at my most beautiful

Today has been a day of friends, chat and poetry. I enjoyed myself too much (if such a thing is possible) and sadly, I did little exam preparation. Poems, they make me smile.

This Be The Verse
- Phillip Larkin

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.


They Tuck you up
- Adrian Mitchell

They tuck you up, your mum and dad,
They read you Peter Rabbit, too.
They give you all the treats they had
And add some extra, just for you.

They were tucked up when they were small,
(Pink perfume, blue tobacco-smoke),
By those whose kiss healed any fall,
Whose laughter doubled any joke.

Man hands on happiness to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
So love your parents all you can
And have some cheerful kids yourself

Love Poem

- Lemn Sissay

You remind me
define me
incline me.

If you died
I'd

Edit 10:35. Returning all stolen sentiments as of now.

my happiness

Movies.

I was thinking about how I'd like to celebrate the end of my exams. I'm not exciting enough to go out, so I thought why not stay in. I'd have a movie night.

These are the movies I'd watch.

Nothing like Katharine Hepburn to kick of the evening.

I don't think many people would appreciate the second movie as much as myself. But it's been on the list for a while now.

Mmmm. Classic.

I can never tell whether I'm the only person who likes this movie. But then again, the films I've grown up with have been slightly skewed towards the strange and 'Burton-esque'.

blue suede shoes

Heels are wonderful torture devices.

No doubt invented by a man.

I wish.

And yet, we continue to wear them. Talk about masochism.

le plus beau du quartier

'Maddy, you don't read!'

This is my grandmother's complaint every time I visit her for a french tutorial.

(In many ways, being related to the person who tutors you has it's advantages, such as chocolate biscuits, informality and being doted upon. It also has its drawbacks, like brutal honesty and slamming the table when I forget to make verbal agreements. My grandmother would have to be one of the scariest french teachers I know)

...So, I'm reading. Apparently, it's one of the most effective ways to study for a language exam, so each year I receive a french book form ma grand-mère. Last year it was La Chatte by Colette. So, I'm making an attempt to read it. It's pretty much another story about jealousy and unrequited love. 'But how does a cat fit into all this?' you might ask. Well, it's essentially a love triangle between a young women, her husband and his cat. She loves him. He loves his cat. The cat sounds like it's on drugs.

The plot is simple; a young married couple move into their own apartment. However the husband misses his childhood cat terribly. He returns to his parents house to find the cat and bring her home to his wife. As it turns out, the cat represents the dreams and memories of childhood which he can't let go of, and so he loves her more than his wife. The wife is eventually overcome by jealousy and attempts to kill the cat, but fails. Learning of this, the husband leaves his young wife for his cat.

In a word: strange.

The author was pretty strange herself:

' je reve que j'épouse un très grand chat.' - Colette

sitting, waiting, wishing

ode to my family (and friends)

It's pretty much over.

Okay. Exams are still in the very near future. So are hours of grueling study. Panic attacks. Terrible sleep patterns. Fruitless cramming. Hand cramps. Mathematically induced headaches. Rants. Procrastination. Intellectual hangovers.

And while I'm sure most of you aren't narrow-minded enough to forget how wonderful your life truly is, I've decide to be "that person" who gently reminds you.

It's cliché, but I like it:

aaaaaaDon't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. - anon

kids

Relfelctions on a Gift
of a Watermelon Pickle
Received from a Friend
called Felicity

During that summer
When unicorns were still possible;
When the purpose of knees
Was to be skinned;
When shiny horse chestnusts
aaaaaaa(Hollowed out
aaaaaaawith straws
aaaaaaaCrammed with tobacco
aaaaaaaStolen from butts
aaaaaaaIn family ashtrays)
Were puffed in green lixard silence
While straddling thick branches
Far above and away
From the softening effects
Of civilisation

During that summer ---
Which may never have been at all;
But which has become more real
Than the one that was ---
Watermelons ruled.

Thick pink imperial slices
Melting frigidly on sun-parched tongues
Dribbling from chins;
Leaving the best part,
The black bullet seeds,
To be spit out in rapid fire
Against the wall
Against the wind
Against each other;

And when the ammunition was spent,
There was always another bite:
It was a summer of limitless bites,
Of hungers quikcly felt
And quickly forgotten
With the next careless gorging.

The bites are fewer now.
Each one is savored lingeringly,
Swallowed reluctantly.

But in a jar put up by Felicity,
The summer which maybe never was
Has been captured and preserved.
And when we unscrew the lid
And slice off a piece
And let it linger on our tongue:
Unicorns become possible again.

John Tobias

the long and winding road

Photos as promised.

Well, today I had my art exam. This involved a forty-five minute oral where I explained my work and my madness. I think it went quite well, however sometimes it was difficult to gauge the examiners reaction. But he gave some excellent advice concerning my CRB (candidate record book) which is to be examined later. It's rather nice to have it over. Furthermore, I only have five subjects to worry about now. I'm practically a VCE student (the slackers). Anyway, below are photos of the exam layout and the chair in detail. All stenciling, painting and varnishing was made/done by hand (and yes, MY hands).


see Joseph Kosuth

The chair looks best with dirt in the pots

In other news...

The things I do for my family. Many of you may already know that I was Alana's model in the VCE fashion show. There was a lot of make up (especially around the eyes, I looked rather 'raccoony') and hairspray (see bird's nest). These photos were taken after Alana's fashion show. But don't be fooled. This was me with my hair down and my eye make up removed. It was truly frightening. I'm still waiting for photos of the actual night. However, I've heared good things about the show. WELL DONE ALANA!

j'en connais

This is annoying. I wanted to post photos of my chair, but I can't find my card reader. I've searched every inch of my home and I cannot find it. This isn't unusual in my house. Too much junk.

Perhaps this is a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't want my chair to fail to meet the expectations I may have built in peoples minds. I come off excited when I talk about it, but that's because I've finished and I don't have to stay up until one in the morning painting it.

I also wanted to post some rather interesting photos or raccoon-eyed girls and bird-nest heads. But they can wait as well I suppose.

However, while I was searching for the card reader I came across a pair of tortoise shell Wayfarers. They're about 20 years old and the hinges are a bit loose, so Mum said I could have them. So, I took them. I mean how often do things like that present them self for free?

Anyway. Watch this space for amusing images. Or at least take pleasure in the fact that I'm making an idiot of myself by running around the house looking for a small plastic contraption.

Here's a sudoku to tide you over until I can be more interesting.

don't stop me now

Jack Radcliffe

Right now I feel a bit like this; tired, frustrated and I need a hit of something soothing 'cos coffee just won't cut it. Fortunately my drug of choice is the internet. I chose blogging.

Today, I decided, I don't like painting. I've always had an inkling, but this afternoon I put my theory to the test and was not disappointed. There are just so many layers and colours and shades and lines and non-lines. It was a frustrating experience.

However, all this unpleasant painting provided the perfect opportunity to sit in the sun and listen to music and think (when not overwhelmed by frustration). And one thought, which has occurred to me before, was that I wish my day to day life had a soundtrack. I think that people around me, and maybe even myself, would be able to pick up on how I feel a lot easier.

So, I compiled a soundtrack for today.

This morning while walking in the sun through Camberwell: Dreams - The Cranberries

Sitting for hours while making stencils: One Week - Barenaked Ladies

The "occasional" (and I use the term loosely) msn conversation and sudoku: Kids - MGMT

Completion of said stencils: She's So High - Tal Bachman

The decisions to give up msn for the week: Sex on Fire - Kings of Leon

Stencils not working: Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos

Painting. Painting. Painting: Ode To My Family - The Cranberries

Blog: Say that you Love Me - Fleetwood Mac

And now my back hurts. So I'm going to lie down and listen to Queen.

by the way

Oh Alice, what to do!

School is nearly back and in many ways I'm at a loss for ... most anything. My main concern at the moment is art. And like most things, I'm lacking a sure direction. When this happens I tend to flick through my RWB and see where I've come from. Today, instead, I picked up Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I tend to flick from page to page looking for the original sketches. They are incredibly unique and always delightful to look at. It’s almost a mix between correct proportions and those which verge on the impossible.

If I could have anything, I'd want to be able to draw like this. Well not really, I'd like a perfect IB score, but this comes in a close secondish on the list.

On a different note, the sun is out. The sky is blue. Somewhere in the world blue birds are singing and I'm listening to Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. I hope everyone has a wonderful day.