The Wonderful World of Eustacia

REPO! The Genetic Opera

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:10:00 +0000

I just checked out the trailer for the movie 'REPO! The Genetic Opera' and it seems pretty cool ... especially the music ... which is a good thing because it's a musical, albeit a strange one.

Books for June, July and August

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:50:00 +0000

During June and July I failed to read many books, however during August I stepped it up a bit and have since become a fan of Jasper Fforde. His "Nursery Crime" series is extremely entertaining, although the "series" consists only of 2 books so far. I am awaiting the third.

Released in August was Eoin Colfer's "Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox" which I have put on hold at the library. Last time I looked I was eighth in the hold queue, so it might be a while before I read it.

Below is a list of the books I have read:

19/06/08 The Lost World by Michael Crichton
05/07/08 Good Omens by Terry Pratchett
28/07/08 The Vampire Armand by Anne Rice
10/08/08 The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
20/08/08 The Coins of Judas by Scott McBain
24/08/08 The Fourth Bear by Jasper Fforde
27/08/08 Pandora by Anne Rice

Readings in May

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:53:00 +0000

It's been quite disappointing, but I haven't been able to read much lately because of exams and work. Also, it may have been because Eldest was actually quite a long book. It was also very good, and I am now waiting for Brisingr to come out which is the third in the Inheritance trilogy by Christopher Paolini.

In May I read:
19/05/08 Eldest by Christopher Paolini
30/05/08 Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

April 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:00:00 +0000

My recently read books for April 2008 are:

10/04/08 State of Fear by Michael Crichton
12/04/08 Henry VIII by William Shakespeare (Audio Book)
18/04/08 A Midsummer's Night Dream by William Shakespeare (Audio Book)
21/04/08 Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare (Audio Book)
23/04/08 Eragon by Christopher Paolini
25/04/08 Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare (Audio Book)
26/04/08 Henry V by William Shakespeare (Audio Book)
26/04/08 Arthur and the Forbidden City by Luc Besson

March Books Read

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 01:24:00 +0000

Here's a list of the books I've read during March 2008:

03/03/08 The Winter's Tale by Shakespeare (Audio Book)
03/03/08 Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer
06/03/08 Pericles by Shakespeare (Audio Book)
08/03/08 Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer
10/03/08 The Tempest by Shakespeare (Audio Book)
12/03/08 The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
14/03/08 Henry IV Part One by Shakespeare (Audio Book)
16/03/08 Prey by Michael Crichton
20/03/08 Henry IV Part Two by Shakespeare (Audio Book)
24/03/08 Timeline by Michael Crichton
25/03/08 Richard II by Shakespeare (Audio Book)
27/03/08 Bridge to Terabithia by Katerine Paterson
30/03/08 The Artemis Fowl Files by Eoin Colfer

Recently Read, Orchestra, and Fence Building

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 10:35:00 +0000

I've started back at university and found myself inundated with textbooks that I have to read for law and finance, and this unfortunately means that I will have to cut back the amount of novels I read. Below is a list of the books I've read so far this month:

04/02/08 The Science of Discworld III by Terry Pratchett
05/02/08 King Lear (Audio Book) by William Shakespeare
04/02/08 The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian by Clive Staples Lewis
11/02/08 The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer
16/02/08 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by Clive Staples Lewis
16/02/08 Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express (Audio Book) by the BBC Radio Collection
18/02/08 Agatha Christie: Taken at the Flood (Audio Book) by the BBC Radio Collection
19/02/08 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair by Clive Staples Lewis
21/02/08 The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle By Clive Staples Lewis
25/02/08 Under Milk Wood (Audio Book) by Dylan Thomas
26/02/08 Stardust by Neil Gaiman

In other news, orchestra rehearsals have started up again and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Though, I am starting to realise that I'll have to put in some hours of practice to be able to play In the Hall of the Mountain King (which is a fantastic song, but ridiculous to try to play).

Also, I spent the bulk of Sunday building a fence around my vegetable garden to stop those rascally rabbits from eating all my seedlings. After erecting the fence I was able to plant brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli and catnip seedlings with confidence that they wouldn't be gone the next morning.

Philip Gooden

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:13:00 +0000

I've been working over 40 hours a week lately and as such have had little time to read except before I go to bed. As such, my list of completed books is sadly short:

07/01/08 Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code, by Eoin Colfer
09/01/08 Memnoch the Devil, by Anne Rice
23/01/08 The Horse and His Boy, by Clive Staples Lewis
23/01/08 Hamlet, by William Shakespeare (Audio Book)
23/01/08 Mask of Night, by Philip Gooden

I really enjoyed reading Mask of Night by Philip Gooden. This book is a Shakespearean murder mystery. That is, it is set in the time of Shakespeare from the prospective of a player who has the honour of performing Shakespeare's plays. Philip Gooden doesn't seem to be very renowned, but don't let that stop you from reading his books. If you are a fan of Shakespeare and you like crime novels, then you will enjoy his books.

Recently Read

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:10:00 +0000

With the upcoming release of Prince Caspian at the cinemas, I thought it best to start reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia. So far I've only ventured as far as The Horse and His Boy, but it shouldn't take too long to read the rest of them.

I also picked up Artemis Fowl to read in between the longer novels and found it quite fun and easy to read, so I'm also working my way through that series.

Here's a list of what I've recently finished reading, (or listening to in the case of the Shakespeare plays):

19/12/07 Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
20/12/07 Trolius and Cressida by Shakespeare (Audio Book)
27/12/07 Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
29/12/07 The Wish List by Eoin Colfer
30/12/07 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by Clive Staples Lewis

Shakespeare Audio Books

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 07:11:00 +0000

I've started listening to the Shakespeare plays whilst driving to and from Melbourne. So far I've listened to the following plays:

Love's Labor's Lost on 01/12/07
The Two Gentlemen of Verona on 02/12/07
The Taming of the Shrew on 04/12/07
Much Ado About Nothing on 09/12/07
Julius Caesar on 15/12/07

Though I have still got a lot more to listen to, with the amount of driving I do, it shouldn't be too long until I've listened to all of them.

News

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 22:05:00 +0000

I finished reading The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice last night. It was quite good. Unfortunately though, the next book in the Vampire Chronicles, i.e. Memnoch the Devil, is unavailable to borrow from the library at this time, so I'll be starting on Violin by Anne Rice tonight.

The Queen of the Damned

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:47:00 +0000

Last night I finished reading The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice. It ended differently to what I expected. Having watched the movie first, I thought that the 'Queen of the Damned' would go out in the same fashion, but rather the movie had a much more elegant ending then that of the book. The demise of Akasha was much more graphically disturbing than I thought it would be, and for this reason it is not surprising that they didn't put the same ending in the movie, as it was a bit grotesque. I've now moved on to reading The Tale of the Body Thief which is the fourth book in The Vampire Chronicles.

Bendigo - Ice-skating and Laser-tag

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 11:06:00 +0000

In the spare of the moment, I decided to go to Bendigo for the weekend, to join mum, her boyfriend and his kids. It was a decision well made, as I ended up having much more fun than I would have had if I had of stayed in Melbourne studying. On Saturday we went ice-skating. I hadn't been ice-skating since primary school, and even then it was only the one time. I started off not even leaving the edge of the rink, being too afraid that I would fall and break my weak wrists. Fortunately though, mum's boyfriend bet me $5 to do a lap of the rink without touching the edge - $10 if I fell over twice (thinking it would be worth the extra money to laugh at me :P). Well, boy did he make a bad bet. I won. I managed to go around the whole rink slowly without falling over or touching the edge. What he didn't know is that I would have done it anyway, just to prove to myself that I could. But, rather cruelly, he gave the $5 to his daughter and told her to go to the middle of the rink so that I had to go out into the centre to get it. From then on I was skating all around the rink, being careful not to fall over.

We went to La Porchetta for tea, and then back to the motel room where I had to study for a little while before going to bed. The next day, we went to McDonald's for breakfast and then drove around trying to find a heated pool where the kids could go swimming. I was going to join them, but thought it best to do a bit more reading for my test that I had on Monday. Here's a photo of me at the pool being a dag.

Following the pool, we went to Bendigo Pottery, and then the DarkZone to play laser tag. It was excellent. We played on teams, and the first game I played I didn't do too well (all those little kids had more practice than me and knew where the bases where), but in the second game I came 4th out of 8 people (or I should say children). :D

I came back to Melbourne on Sunday night and had a mid-semester test this morning for Investment and Portfolio Management, which I think I did quite well in.

My Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 05:46:00 +0000

Here are some pics of my pot-plant garden in Melbourne:

The pots in the photo above contain dwarf beans and sunflowers which I grew from seeds. I only just transplanted the sunflower seedlings, so they are a bit droopy. For those who don't know, the bamboo sticks in the pots are to help the plants grow straight and not wonky.

These plants, starting from back left are: mint, salad onions and capsicum. The front row pots contain rosemary, Italian parsley and oregano. I grew the mint, rosemary and oregano from offcuts, so I am quite proud of that.

The pot in the middle back row contains aloe vera, whilst the pots on the bottom left contain tomato seeds that have just hatched, and the right side has brussel sprouts which were grown from seeds.

The tray at the back contains a blue flower mix, the middle is a mixture of lettuce, and the front is spring onions. I grew all of these from seeds.

And finally, these pots contain cat grass, also grown from seed.

Display Errors Resolved

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 00:30:00 +0000

I've been able to fix the display problems my site was having with displaying some of the pictures on the right-side of my page. TPG was directing me to the wrong link for some reason where I had uploaded my pictures. A little intuition and the insertion of 20% to replace + resolved the problem. So now you are all able to view the book covers of my current readings. Yay for you.

Additionally, I have separated the 'Recently Finished' section into 'Recently Finished Reading' and 'Recently Finished Playing' since the pictures associated with them do not show whether they are games or books.

Treasure Island and Interview with the Vampire

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 05:29:00 +0000

I finished reading Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson a few days ago, and was throughly disappointed. I thought this book was supposed to be a classic. Sure, a children's classic, but I thought it would have more swash-buckling and treasure hunting, not grown men being grumpy at each other and bunking in a cabin. I suppose an upside to the book was the illustrations included in the Wordsworth edition I purchased.

On a happier note, I started reading Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and am finding it very enjoyable. It is so much easier to read than Treasure Island - in that it flows very smoothly and actually has a good story.

World Trade Centre, Melbourne

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 08:21:00 +0000

I was on the train the other day and travelled past the World Trade Centre in Melbourne. It seems the slightest thing can amuse me. I noticed that the "World Trade Centre" on the side of the building had been hastily painted over, and a new "World Trade Centre" painted in writing one third the size just below it....probably to make it more difficult for planes to read...which was my first thought anyway.

Die Hard

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 11:51:00 +0000

Last night was spent once again delving into the world of Dracula. Previous to that, I had watched Die Hard with a friend, as we were preparing ourselves for the release of Die Hard 4.

Today was market day at work, and as a result, we were extremely busy. It was quite amusing to watch the herds flock to the 99c bread and two litre soft drink. But working in the ghetto within which I work, it was to be expected. Especially with the old foreign citizens who just love their specials. It was refreshing when there was a die down in customers today, not that this occurred very often, but it allowed for a drink to be had and a breath to be taken.

Tonight I preoccupied my time listening to Queen and packing my books, cds and dvds in prepartion for my move into a new unit next week -- this was no easy feat as my books filled four large boxes. I've thrown out a fair bit of stuff so far, and boxed a lot of old books to be taken to my mother's house for storage until I have a larger house with another bookcase or two. It is disheartening to see such a grand mahogany bookcase with nothing to fill it's shelves. However, in one and a half weeks time, all sanity shall be restored.

Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 01:38:00 +0000

I have just tried my hand at Facebook. It is similar to MySpace, yet much more disappointing. The account I created for myself lasted less than 20 minutes as I deactivated it and instead insisted upon my friend to join MySpace. Hopefully she will succumb to my request as I really loathe to start a new account when the Facebook enterprise has yet to expand profoundly into Australia. If such a time may come, and its popularity grows, I shall reconsider its usefulness in contact connectivity, but until such a time, I will bide my time on MySpace.

Oh So True

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 08:36:00 +0000

"The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money."

- David Richerby

A wise quote

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:58:00 +0000

"Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success."

-Louisa May Alcott (1832-1888)

Dracula and Frankenstein

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 23:43:00 +0000

I find my communicative ability somewhat diminished and life turned into a steadfast game of charades. The reason for such an occurrence stems back millions of years to the first reported meeting of particles desiring union and purpose - their main ambition being to someday develop into mischievous little microbes and cause havoc and vocal distruction to all they have contact. Well, it seems that they succeeded. I have lost my voice. That is, it is currently in a state of weakness and silence but for the pain-filled moments that words must be uttered and thoughts expressed to those who will hear them.

This brings me to an expression of personal desire and yearning. I have recently finished reading the well-known "Frankenstein" written by Mary Shelley back in 1818. I must say that the beauty with which it is written and the form of such, is awe inspiring and leaves one wishing they too were possessed of such wonderful talent. Not talent in relation to the creation of stories, but rather, and perhaps more importantly, to the use of words in a way that captivates and conveys precise meaning to its readers. The ability to use highly intellectual words is somewhat trying for me as I find my exposure to great works of literature and inspirational pieces has previously been limited.

After reading Frankenstein I decided to change my current outlook and replace it with a determination to be highly educated and knowledgeable in words and writing. My second step was to move onto Bram Stoker's Dracula. This is written in much the same fashion as Frankenstein with diary entries and letters filling the bulk of the novel. But this seemingly simplistic approach to writing works remarkably well as both books are exceptional. It may be that the premise behind the stories aided in their huge success, but if it were not for the style in which they were written, there is doubt as to the degree of popularity such stories would actually possess.

I am yet to watch the movies that have been filmed based on the books, but it will be very interesting to see how they portray the story on camera, and how closely the film-makers adhere to the original.

Although I have not finished reading Dracula, I have already decided upon some other classical literature I would like to read. The main two titles being Gulliver's Travels and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. I would be delighted to hear from anyone who has some suggestions as to works that I should add to my list of books to read.

In other news, I was given inadequate notice as to the timing of the Respawn Lan and as such am unable to attend. I would just like to add a *glare* to the person responsible for my delayed invitation. You know who you are. Although I may occassionally glare or poke you, it is in a jestful manner and do not take it too seriously. However, I am expecting my external hard-drive to be full of delicious entertaining goodness when you return from your voyage to the land the emos.

Hot off the Press

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Wed, 30 May 2007 07:50:00 +0000

I'm happy to report that "Pirates of the Caribben: At World's End" has raked in $401m in its first six days of release, whereas "Spiderman 3" only got $382m. Rightly so too.

Unfortunately though, the pain factor for women seems to be decreasing as a reported one in four young healthy women are now opting for a caesarean instead of giving birth naturally.

A Sunny Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Wed, 30 May 2007 05:42:00 +0000

Last weekend was a busy one, with the journey back to my home town for a movie with my friends, my pa's birthday, and a fishing trip.

I went and saw Pirates of Caribbean 3 on Friday night with Catherine and Cherise. It was a much better third movie than Spiderman. Like it wouldn't be. But I was a bit unsure about the multiple Jack's on the ship. However that only lasted a few seconds.

Saturday night was my pa's birthday and we had the family gathering at mum's house. There was so much food. And it was great to see everyone. Mum took this picture of me. I'm very happy.

Sunday, mum's boyfriend took me and the kids fishing for a couple of hours. We didn't catch anything though...apart from the odd strand of river weed. Damn that river weed, always getting my hopes up and making me think I've got myself a feisty little fish. Here's a picture of me without a fish. I'm sitting on the jetty, and my fishing rod is in the distance...you probably can't see it. You also might notice that I'm happy to be sitting out in the sun, rather than being couped up in my sunless room in Melbourne.

This is where the little fishies play. They don't like me very much. Won't even jump out and say hello. How rude.

Old Lady v A Bus

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Sun, 20 May 2007 10:42:00 +0000

I just heard my lecturer tell a hilarious case though he didn't give the name of it.

Some old lady v London Omnibus General Company is a case from around 1900 involving an impatient bus driver and an unsuspecting old lady.

To encourage elderly people to board the bus quickly, the bus driver would start the bus suddenly, making elderly people run to the back of the bus. He would then put on the brakes and the elderly person would run back to the front of the bus. And then accelerate again etc etc. In one instance the back door was left open and the elderly lady flew out the door. She successfully sued for her injuries.

I'm not typing it again! Title is the P word.

noreply@blogger.com (Eustacia Melos) — Sun, 20 May 2007 09:17:00 +0000

I am seriously sick of trying to type psychological quickly. If you're wondering why I would be typing such an annoying word its because I've spent part of my day studying liability of people for causing psychological injury.