Arty Farts and Blow Darts!

Work in Progress...

2016-02-28T09:58:00.001+11:00

As I am expected at the pottery studio in ten minutes this will be a short blog.
Pain has slowed my work done somewhat, I guess that is a sign of age sadly. I still manage to find myself hanging out at the easel in the middle of the night, painting, like pain, seems easier at 3am than 3pm....this little work has been a pleasure so far, with the initial layers nicely dried before adding some more last night...it is by no means finished yet!

The goth looking guy is also a work in progress though in acrylics rather than the much loved oils, he will be finished today so I will update the photo once he is done :)

2016-02-24T10:50:00.001+11:00

I was really pleased with how this one turned out!

revamping old blog!

2016-02-24T09:18:00.003+11:00

I keep being asked about a website. People want to be able to view my art online. (Yes it makes me smile on the inside when they ask). So I wondered at the already attempted sites and decided to revamp an old on rather than create a new one - far too many half baked attempts already and I am pretty slack when it comes to daily maintenance of sites.

This one hasn't been used for a few years so I need to tell you all a few things.
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1/ I completed the double arts degree in November 2012 .... B.A.(F.A.&V.C.) otherwise known as a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art and Visual Culture.
2/ My gallery has undergone a pretty major renovation and now looks pretty damned good if I do say so myself.
...
3/First Big Solo Exhibition was held in October 2015 immediately after the renovations. It was a huge success thanks to all the family and friends who helped out (me I can't do much of anything useful).
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4/ In February/March 2015 studio space was allocated to Mal Gotjes to set up a non for profit pottery studio as part of the gallery. This has been a great boost to the town and community as a whole - wonderful spirited members who attend almost daily but with specialised groups meetings on Sundays and Wednesdays. (Naturally I now do pottery as well as oil paintings!). The owner of the gallery Gerry Mircea sadly passed away which lead to a decision to buy the building in partnership with Mal and with private arrangements so it isn't much different to renting. I had such respect for the previous owner and his wonderfully raised family that the decision was made to construct an Art Prize in his name. This has had a few set backs as I don't want the timing to conflict with town celebrations of 'Unconformity' and yet would like the inaugural prize to be this current year 2016. Information on the prize will be released shortly.(I promise!).
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5/ My bone disease is a problem as I am restricted in how much of anything I can do (including typing this!) before I need to stop and rest before continuing. I did have a shiny new titanium vertebrae installed in a major surgery late 2015 but it hasn't had the massive benefit I had expected. Initially it felt much better but over the weeks and without the powerful painkillers (which I don't want because I am prone to getting addicted to them), it is not that much better than it was previously although I now can judge temperature of food and drink far better, I still have pain, numbness and tingling in the hands, aching neck and other that limits how much work I can do so my income aside from the occasional piece of art is limited to a disability benefit :(. Might I added here it is a good time to purchase my art as I don't know how much more I can make!
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6/ I have done some postgraduate studies, (another addiction), but stopped due to health until recently when I did a unit at Utas and now have decided to finish off a graduate certificate in classical literature at Griffith that I began before my neck operation and had to put on hold when pain got in the way.
7/ The gallery is still there open most days because of the pottery studio being there too, not often manned by me but I am there a fair bit, usually sitting around out the back and happy to talk to you when you come in to visit. 15-17 Driffield St Queenstown Tasmania Australia.
8/ My main direction with my art has been with oils recently although I do the occasional acrylic and charcoal or pencil.

The exhibition night celebrated the reopening of the gallery and was opened by Senator Anne Urquhart on the 23rd October 2015.
I do hope to update more often than I have in the past and hope you enjoyed the small selection of artworks I have shown. A good many more to see in the gallery!

Queensland Floods 2011

2011-01-12T07:06:00.003+11:00

When I sit watching all the news stories it breaks my heart. I just know I wouldn't be as brave as those battlers struggling through this disaster. The evacutations are still happening, and although the rain is currently stopped it is far from over. Those levels are still rising.

This flood it fast becoming the worst ever for our usual holiday mecca. 75% of the huge state is under water.
And when finally the flood danger is over? Then will be the clean-up...the mud, the ruined furniture, the write off cars...the lack of food, fuel etc. Peoples pets and livestock are missing, wildlife has moved in ...like everyone else they are looking for higher ground....snakes...crocs...

Expecting a peak of 22 metres the spirit of these people is just so stoic. Bless them all.

note link to other blog

2011-01-10T18:54:00.001+11:00

Have added a link to my other blog to the right hand side of the page and also on this post.

sick of passwords and red tape to access simple crap

2011-01-04T12:49:00.003+11:00

why can't it all just be plain sailing? Why do some places demand long passwords and mixes of capitals etc? Most of these sites are not so important they near more than the usual padlocks! Damn security of a national bank instead of security of a bakery!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T11:19:00.002+11:00

Well on this first day of 2011 I am found studying instead of relaxing! My study blog is separate to this one and so this poor blog has been missing out on my attention. Almost finished ten units of my degree - I feel quite excited at how well it's been going too. See 50 isn't the end of life it's just another beginning!

I began the course last March and have been powering through doing three and four units each study period as I can't see the sense in taking my time over it when time flies so quickly. So far all grades have been High Distinctions, Distinctions and Credits.......if I can keep that up this year I will be over the moon. Of course this years subjects are harder than last years being level two uni units but I think I might just manage.

My goals this year is to have my degree completed by end of Feb 2012, stay healthy and alive and be nicer to my family! ( I do get grouchy under pressure).

Love and Best Wishes to all!

Arts Degree

2010-11-29T10:26:00.005+11:00

Well progress is quite amazing I have completed six units towards my degree and am today embarking on the next four!

I will be glad to be through this next thirteen weeks so I can get back to the units I enjoy most - ART!

Above is my Black on Black assignment exercise which was one of my favourites! A challenge is always good.

And above that is another exercise that I enjoyed with the theme 'street'.

I haven't added much lately on here so today's update is more for the benefit of another unit where internet activity is to be shown...

homework!

2010-06-24T00:11:00.004+10:00

I wonder why I hated homework when I was a kid? Now all these many years later I am actually loving it, that could be a sign that my life has been too empty but I doubt it, I always find things to do and the demands of family are no light load. So I guess it must be the wonderful mental massage my old brain is receiving.

So far, after submitting the first three assignment I only have one result back and that was in printmaking 75% ! I surprised myself. All I hoped at the start was to pass each unit even if I just scraped through, now after getting a credit first up my expectations for myself have risen significantly! Talk about pressure - not that anyone else is putting the pressure on, no this time it's just me pressuring myself to work hard and get a good result.

I am anxiously waiting for the result in the essay component as I hope my writing skills are as good as I think they are, but essays are not really my genre and referencing is far harder than I realised going into the course. However I am getting the hang of interrupting my flow to note down where and what I am reading from be it a website or a book.

The jargon hasn't been a drama for me, most likely I have picked up on it easier than some of the younger students. So much wisdom is gleaned over the years without really knowing it. When there is the rare word or concept I don't already understand you can't beat google for filling in the gaps! Even with something as trivial as the size of the document to send(max 10mb) when my computer only tells me in kb's is a 'googlable' problem. A few seconds later and I know I just scaping through the size limits and don't need to trim any more excess: laughing!

Anyway........I must go back and check if the grades are through, I have been doing this every few hours and feeling crushed everytime as they aren't in yet. See what I mean? It is me who's putting the pressure on, I could just curl up with a book or watch a movie instead and not worry so much. Obsessed that's what I am, obsessed with art, art history, textiles, and printmaking. And let me tell you I think I might be rather good at printmaking with a bit more practice.

It's been A while

2010-06-13T17:18:00.003+10:00

I was so excited a few weeks ago to be invited by award winning artist Raymond Arnold (whose work I admire very much) to exhibit some of my paintings and charcoals - both Raymond and his partner Helena (also a brilliant artist) were very supportive and made it an easy process for this first time exhibitor - I dropped the works off and they did the rest!

I am not the greatest at framing either! The frames were just cheapies but the overall look was quite effective I thought.

The large work was inspired by Raymond work that won him the Gallipoli Prize for this year. My scene represents the unloading of the horses on the beaches showing the fear as told to me when I was just a teen by my veteran grandfather.

The exhibition can be seen in the Library at Queenstown Tasmania for anyone wanting to view.

On a side note, I have finally embrace the world of academia and began a Bachelors Degree in Arts. This semester I am taking three units - 'Visual Culture', 'Printmaking' and 'Textiles and materials'.

Visual Culture is the essay component and the one I enjoy the most at present. Printmaking is very hands on and in the mess and I love that too. Textiles...well I like it but don't love it..can't win them all. Hoping I can keep up with all the study, I am fifty now and it's a while since I really buckled down to any intense study - I did do a cert IV in Business a couple of years ago but that was just easy stuff, this is vastly more complex. Til next time ..over and out!

Blasting Forwards

2010-05-15T22:39:00.000+10:00

Blasting forwards

Slamming the door on my past,

Lighting a fire in my soul,

I will survive,

I will grab what’s left of now,

And leap into my future,

Eyes wide open,

Taking the lessons learned along,

On the ride of my life,

Minus the tears,

The scars of that time,

Will remind me to doubt,

As trust is gullible,

Though the road may be bumpy,

I will hover on a cushion of air,

Filled with knowledge,

For no matter what happens ever,

The earth rotates to rise the sun,

And fresh hope is born.

©DKM 2010

2010-05-10T10:49:00.002+10:00

The Bear - Charcoal drawing I have done as gift for friend with a bear collection. Hope she likes it!

Below is a poem cum rant lol reflecting today's mad world.

Action

What has become of the olden days?

The days when we jumped directly from the bed,

Headlong to housework, work work, or visit a friend?

What has become of the action days?

The days of sport and walk the dog and play,

A picnic on the lawn outside,

Or mere drinking tea in the warming sun?

With temperature controlled houses,

With facebook waiting for updates,

With the world at our fingertips,

What need is there for travel?

Hello world I can see you from my bed,

No need to catch a plane, rush around and tire myself,

Chat with friends all day, play games and write snippets of gossip – making coffee for just one these days,

These days we think are so advanced,

These days as we are programmed into the machine,

Into the internet net of humanity,

And hauled to conformity in a mass hysteria,

Of acceptability,

Reliability,

Sustainability,

To what end, has someone imagined?

What benefit is to be gained in keeping all,

Predictable?

A universal data collection gadget,

Of profound usefulness,

Unbelievably easy to instigate,

Initiate and maintain,

Educate the world,

Get them all online,

And soon we will see nothing done,

No advances of the ‘real’ kind!

Obesity will reign,

As we shop at home, socialize the same,

And gain skills without hands on practice,

And fix the virus in the machine but not the germs hanging around the house,

And when the clever decide we all want to eat baked sesame pie,

Or that we believe we are unique,

Very swiftly we will find we are not outside the box at all,

For to think differently we need to be different,

And sesame pie will hit the supermarket shelves,

If you do the same as everyone else then you are the same as everyone else,

Soon the entire world will live as if under house arrest,

No need to move outside the home,

No desire to move anyway,

Sad, yet happy, yet unsure,

Where this world is leading us,

The proles sacrificed by technology,

To the slaughter in virginal innocence,

Given to the gods of big business as tools for expansion,

Promotion,

Exploitation,

To our damnation,

It becomes our life,

From light to dark and beyond,

Don’t grow a real garden pluck a virtual flower!

Serve meals in a virtual café and forget to feed the family at home!

I know this to be true,

For when the damn thing won’t work,

I do!

daily(well almost) drivel

2010-04-14T13:08:00.002+10:00

Believe it or not I like to keep busy. I know it seems I am online a lot but in reality the computer is on even when my face isn't in front of it.

I often sit for a minute to check things then bolt out to the laundry and whack a load on or shove the dishes in the dishwasher, wipe benches; all those mundane things that make the house function as a home.

I really believe my girls think the fairies come in and do it all too!

My vacuum cleaner is overheating and turning itself off all the time so I have a good excuse if I can't 'find' the time to do the floors - lol I hate vacuuming with a passion.

I will enjoy it when someone invents one that doesn't make a noise and doesn't send my back into agonizing spasms!

No - I can't have one of those little robot ones - logic tells me they would be no good in a house where everyone just drops stuff on the floor; nor would they be useful chasing the dog around or vis versa.

I also have my doubts they hold enough to cope with my messy lot!

Yes they were designed to make the lives of those unfortunate few, (the ones without mess) easier!

I feel like my arm is cut off. I am out of canvas! The last roll seemed to go so quickly that I wasn't prepared for it to run out. I normally have a supply coming in before the last lot vanishes.

I will probably do a little water colour while I wait. Waiting can mean weeks here though. I usually buy from eBay as it tends to be the best value for me and there is no stockist within hundreds of miles around me. Which means waiting not only on the post but for auctions to end.

I look at the walls and my inside scream YES paint on them! Luckily my logic fights my instincts -(so far successfully) and the walls remain plain old hogs bristle.

I admit I did do the cupboards under the sink in the kitchen - very nice too thankyou very much! Multi coloured abstract in pinks/reds/white and greens; has the added advantage of hiding those inevitable splashes!

Anyway until the next lot of canvas comes everyone better watch out, I'm moody, at a loss for what to do and likely to fix/paint/renovate anything that gets in my way! (Even if it doesn't need doing!).

Til later then....

playing in paint

2010-04-10T16:13:00.006+10:00

saw some great stuff on youtube far better than these pathetic attempts but hey at least I tried!

damn - uploaded same one twice seem to have lost one - will need to go find it!

Nope can't find it oh well!

How do Pollies lie so well?

2010-04-10T15:45:00.002+10:00

It must be so hard! If someone asks me a question the hardest thing in the world is to lie in response. I am just not a good liar. But watching the Tasmanian premier hard at it, could be as good as doing a uni degree in lying!

He just rolls them off the tongue without even the briefest of pauses or a 'just in case think about the answer' stop.

He very calculated backslide on handing the reins over to the liberals this week sees him coming off like a used car salesman come prankster/conman. How he can face the public and blatantly deny his previous statements with regard to suggesting that the liberals be given the opportunity to form a government only fools fools and let me tell you Mr premier on the whole we are not fools!

You may have backslid in order to appease your team after the original(and correct) decision wasn't to their liking but you should have stuck to it and left the top job with a head you could hold high rather than guiltily resuming the role for which you did not win the votes!

Anyway - that's my say on it!

------------------------------------------

Son is looking after his identical twin daughters on his own now, poor little girls have been a bit neglected by their smack addict mother. She hasn't seen them for a few weeks, not even on Easter. Though admittedly she was supposed to be in detox then , though in reality she was out but hadn't told her family.

Ex step son is in a similar situation, He cares for his three children after their mother abandoned them. What the hell is happening to the world?

Why are so many girls putting themselves before their children? Have we failed to raise daughters who understand a parental role means should you choose to have a child you choose to raise it as your number one priority?

It is time the world woke up a bit and looked to our potential future. It isn't looking rosy.

Another day another say!

Bad Luck?

2010-04-06T09:24:00.004+10:00

Well, you know how when you break a mirror there is seven years bad luck to come? Does this apply when you intentionally smash mirror to make something else?

Yesterday I woke up with an idea floating around that saw me start a project even before my first coffee had kicked in! Several months ago I bought a cheap wall mirror that fell of the wall and broke, (just a top section) rather than toss it I hung onto it just knowing something would come to me.

Anyway I got out the tile adhesive and the grout and happily smash the mirror into many pieces and arranged them in the shape of a head on the side of a cupboard. It was messy work!

The adhesive was almost empty and the pieces had to be coerced into staying put.

I tried to make it like a shattered man - shaping one side as nose mouth etc., and adding bits that represented tears coming from the eye.

Once glued I mixed a sludge of grout and applied over entire thing wiping of the mirror sections as I went. As I worked the grout was firming and I was able to mold the edges better and set some gemstones into the mix.

Some fell out and I was down on hands and knees trying to find the semi precious stones before the vacuum cleaner.

For the eye I put in a square cut blue gemstone, (can't remember if it is a piece of lapis lazulli or some other blue stone).

Anyway the cleaning of the mirror pieces took longer than the whole gluing, grouting process but in the end it looks good, (there is still a bit of cleaning to do but I got tired!).

I think if I did it again I would use big gemstones not the little faceted ones. (I used peridot, garnet, amethyst, moonstone and topaz.) The big ones could have been stuck with the adhesive where the small faceted stones could only be set in the grout and it is likely they will fall out over time. I guess it all depends on how often I clean the mirror!

It was a fun way to spend the day but very tiring. The girls like having a mirror there now as we only had a small one there before. I just hope I haven't brought myself a shitload of bad luck!

new book coming soon& EASTER

2010-03-31T09:36:00.003+11:00

well it will if I can get off my backside and just compile all the scraps into one file!

Watch out for it - I will let you know when it is available.

On to other things - EASTER is here yet again! Much as I try to tell the girls I am giving it up, I do like a drop of the old chocolate egg!

What is turning me off the celebration is not so much the over indulgence and the lack of religious adherence but the commercialism that shoves the decorated chocolate down our throats the minute Christmas is over. Children are no longer enthralled by the glitzy wrapping as it is too highly visible for far too long.

If you are anything like us, the religious side that I grew up with has virtually disappeared. Sure there is some discussion within the home and you can count on the inevitable Easter movies that are shown year after year but this is nothing compared to the traditions we followed as children.

How any still give up something for Lent? Ash Wednesday? Perhaps the stations of the cross? No? No-one? Then maybe you go to church on Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection? No? Then why the hell are you celebrating at all???

There is absolutely no point in keeping a tradition alive if the original meaning has faded to such an extent that those chocolate devouring mini me's don't understand WHAT they are happy about.

But yes, I am a wimp, I will trudge unwillingly to the shops to buy the abundance of delights for us all and thereby keep the manufacturers who do their best trade at Easter in business; and the girls happy!

Saturday March 27th Australia - on WATER

2010-03-27T09:50:00.004+11:00

and NO just because I am a day ahead of you does not mean I can get the winning lotto numbers for those countries still parked on Friday!

I wish!

Funny start to the day - woke feeling like total shit, but the sky was a beautiful bright shade of blue and not a clouds interrupted the beams of warmth flowing through the windows.

Nothing lifts the mood like sunshine in a place notoriously chilly.

Coffee in hand I parked myself on the backdoor step and soaked up the treat while watching the dog tentatively attempting to steal an apple core from the aggressive European wasps. I worry she will be stung but she seems to instinctively sense they are not to be tackled, (in fact if one gets inside she comes and tells me so I can get rid of it, bossy bitch).

New people across the road are hanging washing on their line, shouldn't take long for them to learn. No-one much here uses the lines. Either it is too wet for the washing to get dry or the wasps will get use it to ride inside and find a victim who dresses too quickly.

My house doesn't even have a real line any more. There is an emergency line strung across the undercover area, only used for items too large for the dryer or in the event of dryer breakdown.

If I was used as often as the dryer I'd have a break down or two myself!

So rarely is my emergency line used that when I do need it I must first rid it of all the cobwebs.

When I first came here I planned on installing a line in the back yard. It was later I noticed how many places just didn't have them and began asking questions. It seems many years ago there was no hanging without cover due to the sulphur in the air from the old time mining practices.

The area is still suffering although the practice ceased a long time ago. Apparently the sulphur released in the rain damaged paintwork with many a flaky roof and weather board in evidence today.

Water quality here is also an issue possibly related to past mining practices. The stuff from the taps is unsafe for drinking. I have heard of a water related death in fairly recent years but as I wasn't here I can't confirm.

There are times when to bathe in the stuff is like dipping in chocolate sauce! Dark brown murky water with things floating is not my idea of a pleasant relaxing bath!

Because the water has this brown tint washing is affected. White clothing very quickly becomes grey and the stupid school has white polo shirts as part of their uniform!

The majority of households here take containers to the mountain run offs and fill them for drinking water. There are two main run offs, one complete with hose and platform for easy filling, the other just a pipe.

Both constantly flow and are quite the curiosity for the thousands of tourists coming from areas where water is very restricted.

Skin conditions abound due to showering and bathing in the tap water. I have had several extremely bad rashes that took ages to get rid of and currently have a scalp condition almost certainly caused by the water. In forty plus years prior to moving here I have never before suffered these conditions.

One of the run-off pipes in on the creek next to my spare block of land next to my house block. I can sit and watch just how many people come and fill up their containers every day, and there are many.

I personally don't like this run-off as much as the one on the road into town, this one has a longer flat run after the hill and is more likely to have a chance to be contaminated by animals. There is a slight taste to it and I prefer no taste in my water. The other one is a steep descent and a lot of passing through rocks naturally cleansing it.

We still like to boil this water before drinking.

This is a lot of trouble to go to in a civilized area. When I first arrived there were no water charges on the annual rates and no separate water bill. But this has changed. Last year rates were introduced and now we must pay for the 'privilege' of undrinkable tainted water!

while that annoys me, I do understand that without funds the water quality will never be any better. I do worry for the tourists however.

When I first arrived there were no signs stating the water was unsafe. The local radio does make mention of it occasionally but I feel it should be a legal requirement of hotels and motels to advise the visitors and suggest using bottles water. Should a tourist die first?

Is is a recovering area, a mining town surrounded by a beautiful wilderness. The damaged done by previous mining is slowly repairing with new practises in place. The once totally bare lunar landscape is sprouting green and flourishing.

It is a shame the council can't be more on the ball to protect the tourists and the locals and do something quickly about the water situation.

That's my say for today!

The Trouble with Internet Social Lives

2010-03-21T08:47:00.002+11:00

is, for me at least, those times when someone you regularly chat to goes quiet. All sorts of imaginings occur. In general it is merely that they were obligated to something in the 'real' world i.e. work.

Or perhaps their internet is down i.e. haven't paid the bills.

But sometimes it could be something more serious. i.e. an accident or hospitalisation or even death. Sometimes their family will leave a message on the site for those who have become close 'friends' though never met.

It is so much worse when nothing is left on their pages, when all the sites you have in common give no mention of them and they just never return. These people can totally vanish leaving their cyber friends to wonder forever more.

Perhaps a system or a 'Hello -I am alive and well' day could be arranged, though of course some might not be well, and those fallen on hard times may have no internet access.

In general, if someone disappears, I worry for them for a few weeks, then I tended to assume a major upheaval such as death.

When I think back over my years online there have been several losses. One gentleman was well in his eighties so I think it was safe to assume he passed away. He would be in his early nineties today if he was with us, and if he was around I am sure he would have found a computer somewhere, he was that sort of man.

Sometimes people might disappear for strange reasons - perhaps they had to change their names for legitimate or illegitimate reasons.

When I do hear that an internet friend has passed away I am effected every bit as much as I am when a real life friend departs.

Sometimes more. There are few real life friends I converse with on a daily basis. Yet online each will have updates even if I don't actually chat I know what they are doing and how they are feeling. Of course there is some overlap where real time friends update and chat online but they aren't the problem.

The problem is the unknown, when someone vanishes. I would like to see a death notification centre or something that automatically informed all the sites when a user has passed. Yes I know the instigation of such a site would be huge, and the problem of shared names etc would make this very hard - but if each person left behind a list of their sites and user names it could be done(maybe) :(

cranky day raining too

2010-03-20T16:07:00.002+11:00

Am tired today - have been writing articles and putting paintings on a website (which seem quite good really) called 'paintings I love'.

The dog is on heat and thinks nothing of dripping all over my bloody(yes literally) bed!

It is supposed to be summer and yet the rain is driving me nuts and I might have to light the fire again.

Next thing it will be Easter and my girls have their eyes on those huge baskets of tooth decay that cost a fortune. Doubt they will get the ones they want I am just not that generous!

Too tired to type more today so until the mood swings back to normal I will say goodbye!

General Banter (read only if have high mundane tolerance!)

2010-03-19T08:47:00.002+11:00

Well - yesterday was full of travelling and appointments and late last night a trip to the hospital for daughter Jess, she has had all sorts of problems lately that as yet are a mystery.

Nothing worse for a fourteen year old than to not know what is the cause of her pain etc.

Of course she has been to the doctor, had scans, had blood tests, been prodded and poked - found nothing.

Bleeding for 58 days she has finally stopped but the pain is actually worse now the bleeding has gone. Two types of pain killers have not eased the pain.

So after midnight we decided to head to the hospital. You could say it was a wasted trip, seeing as all she was given was panedine forte but at least she was able to go to sleep at last.

This morning she has insisted on going to school even though she is still in pain, (can tell by her walk) - apparently there is a meeting for the ball and she is on the committee.

Naturally at fourteen the ball is so much more important than your health lol.

My bp has been too high, probably due to worrying about Jess. She isn't stupid, the thoughts running through her mind are ones of not being able to have children if this problem isn't sorted - she adores children more than anything else and plans to have many. I hope she can too.

She is now to see a gynaecologist - we a re waiting for the phone call. If they don't call today I will ring them. Let's hope they will find the cause of the pain and bleeding. It has gone on too long and Jess is run down and tired; so am I.

Another Day another Bitch session!

2010-03-17T06:36:00.003+11:00

Recently, when writing a creative piece for Helium, I became rather annoyed that I was forced to stifle reality to comply with their 'oh so dated' concepts of right and wrong.

I have had a few run ins with them. Mostly over the use of swear words. Swearing, whilst not maybe nice, is reality and heard daily. Why then stop a writer from using truth in a character?

In this universal world why haven't these Americans come into line with the rest of us? How dare they expect us to conform to their old fashioned out dated limitations?

Yes, I know I don't have to use their site, but in general I love the site. It is when my character has a mouthful of 'fuck this' or 'arsehole that', or even when the scene is too gory. I will get the inevitable email 'family site, inappropriate content...blah blah blah'.

In reality it is NOT a family site. It is a site for writers hoping to sell product. If ever a writers freedom to express shouldn't be limited it is on a paying writing site!

Where I live barely a conversation is conducted without the colourful flavouring of swear words.

It is a mining town and let me tell you the children of miners could give their parents a run for their money! My own eleven year old spits them out at the drop of a hat.

It is bad enough watching all those fancy dressed American tv shows in which a line of genuine speech is never heard. Here in Australia where these limitations do not exist we do not go overboard, it is kept in perspective, used only where deemed necessary. Some characters cannot be portrayed properly without using their normal pattern of speech.

Imagine: Drunk bloke stumbling up the street bumping into pedestrians as he goes, "Fuck off yer old bastard!" says the first guy he annoys.

"Piss off" says the second.

"mongrel cunt" says the girl whose coffee is knock out of her hand.

Can you picture it just from those few words? Now try to picture reality using curbed lines such as; "Go away old man", "get lost" & "rotten dog".

Even when we don't like the words used, they add the touch of reality needed to mentally picture the scene with ease. I personally hate the word 'cunt', feeling it is derogatory to the female of the species. However I still use it if the character warrants.

Many of my poems can't be submitted to Helium because I refuse to change them to conform. Once a piece is done there should be no changing it otherwise they weren't really 'done' were they?

Anyway rant over bugger it all anyway who gives a shit?

writing challenge on Helium

2010-03-16T08:31:00.002+11:00

Well! I completed a story for challenge 19 - couldn't find a title initially under which to place the 'character' I had written. Finally found a title under essay's that seemed appropriate and submitted my story there. All was going well and the 'character' was rating well in the challenge zone, until this morning!

The unseen all knowing admin people decided the story was not appropriate under the title and DELETED it!!!! I give up! If I had been able to find a title in short stories I would have used it! I had even submitted a title request to suit and that had been squashed.

I guess it doesn't matter. I am happy it had a chance to gain some ratings before someone deleted it, but I wonder if the anonymous deleter had a character in the challenge too?

Depressed

2010-03-15T22:04:00.001+11:00

Not finished but am liking it and wanted to share -- hope you enjoy him too!
Titled "Depressed"

Sunday Bloody Sunday

2010-03-14T08:28:00.000+11:00

is here again. The weeks are flying, soon Easter will be over and we will be flying toward Christmas!

When I was a little girl a year was such a long time, hell the waiting from Monday for Saturday was an eternity!

Now even my kids say it's going fast. Is time relative?

I rarely hear anyone comment that time is going slowly for them. Since the introduction of the internet all quiet hours have been filled with chat or games. No one in possession of an internet connection has those empty times to fill.

I remember sitting outside with a book and a blanket, laying gazing at the sky in contemplation, for entire afternoons at times.

These times were essential to constructive planning of my life. From that blanket I could design my garden, meal menu's, general household stuff, birthday parties, what to wear out on Saturday night, a million things.

When my son was young I would take him outside for at least ten minutes a day to replenish his vitamin D. Again that lovely time was spent carelessly enjoying life.

In those times time itself was never an issue. Time was abundant. It's so different now.

People in general would baulk at wasting precious time doing nothing. But it wasn't nothing. It was a really important aspect of living. It's called relaxing and should be indulged in daily!

Without these times of gently sitting around under the sky doing nothing but thinking our lives become too stressed, our body will feel the pressure and illness soon follows.

Taking time to do nothing could be the answer to the western worlds high levels of cardiac problems. A release valve if you like, that rests the heart enough to recover from the daily grind.

If city living is depriving you of a few minutes each day to unwind then city living should be thrown away!

Believe me time does fly and you do need to make the most from it. I am still that little girl watching Neil Armstrong on the classroom television in black and white, though years have passed, the child me is still very much there and many desires have remained unfulfilled due to lack of time!

As you age essentially you are still the same child you were growing up but with experiences that have padded your persona. As they say a leopard never changes it's spots. You might think you are vastly different than you were, and in some ways you may be, but where it counts, you are still the child merely in a grown body.

Some might say "Oh! But I've changed so much!", and outwardly this might be true. But dig deeper and you might see that bossy child manipulative child now manages a blue chip company. Or that mousy girl who stared out the window dreaming is now a famous author. Even the mummy's boy who cried every morning when dropped at school who is now a grief counsellor. Such is life.

If you don't like someone as a child you are unlikely to like them more as an adult, if anything you more likely will dislike them even more. Sad but true.

In these days of oh so nice politeness, we have been taught to accept everyone and tolerate their individuality. I don't believe this is the best attitude for survival of the species.

In the animal world, (and we are just animals, some more than others lol), an animal who jeopardised the rest of the pack would be run off or killed because to allow that strain to continue could bring down the entire species. It is the same with humankind. Over tolerating means we are allowing bad strains to slip through the net and procreate. This could be the undoing of mankind.

Our own history shows that in the recent past humankind did not tolerate the different ie witches. I am not advocating we return to that but I do suggest we trust our gut instincts, our animal instincts more.

In general we trust people too quickly, open the door to strangers, answer survey questions about household security etc.. Who has done this with the feeling inside they shouldn't?

The survey guy/girl may be the local burglar getting a feel for your property. The stranger might force his way in and take your life. Your gut instinct will tell you this, your environmental modelling will tell you to trust all!

If I don't care for someone they are not given the time of day. This is how it should be!