Aimee Said's Blog, page 12
January 12, 2011
Water, water everywhere
The news coverage of the devastating floods in Queensland has been distressing, to say the least. Even more distressing for an animal nerd like me has been the footage of animals stranded, swimming for their lives or drowned.
Like many people I know, every time I turn on the TV or read anews update I wish I could personally do more to help those who have been affected, but - for now* - I think the best we can do is to donate to the organisations that are already helping people, and whose work is vital to their immediate needs. If you don't already have a preferred charity to donate to, might I suggest:
Queensland flood relief appealRSPCA Queensland flood appeal
13/1/2011 ETA: If you want to do more, the most excellent Pip has posted a great round-up of crafty flood-benefit happenings and ideas at Meet Me at Mike's.
* There is already some discussion in YA circles about charity auctions and donating to libraries post clean-up, which will be great longer-term initiatives.
Like many people I know, every time I turn on the TV or read anews update I wish I could personally do more to help those who have been affected, but - for now* - I think the best we can do is to donate to the organisations that are already helping people, and whose work is vital to their immediate needs. If you don't already have a preferred charity to donate to, might I suggest:
Queensland flood relief appealRSPCA Queensland flood appeal
13/1/2011 ETA: If you want to do more, the most excellent Pip has posted a great round-up of crafty flood-benefit happenings and ideas at Meet Me at Mike's.
* There is already some discussion in YA circles about charity auctions and donating to libraries post clean-up, which will be great longer-term initiatives.
January 5, 2011
Resolutions for 2011
A bright, shiny new year is upon us and this year, for the first time in many years, I decided to make some resolutions. Nothing earthshattering, just a few small, (hopefully) achievable things that will make some positive difference to my life.
I thought posting them here might force me to stick to them, even if it's only to avoid the shame of reporting that I failed at the end of the year:
Learn to draft my own sewing patterns - after 25 years of sewing I feel I should at least be able to come up with something basic! I'm going to start with this skirt sloper and work my way up to dresses. Results may or may not be documented on this blog, depending on how bodgy they turn out...Do physio exercises for my back every day - you'd think I'd have learnt by now that this is not optional, since every time I go more than 3 days without doing the back strengethening and stretching exercises my physio gave me I end up in excruciating pain. Yes, they're boring. Yes they take up 45 minutes of my day that might be spent doing something fun. Yes, they're preferable to a week of agony and remedial physio.Floss - my two worst bodily fears are gingivitis and alopecia. Gingivitis is preventable. Read more non-YA - in 2010 more than 95% of the books I read were YA. I meant to get to the 'adult' fiction section of the bookstore or library, but by the time I was done browsing the YA shelves I was always over budget/borrowing capacity. In 2011 I'm going to try to balance my reading between YA and other fiction. (Believe it or not, I think this might be the hardest resolution to keep - any adult fiction recommendations to get me started are most welcome!)Here's to a gingivitis-free 2011!
December 31, 2010
December 29, 2010
Byebye Bungo
We're back from nine days in Sydney (our longest trip to our hometown since we moved to Melbourne almost 5 years ago), pleasantly exhausted from incessant socialising, celebrating and overeating but so, so happy to be back in our little house and reunited with a very cuddly and purry orange cat.
While attempting to catch up on the 500+ blog posts that accumulated in my feed while I was away, I came upon the sad news that Elizabeth Beresford, creator of the Wombles, died on 24 December. The Wombles have always held a special place in my heart. As a very small child, I remember watching the Wombling Free movie with my Granny Mabel. I adopted Bungo as my middle name at some point in my adolescence when I got fed up with being the only person I knew who only had one name. I even tried to convince Mr Fantapants that we should both take Womble as our surname, mainly so that we could turn up to restaurants and say, 'We've got a reservation...for the Wombles.'*
In Elizabeth's memory, I offer you the soundtrack of my very-young childhood:
* Not much surprise that he chuckled slightly to humour me and then said, 'NO', but our cat's full name is Morris Watersports Womble, so at least one of us took the name.
While attempting to catch up on the 500+ blog posts that accumulated in my feed while I was away, I came upon the sad news that Elizabeth Beresford, creator of the Wombles, died on 24 December. The Wombles have always held a special place in my heart. As a very small child, I remember watching the Wombling Free movie with my Granny Mabel. I adopted Bungo as my middle name at some point in my adolescence when I got fed up with being the only person I knew who only had one name. I even tried to convince Mr Fantapants that we should both take Womble as our surname, mainly so that we could turn up to restaurants and say, 'We've got a reservation...for the Wombles.'*
In Elizabeth's memory, I offer you the soundtrack of my very-young childhood:
* Not much surprise that he chuckled slightly to humour me and then said, 'NO', but our cat's full name is Morris Watersports Womble, so at least one of us took the name.
December 14, 2010
The sound of Christmas
I have a confession to make: I don't love Christmas. In fact, there's nothing much I like about it at all. Maybe it was all those years spent working in retail, listening to a loop of instrumental versions of carols on Woolies Radio or piped through the Small Electrics department. Maybe it's the rampant consumerism. Or maybe it just brings out the bah in my humbug.
Of course, I wasn't always a festive funbuster - and I have an annual reminder of that fact whenever Christmas playlists are wheeled out...
Picture it, Sydney, Christmas Day 1984. A young girl eagerly unwraps her presents until she comes to the penultimate package, the apex of her tween giftlist: the 7-inch single of Band Aid's 'Do they know it's Christmas'.
The giver of this gift was my big sister*, who had scoured every record shop in Sydney to find a copy because she knew how desperate I was to own it. It went straight onto the turntable, the volume turned up as high as my parents could bear. I think I may have even shed a tear.
All quibbles about musical quality aside (and recently Sir Bob Geldof quibbled about it himself), 'Do they know it's Christmas' will always whisk me back to my 11th Christmas, and the point in my life when music began to be more than just the background noise to pass-the-parcel. So when the video clip appeared on Rage the other morning I was mesmerised, as usual.
Of course, when I was younger I was too awed by the sight of all my fave pop stars in the same room and too busy singing along to prove that I knew all the words to notice the body language between some of the participants. I was particularly struck by how mightily pissed off Sting looks to be singing with Simon le Bon (at around the 1min. 10 secs mark). I suspect someone in the studio noticed too, because the next thing you see is Bono wedged between the two of them, and Simon's too scared to sing at all (1 min 24 secs). (Poor Simon. Rest assured that I (and 20 million other girls aged 10-14) still loved you.)
Here in all its glory is my one festive tradition. Marvel at Sting's Prince Valiant haircut! Be awed by Paul Young's mullet! Gasp at Phil Collins' little knitted vest! Shake your head incredulously at the synchronised guitar 'playing' by members of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and other-not-very-musically-credible-groups!
* who loves Christmas enough for both of us
Of course, I wasn't always a festive funbuster - and I have an annual reminder of that fact whenever Christmas playlists are wheeled out...
Picture it, Sydney, Christmas Day 1984. A young girl eagerly unwraps her presents until she comes to the penultimate package, the apex of her tween giftlist: the 7-inch single of Band Aid's 'Do they know it's Christmas'.
The giver of this gift was my big sister*, who had scoured every record shop in Sydney to find a copy because she knew how desperate I was to own it. It went straight onto the turntable, the volume turned up as high as my parents could bear. I think I may have even shed a tear.
All quibbles about musical quality aside (and recently Sir Bob Geldof quibbled about it himself), 'Do they know it's Christmas' will always whisk me back to my 11th Christmas, and the point in my life when music began to be more than just the background noise to pass-the-parcel. So when the video clip appeared on Rage the other morning I was mesmerised, as usual.
Of course, when I was younger I was too awed by the sight of all my fave pop stars in the same room and too busy singing along to prove that I knew all the words to notice the body language between some of the participants. I was particularly struck by how mightily pissed off Sting looks to be singing with Simon le Bon (at around the 1min. 10 secs mark). I suspect someone in the studio noticed too, because the next thing you see is Bono wedged between the two of them, and Simon's too scared to sing at all (1 min 24 secs). (Poor Simon. Rest assured that I (and 20 million other girls aged 10-14) still loved you.)
Here in all its glory is my one festive tradition. Marvel at Sting's Prince Valiant haircut! Be awed by Paul Young's mullet! Gasp at Phil Collins' little knitted vest! Shake your head incredulously at the synchronised guitar 'playing' by members of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and other-not-very-musically-credible-groups!
* who loves Christmas enough for both of us
December 13, 2010
Excuses for not blogging
The last couple of weeks have been a blur of editorial revisions for Little Sister, trying to finish the Day Job project I've been working on all year and getting stuck into a new (Day Job-type) project that needs to be whipped into some sort of presentable shape before we head to Sydney next week.
Inbetween whingeing about my workload, the crowds of Christmas shoppers and my deep desire to escape to an island that is deserted except for a small cocktail bar and stay there until 2 January, I've been enjoying other people's rather more productive blogging:
Kate Gordon's 7 questions not to ask a YA writer made me nod and shake my head and cluck in agreement (I get asked 5 and 7 on a frequent basis, as kate says, only by adults and only by those who never read YA)Adele Persnickety Snark announced that she's coming to melbourne (yay!) to join the State Library of Victoria's Centre for Youth Literature (double yay!)in related CYL news, the 2011 Reading Matters program has been announced and it looks like a doozyI was pleased to see some of my favourites on Popbitch's list of Top 10 movie geeksand of course I enjoyed My Girl Friday's contribution to Inkcrush's 2010 Best of series!
Inbetween whingeing about my workload, the crowds of Christmas shoppers and my deep desire to escape to an island that is deserted except for a small cocktail bar and stay there until 2 January, I've been enjoying other people's rather more productive blogging:
Kate Gordon's 7 questions not to ask a YA writer made me nod and shake my head and cluck in agreement (I get asked 5 and 7 on a frequent basis, as kate says, only by adults and only by those who never read YA)Adele Persnickety Snark announced that she's coming to melbourne (yay!) to join the State Library of Victoria's Centre for Youth Literature (double yay!)in related CYL news, the 2011 Reading Matters program has been announced and it looks like a doozyI was pleased to see some of my favourites on Popbitch's list of Top 10 movie geeksand of course I enjoyed My Girl Friday's contribution to Inkcrush's 2010 Best of series!
December 2, 2010
What she watched: Heartbreaker
On Tuesday I met Mr Fantapants in the city after work to go to a Hopscotch Secret Screening. We had no idea which movie we were seeing (cos it's a sekrit, duh), but since the last one of these we went to turned out to be The Kids Are All Right, I was willing to take the risk.1
The movie turned out to be Heartbreaker, starring
Heartbreaker won't win any awards for originality, plot or scipt, but it was light and sweet and had some nice moments. Duris and Paradis make a cute, if scrawny,4 couple, and even though you could see the ending coming before the opening credits had finished, it was fun. This movie definitely seemed to be tailored for a rather specific audience (i.e. thirty-something women, their friends, mums and boyfriends who couldn't get out of it), and when the Dirty Dancing sequence started there was literally clapping and ooh-ing and aah-ing around the theatre. I can't help speculating that within two years there'll be an American remake, starring Drew Barrymore and [insert 30-something thinking-woman's-crumpet here].5
After the movie we went in search of dinner and discovered that Cellarbar (less glamorous sibling of Grossi Florentino) is not impossible to get a table at on a weeknight. I had a deliciously acidic spaghetti with preserved artichokes and olives; Mr F went for the superrich gnochhi gorganzola. Afterwards we took a leisurely stroll past The Paperback Bookshop6 where I snaffled up a copy of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares.
All around, a pretty perfect night out.
1 Plus, I subscribe to my dad's motto in life: If it's free, take two.
2 Played by the lovely
3 No coincidence that he's a Brit, eh?
4 Seriously scrawny. I know Vanessa's always been a wee fragile-bird of a thing, but I spent the whole film wishing I could pass her a sandwich, and Romain is similarly not-at-all-meaty (but very buff, as we saw in a number of shirt-off opportunities).
5 Although if they're going for a Duris looky-likey it might be Russell Brand…shudder.
6 Which not only has a small-but-comprehensive YA section but also gives Victorian Writers Centre members 10% off - score and double score!
The movie turned out to be Heartbreaker, starring
Heartbreaker won't win any awards for originality, plot or scipt, but it was light and sweet and had some nice moments. Duris and Paradis make a cute, if scrawny,4 couple, and even though you could see the ending coming before the opening credits had finished, it was fun. This movie definitely seemed to be tailored for a rather specific audience (i.e. thirty-something women, their friends, mums and boyfriends who couldn't get out of it), and when the Dirty Dancing sequence started there was literally clapping and ooh-ing and aah-ing around the theatre. I can't help speculating that within two years there'll be an American remake, starring Drew Barrymore and [insert 30-something thinking-woman's-crumpet here].5
After the movie we went in search of dinner and discovered that Cellarbar (less glamorous sibling of Grossi Florentino) is not impossible to get a table at on a weeknight. I had a deliciously acidic spaghetti with preserved artichokes and olives; Mr F went for the superrich gnochhi gorganzola. Afterwards we took a leisurely stroll past The Paperback Bookshop6 where I snaffled up a copy of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares.
All around, a pretty perfect night out.
1 Plus, I subscribe to my dad's motto in life: If it's free, take two.
2 Played by the lovely
3 No coincidence that he's a Brit, eh?
4 Seriously scrawny. I know Vanessa's always been a wee fragile-bird of a thing, but I spent the whole film wishing I could pass her a sandwich, and Romain is similarly not-at-all-meaty (but very buff, as we saw in a number of shirt-off opportunities).
5 Although if they're going for a Duris looky-likey it might be Russell Brand…shudder.
6 Which not only has a small-but-comprehensive YA section but also gives Victorian Writers Centre members 10% off - score and double score!
December 1, 2010
What I learnt from NaNoReMo
So I failed NaNoReMo, just like I failed NaNoWriMo a couple of years ago. But, like my NaNo failure, I did learn a couple of things:
Thing 1: reviewing is hard! Okay, I already suspected this, but attempting to write a mini review (if it could even be called that) of each book was tough. Aside from the always-tricky plot synopsis (which I cheated my way out of*) I often found it hard to put into words how I felt about the books I read and what I got out of them.
Given that most of my decisions to buy books** are based on reviews, I now have even more respect for the bloggers I rely on to help me spend my reading budget wisely.
Thing 2: reading is ace! And although I didn't reach my goal of reading 12 books in November,*** consciously making time to read instead of only allowing myself to get lost in a book on the bus or at bedtime meant that I could read without feeling guilty about the things I wasn't doing. (Hello, laundry, I haven't forgotten you completely.)
I think I'll leave the reviewing to the experts in future, but if you want to see my top books I list my favourites on Goodreads.
* Thank you, Goodreads :)
** Borrowing books from the library is much less fraught, but my book budget is fairly slim so I try to make sure that the books I pay for are going to be Keepers.
*** I made it to 9, it might have been 10 if I hadn't started re-reading Graffiti Moon (she said, defensively).
Thing 1: reviewing is hard! Okay, I already suspected this, but attempting to write a mini review (if it could even be called that) of each book was tough. Aside from the always-tricky plot synopsis (which I cheated my way out of*) I often found it hard to put into words how I felt about the books I read and what I got out of them.
Given that most of my decisions to buy books** are based on reviews, I now have even more respect for the bloggers I rely on to help me spend my reading budget wisely.
Thing 2: reading is ace! And although I didn't reach my goal of reading 12 books in November,*** consciously making time to read instead of only allowing myself to get lost in a book on the bus or at bedtime meant that I could read without feeling guilty about the things I wasn't doing. (Hello, laundry, I haven't forgotten you completely.)
I think I'll leave the reviewing to the experts in future, but if you want to see my top books I list my favourites on Goodreads.
* Thank you, Goodreads :)
** Borrowing books from the library is much less fraught, but my book budget is fairly slim so I try to make sure that the books I pay for are going to be Keepers.
*** I made it to 9, it might have been 10 if I hadn't started re-reading Graffiti Moon (she said, defensively).
November 28, 2010
NaNoReMo: week 4
I'd be ashamed to admit that I only read one book in the second-last week of NaNoReMo, except that the book in question was Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. From Goodreads:
"Let me make it in time. Let me meet Shadow. The guy who paints in the dark. Paints birds trapped on brick walls and people lost in ghost forests. Paints guys with grass growing from their hearts and girls with buzzing lawn mowers."
It's the end of Year 12. Lucy's looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about.
His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere.
Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow's thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls.
But the one thing Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.
This book wasn't in my original stack of NaNoReMo books, but after hearing Cath speak about it at the Melbourne Writers' Festival, and reading so many fantastic reviews, and having it recommended by friends with great taste in books, I couldn't resist buying a copy and then couldn't resist reading it IMMEDIATELY. I devoured the first half on a flight to Sydney last Tuesday (the only time I've ever wished that it took longer to fly from Melbourne to Sydney), and the remainder over the following few days, whenever I had time to dip into it. And when I finished it I wanted to start re-reading it straight away.
I loved everything about Graffiti Moon, both as a reader and as a writer. Lucy and Ed were fantastic narrators, their stories were compelling, their voices were true. The city and its locations were so perfectly drawn; the artworks - in galleries, on walls and in characters' heads - so brilliantly described.
Graffiti Moon reminded me of strange, wild, perfect nights spent with friends a long time ago, when anything seemed possible. It's a book I know I'll read again and again, and enjoy every time as much as the first. Perfect.
"Let me make it in time. Let me meet Shadow. The guy who paints in the dark. Paints birds trapped on brick walls and people lost in ghost forests. Paints guys with grass growing from their hearts and girls with buzzing lawn mowers."
It's the end of Year 12. Lucy's looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about.
His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere.
Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow's thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls.
But the one thing Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes.
This book wasn't in my original stack of NaNoReMo books, but after hearing Cath speak about it at the Melbourne Writers' Festival, and reading so many fantastic reviews, and having it recommended by friends with great taste in books, I couldn't resist buying a copy and then couldn't resist reading it IMMEDIATELY. I devoured the first half on a flight to Sydney last Tuesday (the only time I've ever wished that it took longer to fly from Melbourne to Sydney), and the remainder over the following few days, whenever I had time to dip into it. And when I finished it I wanted to start re-reading it straight away.
I loved everything about Graffiti Moon, both as a reader and as a writer. Lucy and Ed were fantastic narrators, their stories were compelling, their voices were true. The city and its locations were so perfectly drawn; the artworks - in galleries, on walls and in characters' heads - so brilliantly described.
Graffiti Moon reminded me of strange, wild, perfect nights spent with friends a long time ago, when anything seemed possible. It's a book I know I'll read again and again, and enjoy every time as much as the first. Perfect.
November 21, 2010
NaNoReMo: week 3
I'm behind on my NaNoReMo goal of reading three books a week :( After week 2's huge effort I only managed two books last week, but I enjoyed them both.
The first was Cassie by Barry Jonsberg. From Goodreads:
Holly hates her name, her looks and her life. She isn't in with the right crowd and she has little hope of dating the gorgeous Raph McDonald. With Cassie staying, she has to move out of her bedroom into the tiny, smelly spare room, and she feels her life couldn't be more unfair. So when Demi, the coolest girl in school, invites Holly on a make-over shopping spree, she jumps at the chance. Even Cass can see that Holly is stretching her wings. But will she fly or fall?
This was a really interesting book, both in its narrative and stylistically. There's a lot of talk about how there's not enough diversity in YA, and I think that includes characters with disabilities.* As a reader, I thought Jonsberg did an amazing job of communicating what it is like to be trapped in a body that won't obey your mind, and also in creating Cassie and Holly as well-rounded, believable characters. I also loved Holly's dry wit. As a writer, I was intrigued by Jonsberg's mix of first and third person narration, which I haven't come across before.
The second was Little Bird by Penni Russon. From Goodreads:
Ruby-lee is cynical about love; after all, she's watched her sister Shandra call off her wedding three times a week. But when Shandra volunteers her to babysit her friend's seven month old baby, Ruby-lee discovers just what love means. First she's overcome by powerful feelings for tiny Maisy, then she starts spending time with Maisy's dad, Spence. She even begins to imagine a future together, as a family. But where will Ruby-lee's fantasies lead? And what sort of trouble could they get her into? When it looks like Ruby-lee might lose everything, she has to discover what love truly is to find her own heart.
Little Bird came highly recommended, and for good reason. As both a reader and a writer I loved Russon's exploration of love in all its forms. Her writing is beautiful and she managed to pack so much into a relatively short book, without making the pacing too rushed. It also appealed to me that the book is set in Tasmania - a state I don't know nearly enough about!
* Cassie has cerebral palsy.
The first was Cassie by Barry Jonsberg. From Goodreads:
Holly hates her name, her looks and her life. She isn't in with the right crowd and she has little hope of dating the gorgeous Raph McDonald. With Cassie staying, she has to move out of her bedroom into the tiny, smelly spare room, and she feels her life couldn't be more unfair. So when Demi, the coolest girl in school, invites Holly on a make-over shopping spree, she jumps at the chance. Even Cass can see that Holly is stretching her wings. But will she fly or fall?
This was a really interesting book, both in its narrative and stylistically. There's a lot of talk about how there's not enough diversity in YA, and I think that includes characters with disabilities.* As a reader, I thought Jonsberg did an amazing job of communicating what it is like to be trapped in a body that won't obey your mind, and also in creating Cassie and Holly as well-rounded, believable characters. I also loved Holly's dry wit. As a writer, I was intrigued by Jonsberg's mix of first and third person narration, which I haven't come across before.
The second was Little Bird by Penni Russon. From Goodreads:
Ruby-lee is cynical about love; after all, she's watched her sister Shandra call off her wedding three times a week. But when Shandra volunteers her to babysit her friend's seven month old baby, Ruby-lee discovers just what love means. First she's overcome by powerful feelings for tiny Maisy, then she starts spending time with Maisy's dad, Spence. She even begins to imagine a future together, as a family. But where will Ruby-lee's fantasies lead? And what sort of trouble could they get her into? When it looks like Ruby-lee might lose everything, she has to discover what love truly is to find her own heart.
Little Bird came highly recommended, and for good reason. As both a reader and a writer I loved Russon's exploration of love in all its forms. Her writing is beautiful and she managed to pack so much into a relatively short book, without making the pacing too rushed. It also appealed to me that the book is set in Tasmania - a state I don't know nearly enough about!
* Cassie has cerebral palsy.
