Two Stories of Love

Want to read a story about love?

You could go to the news and see this heart-warming story of boy sees girl on subway, boy makes website seeking girl, boy finds girl, boy and girl's story gets optioned for a movie.

Get your fill of:
-Cute kids in love
-NYC dating 2007
-Fashion tips to get noticed on the subway
-Warm and fuzzy love

Or, you could go to an arty cinema near you, preferably one where the concessions counter is actually smaller than the tickets counter, and see Ang Lee's Lust, Caution.
The gut-wrenching story of girl disguises herself as tai-tai, girl meets boy, boy whips girl.. aagh just go see it!

Get your fill of:
-Asia's Clarke Gable, Tony Leung
-Shanghai in the 1940s
-Awesome vintage cheongsams (!!)
-Love as performance

In case the above ramblingly incoherent alphabet collection didn't do the film justice–

From Ang Lee's essay on Lust, Caution, about Eileen Chang, who wrote the original short story:
She understood playacting and mimicry as something by nature cruel and brutal: animals, like her characters, use camouflage to evade their enemies and lure their prey. But mimicry and performance are also ways we open ourselves as human beings to greater experience, indefinable connections to others, higher meanings, art, and the truth.

FreeRice

The only time I'd hate to be 25 and long to be 41..

How to Carve a Pumpkin

So you all know I am nothing if not hugely inept at bunging things on here in a timely manner. Hence my Halloween update today, which is creeping onto Melbourne Cup day. Ack! Too many festivals involving strange outfits to celebrate!

This was my first 'real' Halloween, so I thought I'd share with you how I carved a pumpkin. For most non-Americans it's a complete mystery.

First, get a carving kit. It's a book of design patterns with some crazy little tools attached to the front. There's a few saws, a scoop and a couple poke-y things.

Then, get a pumpkin. I got this one for $4 in a pumpkin patch (they sprout up on corners in October). Remember to bring someone along to haul it into the boot. Watch your nails, girls!

Back at the ranch...Cut the lid out with a knife and use the scoop to take out the seeds and stringy bits inside. This bit will take longer and be harder than you expect.

Then, pick out your design. Start with an easy one that's hard to screw up. Stick it in place and use a poke-y thing to punch holes in the lines.

When you take the pattern off, it'll look like this. Use the little saws to cut out the pattern, following the dotted lines. This will take longer and be harder than you expect.

Finally! You will feel so proud of your achievement that you regret choosing the simple one. You go back to the book in search of something more befitting your enormous pumpkin carving, nay, SCULPTING talent.

Ta-DAAAAAA.

Perth meets Perez

I'm pretty much addicted to Perez Hilton–it is the trashiest trash that ever trashed. But yesterday, I had to do a double-take to make sure I wasn't reading the West Australian!

Missy Higgins! W000t!

Aussie singer Missy Higgins was in town last week, so we went to see her over at Cafe Du Nord in the Castro. We looove Missy. Her music is kind of like a happier Sarah McLachlan. To see her show in Australia, we'd be in an audience of thousands. Here, it was more like 150. Better view for us!

There were two warm-up acts before she came on. The first was Katy Steele of Little Birdy, which is quite a well-known band in Australia from my lovely hometown of Perth. She was just there by herself, but her stage presence is quite riveting. With her straight white blonde hair, it was very Debbie Harry.

The second act was an excruciatingly boring American girl. Too much time on hair, not enough writing decent songs. It was more prolonged warbling than singing. I even, at one point, crouched down, so my feet would hurt less from my heels. I was sooo unconcerned about seeing the performance. Just holding my place until the real act came on. I didn't mean to be so ghetto, but dude, I was ready to chew them off at the ankles!

Finally, Ms Higgins came on! It was truly a miraculous set. Gorgeous lyrics and tripping melodies, hampered only by Miss Number One Fan behind me. She knew every word to every song (of course) and insisted on singing it loud as can be (of course). I was soo close to turning around, slapping her one, and reminding her I paid to hear Missy, not her. I didn't (of course) because I'm classy like that.

Also, she was bigger than me.

B-day celebrations II

So after our joint dinner, we did some drinks... I did a spin on a dance pole.. you know, the usual. Then we walk up the street to find another bar. As we're walking a few blocks away, we pass a "Thailand Health Spa Massage" place. Some of the guys wanna go in. Fine. My sister and I wait outside. That's when this guy starts talking to us.

He's younger than his paunch suggests, and dressed like a bouncer–blue shirt and oversize leather jacket. He seems a bit sketchy at first because he talks a lot and fast. Anyway it comes out that he's shore police. It's fleet week-the navy is in town on shore leave-and it's his job to make sure no one gets arrested.

Basically, he explains, the navy has 20 personnel in the downtown/North Beach area where we were, and 30 in the Castro (gay capital of the world, if not the universe). They ask the (real) police to call them if any of their guys gets arrested, as they've been given expense accounts exactly for bail-type expenses...

That's not all that's involved though, he explains. There's much reconnaissance to be done beforehand. The extent of which he displays when the boys emerge from the massage place. They despondently report the lady in there looked aunty-ish.

Our shore policeman explains that they were sent to SF some time before the fleet arrived to scope out all the "places of interest" and find out where the best are, what they offer and at how much. Apparently Thailand Health Spa Massage still tries to keep the facade of a reputable place. Once you get led inside, that's when you can choose from a "menu" and make a few coded requests.. who knew!

Aah the might of the armed forces of the most powerful nation on earth...

Many happy returns

I know the last few posts haven't exactly been rays of sunshine. Being referred to as an alien, let alone an illegal one, is bound to put a damper on things.

But, with all the b-day celebrations/happy stuff in the past 2 weeks, it's been hard not to feel just a little festive. It's been my sister's (30th) as well as mine (25 forever) so there has been a lot of joint action.

Let me see, there was...

-my first ball game.


-some kind of huge-ass BBQ at a friend's place north of the city


-a road odyssey to Vegas (more about that later)


-an Italian dinner that came very slowly, chased by many vodka-based beverages that were drunk too quickly...

...which was chased by a run-in with shore police at fleet week, outside a Thai "health" massage parlour. (Full story coming)

These few weeks have definitely love me long time!

And today, (actual b-day), great big huge American pancakes at the Millbrae Pancake House and possibly a wander around a lake.

In Vegas, I played the 1-cent pokeys a lot and the trick to them is getting a bonus round. Then you get a bunch of free spins, and lots more chances at wins. Well, I think in the great dodgy casino of life, everyone gets old, there's a lot of glitz, but the reality often smells funny. This year at least, has been a pretty huge bonus round.

Thanks for sticking round for it :)