the soul would have no rainbow had the eyes no tears

when everything feels like the movies

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Sun, 12 May 2013 11:29:00 +0000

I've been blogging on-and-off now for almost 10 years, on some random journal websites, and on myspace, on here on blogger. This blog has lasted the longest, with my first post in November 2007. It's been through many names and changes but has still been kept active. I can't recall the last time I wrote a 'personal' post; the majority of posts I've kept published here have pictures and are more inspiration from one thing I've thought about more than anything deep or meaningful. In its early stages, I'd write for pleasure and to vent, and then as time went by, I had more RL commitments and would schedule posts, and sort of didn't lose that habit.

To be honest, I've lost the passion for blogging. If something comes to mind that I used to think "oh I'll blog about that, that sounds like an interesting topic", instead I reflect or talk about it. In the past year, I've sat down and wanted to blog, so I type but it doesn't make it to the published page. That's how I know the spark has gone.

So this is goodbye. Thanks to everyone who's been a reader x

spring delight

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 09:30:00 +0000

it's the most beautiful time of the year

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Sat, 01 Dec 2012 20:13:00 +0000

I like Christmas Carols and the traditional songs. I usually like a different song every year, and whilst I am not the hugest fan of Justin Bieber, I very much like this cover version, by Tanner Patrick. It's just lovely, and Christmassy!

this must be watched!

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 20:46:00 +0000

Sailor Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 00:02:00 +0000

Despite my love for Gossip Girl, I rarely watch TV shows on television or on the internet, and watch tv even rarer than that.

One TV show I absolutely loved when I was younger was Sailor Moon (dubbed in Cantonese). The episodes would mostly focus on the five characters to the left (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Moon) so my knowledge of those other five to the right (Chibi Moon, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, Pluto in whichever order...) is lacking.

I remember that little phrase that Sailor Moon would say when she transformed, and her hair curls changed, and she had a tiara looking thing, and her dress changed. I looooved that show: I haven't been able to find it anywhere to download (not that I have looked too hard) and especially in Chinese. I stumbled across an episode once whilst flicking through Sky channels, and it was in English, and I couldn't understand why it was in English. To me, it was a show that was Chinese, it helped me to learn a lot of conversational Cantonese during a time when I found it hard to absorb more Chinese vocabulary.

I don't even remember the content of the episodes. The main 3 characters at first were schoolfriends and argued a lot, and there was a cat. New people joined the group, like Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus, and they fought magical type crime together. Maybe I should wikipedia it.

are you alright?

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:16:00 +0000

heard this song whilst driving home a few weeks ago.
i love that obvious northern accent in the chorus!

soft kitty!

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 09:59:00 +0000

Hawaii's Stairway to Heaven - insider knowledge

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 20:48:00 +0000

If you have googled some variation of some aspect of the Haiku Stairs, otherwise known as the Stairway to Heaven, and you have stumbled across this blog, please know that this is my personal blog. This is an email from my boyfriend, who succeeded in climbing said Stairs in Oahu (Hawaii) on 26 July 2010. This is exactly what he wrote... I hope this helps you if you're thinking of climbing the Stairs!!

I just had the most awesome hike.

The Haiku Stairs is a huge set of metal stairs built going up a 900m-high peak on Oahu. The trail was originally built back in the 40's to install a radio station at the top of the island; a radio station so powerful that it could communicate with /underwater submarines in Tokyo Bay/! There are about 4000 stairs going along a ridge line, featuring some almost-vertical climbs; the fact that the top is usually shrouded in cloud earned the trail the name of the 'Stairway to Heaven'. Along the way up you are rewarded with the most spectacular views of the geography of Oahu.

Despite the trail being in very good condition (they spent a million dollars on fixing it up a few years ago), there are a few wealthy residents in the vicinity that have an intense irrational dislike of hikers and have a senator on their side. So while the trail itself is on public land, it has been closed off for many years now, because the city cannot arrange a public right-of-way to the trailhead past these selfish bastards and their bought-out senator. Moreover, these same idiots have made an excellent campaign to wipe out all information on how to access the trailhead, even going so far as to make lawsuits against websites that advise unobtrusive and sensitive hikers to trespass across their land to get to the trailhead for this awesome hike. Of course, the combination of unparalleled beauty and political controversy have made it an object of interest to hikers both native and foreign. There have been a few parties from the hostel that have attempted to find the trailhead, but none were successful.

I was interested in doing it, but it would be no fun on my own; the logistics of attempting an illegal hike wouldn't make it worth my while. But the night before last I got talking to these two Canadian girls, and we sort of convinced each other to give it a go, despite our unexpressed misgivings. Having decided to hike it, I decided that I would do things properly, unlike the failures and losers in the other parties that went out. So I spent the day before at various libraries around town, consulting topographic maps, satellite photography, google earth, and googling furiously for any hints as to the easiest way to the trailhead from the various blog accounts on the net. It was fairly obvious from the satellite imagery that you have to access the trailhead from a dirt track running under the freeway; the question was how to access that dirt track from somewhere you could drive to. Piecing together various clues on the net, I enumerated several choices; you can access it from the freeway itself, by jumping over the rail on the side and climbing down (but a taxi won't do that for you); you can cut through a high fence with barbed wire in the estate of the idiots who have made it illegal, but they apparently let vicious dogs to roam at night to deter innocent hikers, and that route also requires you to hack through a dense bamboo forest in the dark. That didn't sound particularly appealing. The third choice I gleaned from my researches was that the dirt track could be accessed by skulking through the grounds first of an evangelical church, and then through the grounds of the state mental hospital. Evaluating the options, I decided on the third, as the worst I expected to face was a bored human security guard, and if they kicked us out for trespassing I would revert to the second option. The worst outcome I had heard of was one hiker who got arrested for trespassing, spent a day in a jail cell with a Samoan murderer, and had had to pay a $250 fine; even he said it had been worth it.

So I went to sleep at 0015 and rose again at 0230 to set out. It was my good self and the two Canadian girls; three other people from the hostel had expressed much interest, but my instincts told me they were all talk and no trousers, and I was right. At 0345, we deployed at the street entrance of the church complex, and began our quest. Skulking along, sticking to the dark, unlit sections of the compound, we edged our way by compasswork to the fence we would have to climb. At one point we saw the white pickup truck of the security guard a few hundred metres in the distance, but we were well hidden in the darkness, and he passed without molesting us. When we got to the fence, our hearts lifted; it turned out to be pretty easy. It was only twice my height, and made of chain link that was easy to grip with a hiking boot. Before too long we had penetrated to the dirt track, with the minimum of fuss; I was glad I had spent those hours doing my homework.

Navigating along by my compass, with the H-3 freeway towering above our heads, we set out along the dirt track to find the trailhead. It was lightly grassed with occasional batches of shrubs, but it was fairly straightforward to work through. We found the trailhead at about 0430. Ignoring the 'Danger: trail is closed, trespassers will be prosecuted', we scaled a few more chain link fences, and there were the stairs. The stairs themselves are narrow, about 40cm across, and steep; most stairs lie at 45 degrees, and in parts they are vertical, so the trail there consists of ladders rather than stairs. There are 3922 stairs, and the hike itself is hard going, but we were amply rewarded for our exertions by the sight of the sun rising over the east coast of Oahu. The best views were offered at an observation deck about three quarters of the way up, as above that the mountain thrust into the clouds, and the visibility plummeted in proprtion. Having taken our photos of the golden dawn, we pressed on, to the old radio base at the top. There, we talked with a few of the other early risers and asked them about the route they took and how they had come here; many were carrying machetes as long as my arm, and discussed the difficulty of hacking through the dense bamboo forest. We stayed for a while among the clouds, and watched the play of the vapour and the sun; it oscillated between dense fog and a light mist through which you could see the coast, at which point everyone breaks out their cameras again. After resting on the top, we started the descent, which offered even more spectacular views as we left the cloudbase and the sun shifted across the sky to illuminate the volcanic craters and ridges that comprise the island.

I should have mentioned before that the trailhead itself is watched by a private security guard from 0600 to 1800, and since we were descending long after his arrival, I was worried about if he would give us grief for our evident trespassing. I shouldn't have worried; his job was only to turn away hikers attempting to start the climb once he was there, and he had no instructions to interfere with those who were trying to leave. He was actually a very nice man, with a very easy job; he said that I was the second best-dressed hiker he had ever seen, with the first being a girl in a short-skirted dress. We egressed via a different route to the one we had come in, as the church services had started; fortunately, navigating through the woods near the church was much easier in the daytime, and so we had no problem hitting the road again. We had done it! We returned to a triumphant welcome at the hostel, just in time for breakfast, and to arouse envy in the people that had bailed on me.

Hope you are okay and tales of my travels cheer you up a little :-)

the unhappy truth about soda

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 11:48:00 +0000

therealbears.org

A sobering look at obesity and sugary drinks.

"the most biologically intense place on Earth" : Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 21:23:00 +0000

I decided to spur into action and leave Uvita.

It happened like this. I borrowed a lonely planet from an annoying gap year child from Britain and set about deciding what the feck I am going to do with the rest of my time in Costa Rica. Now, I am personally of the opinion that you can't come to Costa Rica and not spend a good long time in the jungle, with machetes and snakes and pumas and the like; so I set about trying to find the best, most pristine, virgin rainforest to go adventure through. Turns out that is down in a national park called Corcovado, on the Osa peninsula, in the southwest of the country.

Seriously, check this out and see what you are missing. National Geographic has called it "the most biologically intense place on Earth" .. It is widely considered the crown jewel in the extensive system of national parks and biological reserves spread across the country'. Fuck yeah. So, with a decision made, I sprung into action.

Before I continue my story: 'Corcovado is also one of the final strongholds of the Jaguar within Central America and several other felines are also present, including Ocelot, Margay, Jaguarundi, and Puma. All four Costa Rican monkey species can be seen within the park, including the endangered Central American Squirrel Monkey, White-faced Capuchin, Mantled Howler, and Geoffroy's Spider Monkey. Other mammals present include Two-toed and Three-toed Sloth, Northern Tamandua and Silky Anteater. Poison dart frogs and several species of snake (including the venomous Fer-de-Lance and Bushmaster) are also common within the park.' Mua ha ha.

Anyway. This place is seriously dangerous. People die here every year, so you basically need a guide. I went on google and wrote down the phone number of every company I could find that mentioned it, and set about rining them from the hostel in Uvita. Unfortunately, I had forgotten about the third-world-lack-of-organisation effect, which renders it impossible to organise anything remotely. In the end I only managed to get an answer on the phone from two companies, who wanted $1100 and $900 respectively for 5 days of hiking! Fuck that.

So I decided at about 1000 this morning to roll the dice and head down to the nearest town to Corcovado, which is a tiny place called Puerto Jimenez. I figured that I would be able to find a guide or something once I was here, if only by asking around in hostels and bars and such. However, the bus down here leaves at 1100, and so I had a mad hour running around packing my bags, saying goodbye to people, checking out, and the like.

I had a nice stroke of luck. I got off the bus at a place called Chacarita, to change for the bus down to Jimenez. Off the bus came another fellow, maybe in his fourties, the outdoor rugged type, and I struck up a conversation. He didn't speak a word of English, but I'm getting better at blabbing in Spanish and we managed to talk the whole way down here. Turns out he is a park ranger, been working there for decades. You should have met him, kitten; he was full of crazy stories of carrying people's corpses out of the park and people dying of snake bites and people getting stuck between two rivers in flood and all sorts of other adventurous mishaps. He knew exactly the guy to call, and when we got to Jimenez a tico guide called Felix met us there.

So I just spent the last two hours with Felix negotiating rates and making plans. He only charges $50/day, which is a bargain as near as I can work out (certainly compared to the nutcase prices suggested by the companies on the phone .. exploiting lazy Americans, I guess). He speaks good English, has been doing it for years, and appears to know his stuff. He showed me his three scars from where he has been bitten by snakes. I think he saw the gleam in my eyes as he spoke of the dangers, because he agreed to take me for a fairly serious expedition and not just dipping my toes in the water. We are going for five days, staying in the jungle the whole time, carrying our food and that, and hiking about 30km/day with full packs. We leave Sunday afternoon and get back next week. So if you don't get any emails from me, don't worry; I'll write a big long one with all my death-defying escapades upon my return :-)

So that is my news. At the moment I am in an internet cafe and there are two Americans who are under the impression that if you speak slowly and loudly, it automatically confers the ability to understand you upon whatever native you wish. The poor girl who works here visibly doesn't have a word of English, but that isn't stopping our intrepid customers.

----

So I'm back! With some stories to tell :-)

Bags packed and hearts set on adventure, we left on the Sunday around noon. In the final group was myself, Felix (the guide), his girlfriend (to do the cooking), and a German couple. We were supposed to drive for about an hour to a lodge a few kilometres outside the park, do some hiking around there, and then set off early the next morning to bisect the park.

The adventure started a little earlier than planned when our jeep got stuck after half an hour's drive on a very steep slope. Try as he might, our driver couldn't get the car to grip on the pathetic excuse for a road. Well, fuck it, I was there to hike; it didn't bother me so much. So we ended up hiking the last ten kilometres on foot. In a way, I was glad, because the terrain we hiked through was quite open, and we got a better display of birds than is found in most aviaries: tucans, scarlet macaws, the Amazonian green parrot, and other birds whose names I have forgotten but whose plumage was spectacular.

We started the next morning at a place called La Tarde, intending to hike first to a ranger station inside the park called Los Patos, before continuing on to cross the whole park to the main ranger station at Sirena. Felix and I decided to take this way in because it is the most difficult way in, and I like a good hike. The terrain is extremely muddy, making every step an effort to lift your feet from the soft ground. Most of the trail was ankle-deep in mud, with significant portions of it knee-deep. At times the trail was blocked by logs larger than a man, requiring us to climb over them or cut through the jungle to find a way through. The topography is very hilly, with lots of climbing up and down; when combined with the mud, it makes for a very slippery and difficult trek. It is also necessary to ford approximately thirty creeks; most of them are just ankle-deep, but some of them were up to the knee. To make it worse, this all happens in the brutal tropical heat and humidity, and remember that this hike would be with full pack (including all the food we would need for the entire time). It was't incredibly long -- 26km -- but long enough, considering the above difficulties.

Before he agreed to take me, he looked me in the eyes and asked me if I was ready for it, and I said yes. He also asked the Germans, and they said yes, but in their case it was not true. I cannot readily apprehend the kind of confusion that would lead one to think that a monthly unburdened three-hour stroll through the cool temperate forests of Germany would prepare you for a hardcore expedition through the jungle. They weren't ready, physically or mentally. I have a healthy respect for things that can kill me, like poisonous snakes and frogs, but their fear bordered on terror. As soon as the trail became a little muddy, they started walking like grandmothers, taking every step as through with a zimmerframe; by the time we reached the first ranger station at Los Patos, 7km in, we were already an hour and a half behind. Felix was very patient, letting them take frequent breaks, and letting them set the pace, even though we only had so much daylight. A few kilometres after Los Patos, it was obvious that Dominik, the German male, was just not up to it. We were covered with a sheen of sweat, but it was flowing off of him like a river; his face was ashen gray, and his stride was weak. Felix asked him and I if we wanted to go on; I was dead set on continuing, and said I wanted to continue on, and if he wanted to quit he could walk back a few kilometres to Los Patos and stay there. He decided to stay (which turned out to be an awful mistake, as you will soon find out).

A few kilometres later -- 13km in, 14km to go, quite literally the middle of nowhere -- things came to a head. The two Germans broke down,saying that they couldn't go on any more, although quite what they proposed to do instead of walk I amn't quite sure. Felix was trying to assure them, and said that it didn't matter at what time we arrived at Sirena; we could arrive at sundown (6 pm), or 7, or 8, or whatever. That we were going to arrive after dark was obvious from our hindered pace, but this hadn't really sunk in with the Germans. At this point Dominik panicked.

Dominik: "Excuse me, but I am not valking anyvere in ze dark! I am not going anyvere! Zere are snakes!" Oh dear, I thought. What is he going to do instead? Stand still like a statue for the 11 hours of darkness?

Dominik: "Vell, can't a car come and pick us up?" At this point he was delusional. The trail was often knee-deep in mud, and regularly barricaded with logs. There is no vehicle ever built that could pass the trail, and this was entirely obvious to anyone with a brain.

At this point, Felix became furious; to be honest, I can't blame him, because they were rather infuriating. The reason we were to arrive after dark, he explained, was because of their snaillike manner of walking. He had budgeted plenty of time to do the hike in the daylight (we left at first light, anyway), but he couldn't help if they had said they were fit enough and they actually weren't. If he wanted to avoid arriving after dark, then Felix would set the pace, and they would just have to keep up. Evidently their fear of snakes was more powerful than their previous collapse, and we set out.

The next four hours are best described as a forced march, more appropriate to boot camp than to a holiday. Felix and I set a hard pace, to make up for the time we had lost with their timewasting. We put our heads down and got on with it, forgetting all pretense at watching the wildlife. A jaguar could have walked past us, and we wouldn't have noticed. Even I found it very tough, and I am a regular walker. Dominik was sweating so much that he had drank eight or nine litres, and it still wasn't enough. I ended up giving him half of my water, which meant that I was rationing myself for this very difficult hike, and with two hours to go I had greedily sucked on the last plastic-tasting dregs from my camelbak. About four or five kilometres from Sirena, it finally became too much, and he physically collapsed. Felix and I talked about it (we were lucky that we could speak Spanish fairly well, while they understood none of it, so we could talk the truth without them hearing it) and we decided the only way out was to go on.

So we divided his kit between us, half and half. He had brought an incredible quantity of the most useless rubbish. Snorkel gear? You can't even swim in the park; there are crocodiles on the beaches. A pillow? Books? A laptop? Fuck sake. His pack weighed about 20kg, which surely didn't help his poor physical condition. Before adding his stuff, mine weighted about 10kg, and so by the time I took his rubbish I had doubled the weight I was carrying (this on top of giving away my water). We half-dragged, half-stumbled him the last few kilometres. By the time we got to Sirena he was delirious and semi-conscious, babbling and barely aware of what was going on around him. Those last few kilometres were an utter hell that seemed to last forever. I can't really describe it in words. There were few sights more welcome than the headtorches of Sirena when we arrived after dark. I was never happier to see a tap in my life, and filled my belly with water while Felix brought the German fool to the medic at the station.

So that was the hike from Los Patos. At this point, an aside is warranted. At Sirena, I found that quite a strict hierarchy of respect was in place among the people staying there, depending on how you had come there. Lowest in the pecking order were those who arrived by boat from Drake Bay. Typically just day-trippers who were spending an incredible amount of money to stay in an "eco-lodge", they were looked down on by ranger and hiker both as dilettantes and pretenders. Frankly, anyone who would come to a jungle wearing flip-flops deserves a bit of scorn. Medium in respect was the usual way most people came, by hiking from Carate via La Leona along the southern coast of the Osa peninsula; this was the way I left, and varies from fairly easy to brutal depending on the weather conditions prevalent. For the past few days the weather had been easy, and so it didn't garner any war stories or street cred. The highest available way was the way we came, from Los Patos, and when people learned the way we had come they all wanted to hear how it was. Many talked about doing it, but funnily enough most found an excuse not to, usually involving blisters or knees or what have you. There used to be a way that is harder than Los Patos, which was the hike from San Pedrillo; however, the rangers had closed it permanently because too many people were dying en route. This was the way down the west coast of the peninsula, where many rivers drain to the sea; to hike it, you have to time your hike very carefully so that the rivers are fordable with the tides, and stick religiously to the pace. Even if you did that, you still weren't guaranteed success, for a freak storm (common, and completely unpredictable, in the rainforest) could mean the rivers were uncrossable even at low tide. Many people found themselves between two unfordable rivers, and they were unprepared for staying out in the jungle overnight, for they were packing as light as possible. This led them to try crossing the rivers anyway, which ended up with them being swept out to sea. So you can't walk that way anymore.

We spent the next two days hiking around the ranger station at Sirena. When I say we, it was mostly myself and Felix, for the German was utterly bedridden with exhaustion. His partner sometimes came, and sometimes stayed to look after him. I was happy with that, because it meant we could hike as much as I liked, and we could see more with less people making noise and scaring away the animals. I had come through the hike from Los Patos relatively unscathed, and the hikes around Sirena were without pack, and so I enjoyed them greatly. Sirena has an incredible concentration of wildlife, apparently because it has an incredible concentration of fruit and nut trees that the wildlife like to eat. We saw an amazing variety of tropical wildlife, mostly because Felix had eyes like a hawk. Before I list what we saw, I will recount one event. We were sitting down in Sirena, eating; Felix had his back to the kitchen (which is raised off the ground). And yet somehow he spotted a fer-de-lance snake (deadly poisonous, with thousands of deaths a year) gulping down a lizard, in the dark space under the kitchen! I still don't know how he saw it. Anyway, I saw, in no particular order: all four species of monkey in the park (spider, squirrel, white-face, and howler; Felix greatly enjoyed making the noise the howler monkeys make, which pissed them off endlessly as they started screaming to defend their turf and harem), crocodiles, bullsharks, two chameleons (I have no idea how he spotted them while we were walking, for I had to look for several minutes to see them while he was pointing at them), iguanas, snakes (both deadly, the fer-de-lance and a boa constrictor), a sloth, an anteater, peccaries (a kind of tropical pig; the main food for pumas and jaguars), bush turkeys and chickens, agoutis (a kind of tropical rabbit), coatis (a kind of large tropical raccoon), and all different kinds of birds: tucans, scarlet macaws, lots of different (and spectacular) parrots, black haws, vultures, and many more whose names I can't remember ..

The monkeys are incredibly beautiful to watch. They are not afraid of much except pumas, and make little effort to hide themselves; once you know what to look for, they are fairly easy to spot. Such agility and grace, as they leap from branch to branch; they look so free. The first time I saw them, I tried to get as close as possible to get the best view. What no one told me is that when monkeys feel threatened by you, one defence mechanism is that they start trying to piss on you to scare you off! Felix had deliberately not told me, as this is apparently part of your jungle initiation, and he was laughing so hard it hurt as I ran away from the streaming flow of monkey urine. Fortunately it didn't hit me, and I stayed a healthy distance away from then on. He also decided that he liked me (I guess because I had toughed it out, when the others had collapsed) and decided that part of my initiation was to eat all sorts of random jungle stuff that he was to serve. The most interesting was when I ate about two hundred grams of termites. You have to crush them first, to make sure they are dead; otherwise they cause all sorts of trouble when you put them in your mouth. Once you do that, they are actually very tasty, with a vaguely minty flavour.

Sirena itself is primitive. The showers are cold, the mattresses are bare, and the mosquitos are ferocious; regardless, I loved every minute I spent there. One time, Felix, his girlfriend and myself were sitting down to enjoy dinner (for his girlfriend is a very good cook). She was idly playing, trying a piece of rope around his fingers. I said to them that, in English, "tying the knot" means getting married. He turned to her, looked her in the eyes, and said: "Will you marry me?". The poor girl doesn't speak English, and so hesitated for a second, before turning to me; I translated into Spanish for her. She smiled nervously, giggled a bit, and then said .. "Eh .. no.". Felix pushed her hand away and didn't say another word for about an hour, so I guess he was serious about it. Just me, him, and her. Definitely one of the more awkward moments of my life.

Anyway, the time came to leave. I had greatly enjoyed my time there, but we had run out of food, and that was that. By this stage the Germans had left via boat to Drake Bay, for they were in no state to walk anywhere.

While I was there, it was mostly dry, for which I was very grateful; however, the storm that had been building the whole time broke the night before I was to leave. I'm not joking when I say that no one in the station got a wink of sleep all night. The heat was incredible, and the drumming of the rain on the roof was louder than a Metallica concert: even shouting at the top of your lungs, you could hardly be heard. When the thunder came, it made the whole building vibrate for several seconds. It was intense.

It was still going strong when first light came and it was time for us to leave. I am not afraid of rain, and knew to accept whatever comes; but it made for a very difficult hike indeed.

Firstly, to leave via La Leona you have to ford the Rio Claro, which is infested with crocodiles. Normally it isn't too much of a problem, because you ford it at low tide. But because of the incredible volume of rain that had fallen overnight, the river was swollen and in flood, even at low tide. However, we didn't have a choice, and so we hiked upstream to somewhere a bit more passive and waded in. It wasn't so bad, only up to my waist, and we didn't see any crocs along the way.

Secondly, all the trails through the forest were rivulets, and we walked ankle-deep in water. That's not so bad; what is worse is that the walk involves long sections on the beach, which stretches for as far as the eye can see. With the sand being so wet, it sunk gloopily beneath my feet each time I stepped on it, and then sucked at my boot as I would lift my foot out again. It made for each step taking about three times as much energy as it normally would, utterly exhausting work. The fact that I could barely see with the amount of water dripping from my eyebrows didn't help morale, either. It was a long walk back to Carate, but we stuck with it and made it, tired but ecstatic.

We had arranged for a lift from Carate back to Puerto Jimenez, a drive of about two and a half or three hours. But the taxi driver bailed on us, and so we were glumly considering the possibility of waiting four hours in the rain for what passes for public transport, which is a cattle truck. As luck would have it, there was a small jeep carrying a trailer full of rubbish back to Puerto Jimenez, and Felix knew the driver, so we hopped in the back. The smell didn't bother me, because we smelled very bad anyway. The drive back is crazy; even the cars have to ford rivers to pass through, and the road is so bad any European civil engineer would be ashamed to have his name associated with it. Along the way we met one of Felix's friends, who was walking back, and hoping to meet someone he knew to give him a lift. He was hilarious, and we four spent the time in the back of the rubbish truck singing and dancing the whole way. I came back to Puerto Jimenez, paid Felix, got my stuff, and crashed.

Today I decided I wanted to see the Atlantic, so I rose at 0400 to get the bus to the other side of the country, to Cahuita. I spent fourteen hours in a bus today, and am even more tired than I was yesterday, but I wanted to write this email, and so stayed up to send it to you in time for the morning. As I left Osa I saw the Pacific, and when I saw the Atlantic for the first time in five months a song came to my mind:

(insert lyrics of song. Don't want to post it here, for privacy reasons)

Google will provide a translation, I'm sure. Not quite right -- the direction is off -- but it is close enough, for I will be home across the Atlantic before we know it!

----
(So jealous)

a childhood memory

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 12:39:00 +0000

Remember when Pokemon was a massive thing when we were children? People had the cards, toys, games, clothes, went to conventions, collected all the Pokemon.

Ah memories.

love it

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 10:21:00 +0000

Quite catchy actually!

sucker for cute oriental things

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 22:01:00 +0000

a-little-kitty.deviantart.com

afternoon tea :)

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 08:47:00 +0000

brave hippo!

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:24:00 +0000

Pride and Prejudice in the twitterverse

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 15:22:00 +0000

TheRealJaneAusten:
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife.

MrsB:
A Mr Bingley--worth 50,000 followers a year--has joined Twitter! He's brought a friend, Mr Darcy--worth 100,000 followers a year! Pls RT

MrsB:
@JaneB @LizzyB @MaryBsaphorisms @KittyB @LydiaB I will have one of you girls married into internet fame yet. Just you wait.

LizzyB:@MrsB But mother, I think we can pull ourselves up by our dooce-straps just fine.

MrsB:
Blogcasting: How to find husbands for your daughters: http://tinyurl/momblog Now with free giveaway from our Etsy embroidery shop. Pls RT

LizzieB:
@JaneB If I could love a man who would love me enough to take me for a mere 50 followers, I should be well pleased...

LizzieB:
@JaneB ...but such a man wouldn’t be sensible & I could never love a man who was out of his twits. LOL

JaneB:
Oh @LizzyB, it is my ardent wish to marry 4 love. Love, respect AND dual laptops would be most agreeable. #iamdullbutpretty

CubicleSurfer:Does anyone know what #Bingley is and why it’s suddenly the no. 1 trending topic?

BoredInTheBurbs:
@CubicleSurfer I think #Bingley’s a he and I’m pretty sure he just died.

POPlovesPOP:
@CubicleSurfer @BoredInTheBurbs No, I’m pretty sure #Bingley’s the new Idol. That doesn’t explain why he’s the no. 1 trending topic, tho.

MaryBsAphorisims:
It behooves us all to resist the temptation of #Idol chatter

MaryBsAphorisims:
I can’t believe I lost 5 followers with that last Tweet. What’s WRONG with you people?

LydiaB:@JaneB @LizzyB @MaryBsaphorisms @KittyB There's going to be a dance!!! Squeeee!!! I won't sit down all night.

JaneB:
@LizzyB @MaryBsaphorisms @KittyB @LydiaB Do any of you know what you're wearing to the dance? I was thinking virginal white.

LydiaB:
@JaneB @LizzyB @MaryBsaphorisms @KittyB What I wouldn't give for this: http://tiny.cc/S6s7h & a pair of Jimmy Choos. It’s positively #Bella.

KittyB:@LydiaB No fair! You stole that URL from MY del.icio.us. #sisterfail

LydiaB:
@KittyB del.icio.us? Are you kidding me? How positively 2007. #epicsisterfail

MaryBsAphorisms:@JaneB @LizzyB @KittyB @LydiaB I confess a dance has few charms for me—I should infinitely prefer a modest Christian blog.

[Email from Twitter to LydiaB: VampireShoeShop is now following you on Twitter. You may follow VampireShoeShop by clicking the Follow button on their profile.]
Bingley:
@Darcy I can hardly wait to dance with @JaneB. She is the most capital girl I have ever met. #loveat1stsight

Darcy:
@Bingley Any savage can dance. #proofofmysuperiority

Bingley:
@Darcy JaneB's sister, Lizzy is pretty. You could dance with her. It would be capital fun.

Darcy:
@Bingley She's tolerable, but she is not handsome enough to tempt me. Also: could you stop saying "capital" so much? #abovemypeers

LizzyB:
@CharlotteL RT @D*rcy "She is tolerable. But she is not handsome enough to tempt me." #twitteratiRtwats #takeyrtweetsprivatefool

LizzyB:
@JaneB @MrsB I may safely promise you never to dance with Mr. D*rcy.

MaryBsAphorisms:
I loves me a stately piano concerto. ♫ http://blip.fm/~6kg1t from Blip.fm

LydiaB:
Oh, @MaryBsAphorisms, you silly goose. No one wants to hear that stodgy old song. We long to dance. Blip us Grimstock.

MaryBsaphorisms:
If I must but I take no joy in it: ♫ http://blip.fm/~6khd6 from Blip.fm

JaneB:@Bingley Demure grin

Bingley:
@JaneB Capital! Capital indeed!

MrsB:My @JaneB was much admired at the dance. #Bingley danced with her twice. Post to follow. Pls RT.

Darcy:
Women? There are not ½ dozen who I would consider accomplished. #fb

LizzyB:@Darcy Like duh. I’m surprised YOU know 6. #urstillavirgin

Darcy:
@LizzyB FYI, it has been the study of my life to avoid those weaknesses which often expose a strong understanding to ridicule.

LizzyB:@Darcy Like, oh I dunno, pride perhaps? Vanity? Self-righteous tweeting?

Darcy:@LizzyB Pride—where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will be always under good regulation.

LizzyB:@Darcy Which one of your last 3 tweets would you like me to nominate forhttp://tweetingtoohard.com/ ? ‘Cause I think they’re all winners.

Darcy:
@LizzyB Clearly, there is in every disposition a tendency to some particular evil. Yes, I’m tweeting at you.

LizzyB:@Darcy Yours is to hate everyone.

Darcy:
@LizzyB Where yours is to misunderstand them.

Darcy:@Darcy Oooo. Having a little twit snit are we, Mr Darcy?

MaryBsAphorisms:
Pride is a very common failing. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed.

MaryBsAphorisms:Ah but, vanity & pride are different things. Pride relates to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.

MaryBsAphorisms:What’s with all the dead air out here 2night? Is twitter down again or something?

Mrs B:
Hubs is in his study AGAIN. He has no consideration for my nerves. It vexes me terribly.

LydiaB:
Support our troops! #followfriday @cnlfoster @mrsfoster @regiment @denny @sanderson @wickham Squeee!!!

LizzyB:
@LydiaB Stop twirting. You will get a reputation as the most determined twirt that twitter has ever seen.

Darcy:
I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow. #fb

Darcy:
[Find People on Twitter:
Who are you looking to find? LizzyB]
Darcy:
@biz Why must avatar pictures be so small? #twitterfail

CharlotteL:
@LizzyB Darcy keeps looking at your profile. What’s up with that?

LizzyB:
@CharlotteL I dunno but it’s freaking my shit out. Srsly.

[Email from Twitter to LizzyB: Wickham is now following you on Twitter. You may follow Wickham by clicking the Follow button on their profile.]
Wickham:
Oh woe is me!

Wickham:How unlucky my lot in life has been!

Wickham:
I am so sick of my friends. If you can even call them that...

LizzyB:@Wickham Ok, I’ll bite. What’s up?

Wickham:
@LizzyB If only I, honest son of an honest Linux programmer, had not been so grievously wronged by a certain proud, 2.0-savvy man.

LizzyB:
@Wickham RU talking about who I think UR talking about? Developed DRM for I-phone apps? Oprah & Ashton follow him? Follows only 5 tweeps?

Wickham:@LizzyB The very same. He cheated me out of the open source living his father had promised me. Who could wrong one so noble as me? Oh noes!

LizzyB:@Wickham Ugh. Further proof of why I hate the Twitterati. Except @theBloggess. She cracks my shit up AND she is a model of propriety.

Wickham:
@LizzyB You seem like a fair minded woman and I desperately need a twosse. Would you like to hear more of my grievances?

LizzyB:@Wickham Bring ‘em on.

MaryBsAphorisms:
It behooves us all to take very careful thought before pronouncing an adverse judgment on any of our fellow men.

MaryBsAphorisms:
For once, your silence is golden. Thank you, tweeple.

MrCollins:
@MrsB @JaneB @LizzyB @MaryBsaphorisms @KittyB @LydiaB I have it on authority from Lady Oprah de Bourgh that marriage would behoove a man of m... (read more via Twitlonger)

MrsB:@LizzyB @MaryBsaphorisms @KittyB @LydiaB One of u MUST marry yr cousin, MrCollins. The PC, both laptops & the wireless are entailed to him.

LizzyB, MaryBsaphorisms, KittyB, LydiaB:
@MrsB Ew. We’d rather live off-grid.

MrCollins:
@LizzyB Since accepting my friend request on Facebook, Lady Oprah de Bourgh has condescended to write on my wall as often as once a year in ... (read more via Twitlonger)

MrCollins:@LizzyB My reasons for marrying are, 1st, that I think it a proper, nay logical, step in developing my ministwee, 2 that it would please my ... (read more via Twitlonger)

MrCollins:
@LizzyB Which brings me to my choice of you as the particular object of my heart’s desire. Your lowly station, situated as you are with 5 si ... (read more via Twitlonger)

LizzyB:
@MrCollins You flatter me greatly with this proposal, but allow me to say AS IF!

MrsB:
@LizzyB @MrCollins LIZZY! NO!!!!! However will I blog when your father is dead and in his grave?

[Friend or Follow: Enter your username: LizzieB
Lizzie B is following MrsB but MrsB no longer follows LizzyB]

MrsB:Oh, I have such a headache. And no one in this house cares one bit for my suffering. Please let there be new comments on my last post.

[Email from Twitter to CharlotteL: MrCollins is now following you on Twitter. You may follow MrCollins by clicking the Follow button on their profile.]

MrCollins:
Lady Oprah de Bourgh has made it clear that I should make a prudent match as is most befitting a clergyman of my standing and circumstances... (read more via Twitlonger)

CharlotteL:
@MrCollins I’m all ears. Let’s take it to email, for you are too great a man to be confined by 140 chars.

MrCollins:
@CharlotteL: Oh my dearest heart…

…

MrCollins:I simply cannot wait to disclose to Lady Oprah de Bourgh knowledge of my recent matrimonial joy with Miss C Lucas who has graciously accepte ... (read more via Twitlonger)

LizzyB:
@CharlotteL: Engaged to Mr. Collins! My dear Charlotte—impossible!

CharlotteL:@LizzyB I am not romantic. I never was. I ask only for a comfortable home.

CharlotteL:
@LizzyB you will tweet to me, won't you? I don't think I could bear going if you didn't tweet to me.

LizzyB:@CharlotteL Of course. I’ll even visit you on Facebook but promise me I won’t have to read Mr Collins’ blog.

Darcy:
@Bingley: I think it’s time we both quit Twitter for a while and went back to blogging. These tweeple are beneath us.

Bingley:
@Darcy But, but... Oh if you insist. You are the most capital fellow I have ever met, after all. #Iamapatsy

Wickham:
I just joined a twibe: LittleLadyLovers

JaneB:@LizzyB Bingley has left Twitter. I must summon the fortitude to overcome this.

LizzyB:@JaneB I'm sure he loves you still. Why don’t you get a blogger account so you can keep in touch? Our aunt & uncle will let you guest post.

JaneB:You may be right, @Lizzy. I will comment as demurely as I am able to.

Darcy:
DM to @LizzyB
In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire & love you.

[series of DMs between LizzyB and Darcy]

LizzyB:
WTF?

LizzyB:
Can you deny that you made Bingley quit Twitter thus destroying my sister’s chance for happiness?

Darcy:I cannot. I even deleted all her comments on his blog so he wouldn’t know she was reading. Marry me anyway?

LizzyB:And don’t even get me started on your offenses to poor Wickham.

Darcy:Wickham? Oh yes, poor downtrodden Wickham. #eyeroll

LizzyB:
Gah! You are so haughty!

Darcy:
And you are such a hotty.

LizzyB:
Ugh. You are the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed upon to marry. kaithksbye

[Msg to LizzyB from Twitter: Are you sure you want to block Darcy? BLOCK]
EMAIL FROM DARCY TO LIZZYB:
You have blocked me on Twitter which leaves me no other recourse than to email you an honest account of my dealings with Mr Wickham. In short, he is a pedi-perv who tried to bone my sister when she was but 15. He had hoped to marry her for her fortune, but I stopped him. So there.

[Msg fwd to JaneB from LizzyB]

LizzyB:
@JaneB Oh shit. Have I ever made a mistake. Darcy = good. Wickham = bad.

JaneB:
@Lizzy: Whaaa? Wickham’s a pedi-perv? Let’s not tell anyone, ‘kay?

LizzyB:
@JaneB: Pinky promise.

JaneB:
@LizzyB: Pinky promise.

LydiaB:
Mrs Foster has invited me to Brighton to flirt with the Red Coats. SQUEEEEE!!!!

LydiaB:@Wickham I do hope I will c u there. DM me to let me know if you can cum.

LizzyB:
Am taking a social networking webinar paid for by my Aunt & Uncle. Hope to learn lots.

LizzyB:@JaneB Get this! We have to review Darcy’s blog. He has the most beautiful template I’ve ever seen.

LizzyB:
@JaneB Holy crap! He just tracked my IP through site meter. AM MORTIFIED!!!

LizzyB:@JaneB But for some strange reason, he friended me on FB instead of getting mad. Colour me confused.

LizzyB:@JaneB And now both he AND his sister have left kind messages on my wall. He even liked my status. I am all wonder.

JaneB:DM to @LizzyB
Lydia has eloped with Wickham. She is ruined. Log off the computer and come downstairs at once.

LizzyB:
[Unblock Darcy]
DM to @Darcy
My sister's run off with Wickham. She has 20 followers. He has no reason to marry her. We are ruined & it's all my fault for not outing him.

Darcy:I will be offline for the foreseeable future. #fb

LizzyB:
@JaneB We ARE ruined. @Darcy has made it clear that he’d rather give up the Internet than share it with me. #sigh

MaryBsAphorisms:
Loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable. A woman's reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful.

[Email from Twitter to MaryBsAphorisms: Sexxygrl232 is now following you on Twitter. You may follow Sexxygrl232 by clicking the Follow button on their profile.]

MaryBsAphorisms:I just scored another follower. Yesss!!

LydiaB:
@MrsB You will laugh mother, when you know what I have done. I have married...Wickham!

Mrs B:@LydiaB Married? You are indeed married? Oh my dear girl. Post to follow. Pls RT

LydiaB:
@LizzyB The wedding was small but lovely. If only Darcy hadn’t been there.

LizzyB:
@LydiaB Whaaaaaa?

LydiaB:
@LizzieB Oh crap. I wasn’t supposed to tell.

Darcy:
I’m back. Did anybody miss me? #fb

Bingley:
So happy to be back! Twitter is the most capital place I’ve ever known! Thanks for giving me the go-ahead to come back, @Darcy.

Bingley:@JaneB Waves

JaneB:
@Bingley Demure grin

Bingley:
@JaneB Marry me?

JaneB:
@Bingley In a heartbeat. Most demure grin EVER.

Lady Oprah de Bourgh:
@LizzyB I heard a twumer that you plan to marry @Darcy. He is too popular a Tweep for you. You’ll bring us all down. I FORBID it.

LizzieB:
@Oprah Helloooo! Since when are tweeps celebrity sheep? ... Fine. Point taken, but screw you anyway. #herebeforeoprah

Darcy:
@LizzyB You got guts girl, pissing off @Oprah like that. I admire your spunk.

LizzieB:
@Darcy I must thank you for your kindness to my poor sister. Buying out that open source asshat of a husband must have cost you a fortune.

Darcy:
@LizzieB: I did it all for you. Please tell me you no longer think I’m a twit.

LizzieB:@Darcy: Oh never a twit. I once thought you were a twat but all is forgotten.

Darcy:@LizzyB My feelings and intentions have not changed. One tweet from you will silence me forever.

LizzieB:@Darcy I heart you. Truly.

Darcy:
@LizzieB YAY! I’ll tweet your father to ask for your hand.

LizzieB:
@Darcy: Oh you’ll never find him on twitter. Being married to a social-networking mommy blogger keeps his nose in the books.

Darcy:
@LizzyB: Fine. I’ll take this off line. Care to join me?

LizzieB:
I am yours: virtually AND corporally.

TheRealJaneAusten:
'Night Tweeps.

----

Pride and Prejudice was published on 28 January 1813.
Copyright to: http://madhattermommy.blogspot.com/2009/05/pride-and-twitterverse.html

балет ~ balletre

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 21:06:00 +0000

relevance unknown, but pretty

not normally a colour I associate with ballet (not sure why) but pretty

I love ballet. There's something very elegant and visually eloquent about it. I knew a lot of ballet dancers when I was younger, but never had the co-ordination or body build for it. (Also strength). The ballet shoe look often flirts with fashion and comes into season and out of season, and I feel like the movement towards what I call dolly shoes has been based on ballet shoes.

economic models + cows

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 23:07:00 +0000

Very thought provoking... do these analogies still hold true? Some of them make sense for me at least.

(I did not make these up. I saw it someplace on the internet and thought I would repost it)

SOCIALISM

You have two cows, and you give one to your neighbour

COMMUNISM

You have two cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk

FASCISM

You have two cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk

NAZISM

You have two cows. The State takes both and shoots you

BUREAUCRATISM

You have two cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, then throws the milk away

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM

You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income

SURREALISM

You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead

A FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows. You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows

A JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk

A GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You decide to have lunch

A RUSSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have two cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka

A SWISS CORPORATION

You have 5,000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them

A CHINESE CORPORATION

You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the real situation

AN INDIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows. You worship them

A BRITISH CORPORATION

You have two cows. Both are mad

AN IRAQI CORPORATION

Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have none. No-one believes you, so they bomb the sh*t out of you and invade your country. You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a 'Democracy'

A WELSH CORPORATION

You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive

Improv Everywhere!

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Sun, 29 Jul 2012 11:58:00 +0000

anthropomorphic

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 21:53:00 +0000

This may or may not have happened when I was younger.

PS. Happy Chinese and English birthday to my dad!

a crush on LUSH

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 00:00:00 +0000

I'm not going to lie - I used to think that Lush was a bit superfluous and a bit high and mighty in their eco-friendly ways, and I didn't understand the point of them making a big deal about their products. "OK, so they are environmentally friendly and they are home grown but surely I can just manage with stuff I can buy in the supermarket?" was my recurring thought every time I read about Lush.

I forget when I stumbled across Lush recently - I knew there was a shop in my local town but I thought it was a bit hippy so I never went in. I suppose over the past few years, I've been subscribing to several youtube channels about beauty and fashion and a lot of those people have been mentioning their products. One of my friends loved Lush as well, but still I hesitated because I thought that their products were expensive for what they were.

A couple of years back now, I received a Secret Santa gift from a group of friends with whom I did Secret Santa, and I actually received a Secret Santa gift, from Lush, with a bath bomb Santa and a soap (I believe?) These products were lovely, and the soap was very fragrant and you could smell the scent for ages after that.

So anyway, I've since shopped at Lush a couple of times, and checked out their website properly and the things they believe in. I still think their products are a little more expensive compared to store bought, but it is a great company: everyone is friendly and I see it more as a treat for myself rather than something I would use all the time. I've tried a hair conditioner, a shower jelly, soaps, bath bombs and a face mask, and I have been really happy with all of these things.

I highly recommend their products, as treats for yourself or for a friend. They're guy friendly, and not all of the scents are girly. (I know people think of Lush as a place mostly for girly things). They also have a youtube channel where they show you how to use their products and what the bath bombs look like when they fizz in the bath.

AND I've just found out that at the Covent Garden store, you can get your hair dyed using their henna treatment!

Sherlock Holmes

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:31:00 +0000

There have been many versions of Sherlock Holmes, in films and TV series, of this well loved character that lived at 222b Baker Street, and was attended to by Mrs Hudson, and worked with Dr Watson. Today, there is a museum on Baker Street and the local station has the shadow silhouette or Sherlock, or it used to anyway.

I've watched most of the Granada TV series, with Jeremy Brett as Holmes, who has been considered the definitive Holmes. He masters the character very well, and has great control of facial expression and body language. The series brought to life a majority of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's writings, many of which I have read, and makes the mystery real and sometimes hard to work out. He is exactly what I would imagine that one person in your life to be like... a little crazy and eccentric but always gets the job done, however unconventional the method. Kind of like House. His deductions are portrayed brilliantly, and the detail that goes into Victorian England in these series is wonderful.

I am late on the bandwagon but there have been two films directed by Guy Ritchie, with Robert Downey Jr as Holmes. He actually plays very convincingly and brings that sort of modern twist to the character. There has also been a BBC series, with Benedict Cumberbatch as the lead character, which I have yet to watch. (Also, I've just found that it's updated with technology from the present day. This makes me less inclined to watch -_-)

What I find most fascinating about Sherlock Holmes is his personality; he is very bipolar and has very unconventional methods and can work out things as quick as a cat and make the most tenuous links seem real. After watching a few episodes of the Granada series, I could work out the master behind the crimes but it would never be very obvious. His closed offness is also very interesting; there is something in the dressing of each of the three characters which I have described which makes them aloof and untouchable and also slightly volatile. His obvious disdain for his companion Watson getting married is clearly a front for his reflection of his loneliness, having considered Irene Adler as The Woman, in the very first episode of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, where in A Scandal in Bohemia, he prevents photos of the future king with his mistress (Adler) being leaked to the press, and requests that he keep the photos. The way she is portrayed by Rachel McAdams is absolutely gorgeous - she has come a long way since her Mean Girl days.

I recently watched the second Ritchie Sherlock film, which is basically 'The Final Problem' set in Reichenbach with Moriarty and Sherlock meeting face to face. Except the ending of the film is based in Switzerland.

I didn't know the plotline of Sherlock 2 before seeing it, but within the first few minutes it was easy to guess that it was based on The Final Problem. This was one of my favourite episodes, and also contains my favourite conversation in which two great minds deliciously battle words and Sherlock ends with one of the best lines:

"'Well, well,' said he, at last. 'It seems a pity, but I have done what I could. I know every move of your game. You can do nothing before Monday. It has been a duel between you and me, Mr. Holmes. You hope to place me in the dock. I tell you that I will never stand in the dock. You hope to beat me. I tell you that you will never beat me. If you are clever enough to bring destruction upon me, rest assured that I shall do as much to you.'

"'You have paid me several compliments, Mr. Moriarty,' said I. 'Let me pay you one in return when I say that if I were assured of the former eventuality I would, in the interests of the public, cheerfully accept the latter.'

from: http://sherlock-holmes.classic-literature.co.uk/the-final-problem/ebook-page-04.asp where you can read this story online.

polly put the kettle on

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 18:00:00 +0000

So far, I have resisted the urge to function in the morning on caffeine. For the most part, I am not that huge a fan of coffee and when we go to coffee shops, normally I get a cappuccino. It's sort of like coffee, right? I used to always drink water and milk, and sometimes still do, but over the past 6 months, I have been branching out and venturing into tea adventures. I don't feel like I need a cup of tea when I get in, but it's very comforting. I used to rely on free tea at events, where they'd have several tea infusions, my preferred kind.

Tea really is a great invention. I used to drink herbal tea quite a lot when I was younger, and I guess drinking these new teas is sort of a nod to that. They're very light and often colourful and also calming. When I have a long day, it's nice to be able to sit on the sofa with all my books and bits of paper and pens poking out from everywhere, with a glass of tea.

Having just perused the 'tea' article on wikipedia, which is pretty extensive, I have now learnt how to prepare tea properly. Being one who isn't too fussed in the kitchen, I just boil the kettle and put the teabag in the glass and then pour hot water in. Sometimes, I leave the tea bag in, sometimes i take it out. Is that a bad thing? Who cares, really?

It's just a great way to relax and unwind :)

cravings

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Interesting, non?

Molly Bakes

noreply@blogger.com (Carol) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 21:22:00 +0000

From what I have gathered, Molly is a lady who started baking cakes when she found herself out of a job. She got popular, word spread and she set up a stall at Brick Lane Market. She now does orders for big companies and events like for ASOS, Juicy Couture, celebrities who want nice looking cakes, and sells her cake pops in Selfridge's too! There's been a big increase in independent bakers of recent, I guess trying to emulate the success of The Hummingbird Bakery and to try and capture that homemade feel, but someone else has made it.

Oh, this is what it says on her page.

In early 2009, the day before her birthday Molly Bakes found herself out of a job. Instead of being sad, she saw it as the perfect opportunity to try something new. After all, she had never really enjoyed talking on the phone or making cups of tea all day.
Many days and weeks passed, when Molly grew bored. She had tried a few different things when suddenly she remembered a secret cupcake recipe in her mother's cake book. So she decided to try her hand at baking. Molly had never seen herself as the Domestic Goddess type but to her surprise she found baking most sexy as well as therapeutic for her idle hands.
A few hours later the most delicious and whimsical cupcakes in a myriad of candy colours and designs were created. Molly was so impressed with her new found skills she gave them to all her friends. And they loved what they tasted. News of this fabulous baker spread like wildfire and soon enough Molly Bakes' cakes were in demand from everyone.

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

In just 18 short months it feels like Molly Bakes really has done it all. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined she'd be baking for the likes of Elle MacPherson, Katie Price, Jodie Harsh and other celebs as well as big brands such as Blackberry, Juicy Couture, Britains Next Top Model and ASOS.

Molly was the first baker in London to introduce cake pops in January 2010 and has had her delicious range stocked in Selfridges Food Hall since June 2010. She has even sent cake pops as far as Germany for a Blackberry event and to New York for a Teen Vogue party.
Molly is a member of the Mad Artist's Tea Party a creative collective of bakers and confectioners created by Miss Cakehead.

2011 looks set to be an even bigger year for Molly Bakes as in June her first book will be published! 50 amazing cake pop recipes!

It is probably common knowledge throughout this blog that I am a bit partial to cake, and nice looking cake appeals to me also!!!

So from all the Molly Bakes pages, here are my favourite looking ones. All links posted below; these are where I got the photos from. I am not being paid to write this, nor am I benefitting in any way from this post (other than ogling cakes).

Pacman! chomp chomp

geek chic

his and hers giant cupcakes - Molly seems to be well known for doing
these huuuuge cupcakes

monochrome chic

from an ASOS party

done for Katie Price

made for Elle MacPherson

I screenshotted this image - you can find Molly Bakes in Selfridge's now!

I am such a sucker for pretty looking sweets! Carol

You can find Molly Bakes at....
http://www.mollybakes.co.uk/ - you can order online, and do her classes
https://twitter.com/mollybakes
http://www.facebook.com/mollybakes
http://cakeandcouture.blogspot.com/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cake-Pops-Molly-Bakes/dp/0224095226 - this book has just been released :D

All pictures were from the sites above, and images.google.co.uk