tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158519342024-03-07T15:39:00.497+10:00Galaxy'...what can one do, if the only straightforward task of every intelligent man is pointless chattering, the deliberate pouring out of emptiness.'
Dostoevsky, <i>Notes from Underground</i>Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.comBlogger325125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-69948632375780986042010-04-04T20:08:00.005+10:002010-04-04T21:42:42.451+10:00(30) Rock OnSo, after the first day of being sick, where I wasn't really able to focus my eyes on anything much beyond the inside of my eyelids, I decided to watch discs 2 and 3 of 30 Rock Season One that I had on loan from BigPond.Between erratic television scheduling and cracked discs, I've had a bit of difficulty watching 30 Rock in any kind of sustained way over its four seasons, and if that hasn't beenKirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-86268657188914330912010-04-01T22:08:00.003+10:002010-04-01T22:32:45.802+10:00A Portentous SorenessI woke up this morning with a portentous soreness in my left inner ear. I took myself off to work thinking that the sooner I got some cold and flu fighting ingredients into me the better I'd be.En route to change buses, I made a bee-line for a convenience store and bought something called breakfast juice that promised me 4 times the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C . Later I dropped into Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-83881390556861575292010-03-31T22:30:00.004+10:002010-04-01T22:01:05.980+10:00HelloHey. It's been a slow old start to this blog this year hasn't it? Although I'm not sure I can lay claim to starting anything quite yet...I've been meaning to drop in for a while, but yeah, things were a bit much at the end of last year and I really did take January and much of February to just get back on an even keel.Extra medication helped. Sitting my friend's cat while she's overseas has Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-80840365760162706002009-12-23T17:46:00.006+10:002009-12-23T18:41:33.260+10:00So This Is ChristmasIt's been a bit dreary on this blog lately I know, and I'm afraid things aren't going to improve any time soon as far as I can tell.I'm still not really having a good time with things. It's got to the point where my doctor has given me a medical certificate to present to Centrelink declaring that I am unfit for work for the next three months. She also advised me to take 3 weeks off Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-52024511346278707242009-12-14T10:47:00.000+10:002009-12-14T10:47:44.458+10:00An ObservationOften, when people are discussing the poverty of postgraduate students, special mention is always made of how particularly difficult it is for those with families to support.I don't want to deny this. Yes, it would be difficult, impossible, to support a family of even one child, with only a scholarship for income.But what maddens me about this often-repeated assertion is that it imposes a Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-53267905071744557142009-12-11T23:56:00.005+10:002009-12-12T00:38:40.359+10:00Dear Food DiaryI ate kangaroo three days in a row. The same meal in fact: kangaroo bolognese with zucchini. On the first night I served it with penne. On the second night I had it without pasta; just by itself with cheese. On the third day, I had it for lunch--to introduce some variety, you understand. This time I had no cheese with it. I had a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to accompany it instead.I Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-40169335756565286852009-12-09T22:43:00.006+10:002009-12-10T00:39:17.857+10:00Guinea PigToday I began filling in a food diary.It isn't the sort of diary that proponents of the CSIRO or the GI diets advocate, although that certainly wouldn't be a bad reason for me to keep one. (Yes, you must cast aside any vision you may have of me as a tall, glamorous, svelte being and replace it with a considerably more padded and homely type).No, I've started to keep a food diary because I'm Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-16474738165721286852009-11-24T09:13:00.004+10:002009-11-24T10:32:46.266+10:00WaitingA week or so ago in the mail I received a guide to the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art which begins at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane on the 5th of December. I received the guide as part of my Queensland Art Gallery membership, the benefits of which I don't use nearly as much as I would like.The guide was a 'Preview/Cinefile special edition' and while perusing its pages I Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-65386947376329069342009-11-21T14:47:00.004+10:002009-11-21T15:39:45.717+10:00Water Surveydogpossum just posed a question over on Twitter. Weeks running she's been watching her neighbour spend a long time hosing his balcony, watching the water run off and go nowhere.For anyone who's lived with Level 6 water restrictions such a blatant waste of water is shocking, especially when there are clear alternatives for cleaning one's balcony. Sweeping comes to mind. And maybe you could Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-1038368171096190442009-10-02T19:02:00.012+10:002009-10-02T20:58:02.399+10:00CoochiemudloA friend and her partner are in the process of buying a house on a small island just off the coast of Brisbane--Coochiemudlo.This sign explains the Indigenous origins of the Island's name. (Click to enlarge).Today, and last Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited along for a trip to the island, as R- anticipates her new home and small community lifestyle.It was an invitation I jumped at because Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-46135865456426402082009-08-22T13:45:00.013+10:002009-08-22T18:46:40.921+10:00High-Tea PrincessesThis time last week I was in the throes of preparing to cater for my niece's 7th birthday party. Last week, right about now, in fact, I was studying the shelves at Woolworth's Indooroopilly, hesitating between the standard packet of Dollar Sprinkles and the fairy-themed one. At that point I hadn't fully decided on how I was going to manage to decorate the requested princess cake. I knew I was Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-58859513447020993232009-08-18T10:01:00.004+10:002009-08-18T10:06:17.767+10:00Happy BirthdayIt's this blog's birthday in just over a week. I'll have been at this online caper for 4 years.Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-43124683599389592142009-08-15T20:28:00.006+10:002009-08-20T09:50:14.068+10:00Dreams and FairytalesLast night I had a conversation with my niece, H, for over two hours.I'd called her mother to discuss the last minute details of H's birthday party, which I'm hosting tomorrow, and she was impatient to talk to me, picking up the other extension and giggling cheekily over the line.F & I had to tell her to wait for a bit because we had secret surprises to plan.After we grown-ups had finished Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-20845722444265215672009-08-09T08:54:00.005+10:002009-08-09T15:30:20.684+10:00I Don't KnowWhat's philosophy for do you reckon?I'm asking this because it's about an hour and a half before I go off to my book group where we're reading Alain de Botton's The Consolations of Philosophy. And a little while ago, when I was looking for a link to information about the book for the 'Book Clubs' column in the margins of this blog, I came across its Wikipedia entry, which is little more than a Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-49102764585664428322009-08-08T09:41:00.005+10:002009-08-08T11:36:36.580+10:00Dear John HughesI'm still unable to update Twitter from the main web page. Apparently there's a problem for some Firefox users, so I guess I'm one of them. I could use the Safari browser I suppose, but I've decided I quite like the idea of being prompted by the tweets of people I follow on Twitter to reflect in more depth (or perhaps just at greater length) about life, the universe, and everything.The tweet Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-6773435711132249582009-08-07T18:32:00.006+10:002009-08-07T19:55:18.228+10:00On Not Being A-TwitterI woke up this morning and, as I usually do, I turned my computer on and made my way to the kitchen to brew my first coffee of the day. With the coffee pot sitting atop a flame, waiting to work its magic, I returned to the computer to open Firefox and then click on the bookmark I have for a direct connection to Twitter.I sat before my Twitter feed, clicking the "more" button at the bottom of the Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-47814365809160705202009-07-31T10:14:00.003+10:002009-07-31T10:21:19.172+10:00Mad WomanHere's a bit of fun enabled by teh internets and provided by the sartorial splendour that is Mad Men.This is me Mad Men style. I'd definitely be working at Sterling Cooper. I'd be friends with Peggy and I'd tell Don Draper to get his act together.Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-31013797781738550212009-07-15T16:35:00.003+10:002009-07-15T17:03:06.332+10:00Three True Things I Have Recently Read1. "Have you noticed how people talk about 'people', people do this, people do that,'without seeming to realise that they are a person too?" Emily Perkins, Novel About My Wife, p 2082. "Her disapproval about such things, about the lifeline I found for myself, hurts me. But it's her ignorance that's making me angry. ... 'How dare you judge me? You're just like everyone else, disapproving of the Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-50345098463115462042009-07-11T15:09:00.012+10:002009-07-11T16:48:37.311+10:00One Hour on Saturday AfternoonI was just catching up on last night's episode of Collectors when I was reminded, during a segment by Adrian Franklin on a glass exhibition in Tasmania, about a banner I had seen advertising another glass exhibition not far from me. As Franklin pointed out, there's a whole lot to love about glass as an art form, so I decided to take a bus trip up to Mount Coot-tha, which is where the exhibitionKirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-90370142397468412672009-07-06T20:21:00.003+10:002009-07-06T20:47:04.473+10:00FeedbackI'm just waiting for my mushroom soup to simmer for 15 mins before I put half of it in the blender at which point I'll be minutes away from tonight's dinner. Since I have to wait, I thought I'd take the opportunity to reflect a bit on the teaching results I got today. I don't want to spend too long on this, otherwise I will obsess until my head explodes, because that's how I am.I taught in two Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-21641325713272133612009-06-30T15:56:00.004+10:002009-06-30T17:05:12.729+10:00Dear Neglected BlogDear Neglected Blog,How are you? I wouldn't be surprised if you were upset with me. I can't believe it's nearly two months since I updated you. Of course, you know I have peeked in on you occasionally. I have two half-composed posts, one on Ally McBeal and the other on Michael Jackson. I hope to publish both of these sooner, rather than later.I would offer excuses, but I'm not fond of Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-37623456501472532202009-05-02T15:39:00.006+10:002009-05-03T09:26:03.146+10:00C'mon Let's Crawl...I have spoken here recently about the social media naysayers: those who believe that online social networks are a waste of time, or whose only response is to do no more than fall into the moral panic default mode that has accompanied the emergence of every new media form since the dawn of time. But my intention today is not to pay any more heed to those who can do little but search for Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-23606594910735726892009-04-18T09:30:00.006+10:002009-04-18T11:47:05.070+10:00You Can Have It ThaiWhat an odd dining experience friends and I had last night. We went to My Thai in the Brisbane suburb of Auchenflower. Just looking at their website, they're clearly a well-established restaurant and J suggested it because she'd been there before for work dinners and could recommend the food.Well, the food was excellent--that which they deigned to serve us anyway.J and I arrived earlier than ourKirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-32327056373700436292009-04-10T09:13:00.003+10:002009-04-10T13:55:46.522+10:00It's Good Friday MorningIt's Good Friday morning and I'm sitting back on a lounge chair with my laptop. I've had my morning coffee and instead of making a proper breakfast, which I might still do, I've eaten three chocolates from a box I bought myself at the supermarket this week. 50 cents from the sale of the chocolates will go to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.I've already checked Twitter and Facebook, both Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15851934.post-47533892370218089882009-03-15T21:06:00.004+10:002009-03-15T21:20:19.212+10:00Blue MoonIt must be a blue moon. I've just put a post up at Sarsaparilla--which has temporarily relocated-- about The Henry Mayer Memorial Lecture I attended last Friday.Kirstyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14035268080440921379noreply@blogger.com3