Laurence is predicted to touch down in Derby tonight.
We're thinking of you, folks.

gig review - Sia | Washington | Scott Matthew @ The Palace Theatre, Melbourne

whochick — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:41:17 GMT

I was given two tix to this gig for my birthday, and it's a testament to how underappreciated these artists are that it took me until less than 12 hours before the gig to find a taker for the spare ticket (even if it was rather late notice).

I'll get to Sia later, because she was awesome, but so were the supports.

Firstly, Scott Matthew.

I'm going to be honest and say I've never heard of him before last night, but shit, I should have because he's got the most angelic yet powerful voice on a man I've heard in a long time. Plus, he's doing all his gigs with a ukulele, which frankly rocks my world.

You can find out all his specs from his website, but in a nutshell, he's an Aussie who's now living in Brooklyn. Reviews of his 2008 debut, self-titled album boil down to "a unique and beautiful voice, a wonderful sense of melody, and lush yet minimalistic arrangements." - The Listening Sessions

So go and listen on myspace, or buy on iTunes.

Secondly, Washington/Megan Washington.

I've heard Megan sing before on television, and boy does she impress in person. She opened on a Gretsch electric hollowbody, accompanying herself to one of my favourite Christmas Carols: O Holy Night, and the room was spellbound. You listen to her band Washington on myspace. I recommend How To Tame Lions if you check her out there. The genre a little bit more pop than I usually go for, especially with such a stunning voice as hers, but I'm going through a bit of a phase right now, so sue me. You can get her on iTunes, too.

Lastly, the main event, the amazing Sia.

The first time I ever heard of Sia was when I was linked to a YT video of her performing live. I was utterly blown away by both her voice and her stage presence. Sia is a little Aussie blonde chick with the voice of an African American soul singer and a sense of humour and fun that is kind of like playschool on acid.

As with so much local talent, we were the last to know about her in a mainstream sense. She's much bigger in the States and Europe than she is over here, although, thankfully, that seems to be changing.

She was certainly adored last night.

People threw things on stage and she proceeded to stuff all her presents down her pants and then tell us that "we" were having a baby together now. She then giggled and said "does anyone want to do some heckling now? It makes every show interesting!" Someone called something out which she didn't quite hear, but she laughed harder, "my mum has a penis? Wow. That's deep right there. I guess it explains why she doesn't have a problem with me being a huge lesbot."

Seriously, my face hurt from grinning.

Ain't she something?? Her current album is entitled Some People Have Real Problems and you can get it on iTunes or in all the usual places.

What, really? For serious, now?

whochick — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 03:35:01 GMT

Do I seriously have to write my own application simply to password protect a zip file?

And no, I'm not paying for something I can probably whip up in Objective-C or Xcode in a few hours, but I tell you what, I'm kind of pissed that Apple hasn't just included that functionality in the built-in .zip application. It's not a revolutionary idea.

The only upshot to this whole fiasco is that it's going to make me program again (oh, the days ...) and also that I stumbled across Potion Factory quite out of the blue, which is going to make my life that much easier.

Now, I'm off to wrap my brain around Xcode. Last thing I programmed was in Perl, so this whole C-based nonsense is going to do my head in, I can just tell.

Yeah, this is what I do with my day off.

Go figure.

an upgrade that bites

whochick — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:50:54 GMT

My webhosting upgraded me without asking and I lost a lot of emails in the change of smtp host. Sorry to those who slipped through the cracks. If it was important, try sending it again, now that I've got it sorted!

MIDWIVES MARGINALISED, HOMEBIRTH ILLEGAL - IS THIS WHAT YOU WANT??

whochick — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:43:23 GMT

To quote Justine Caines, Founding Member of whatwomenwant.org.au:

"We have just (and yes I mean in the last 24 hours) been advised that Nicola Roxon will put amendments to the midwifery legislation that will REQUIRE a midwife claiming Medicare to work WITH either an Obstetrician or GP. It is not work FOR (ie in their office) but it will be to demonstrate that you work WITH.

As we all know this spells the end of midwifery practice as we know it, and IT IS THE ABSOLUTE END OF PRIVATE HOMEBIRTH."

DON'T LET THE POLITICIANS TAKE MIDWIFERY AWAY!
DON'T LET THEM MAKE HOMEBIRTH ILLEGAL!
Have your say by visiting WWW and registering as a member today!

x-posted to midwifery, womenhealth and vaginapagina, sorry if you were spammed.

first time for everything

whochick — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 04:31:36 GMT

Dear Livejournal,

Today at archery practice I Robin-Hooded one of my arrows. It was awesome. You should have been there.