catundra

Thanks to Foxtel we were able to record Children of Earth.  Around 9pm A suggested that we watch episode 1.  Around the end of episode 3 we decided we couldn't go to bed and leave things hanging as they were.  At about 2.30am we went to bed shattered.  As he said, that's what holidays are for. :)

...I found it hard to suppress a snigger when reading the West Weekend Magazine today.  Page 15 has an add for a brass band direct from the UK called..."The Black Dyke Band".  A bit of a misnomer superficially judging by the photo. :)

So, been pretty quiet on LJ hasn't it?  What is everyone up to?

Your results:
You are Deanna Troi

Deanna Troi 75% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 65% Uhura 55% Jean-Luc Picard 55% Chekov 50% Geordi LaForge 50% Beverly Crusher 40% Will Riker 35% Spock 34% Data 31% James T. Kirk (Captain) 30% Mr. Scott 30% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 25% Mr. Sulu 20% Worf 15%

You are a caring and loving individual. You understand people's emotions and you are able to comfort and counsel them.

I am growing to really like this program, tonight's episode kinda swung it for me with contestant beating the professional chef.  Pretty cool.  However I am conflicted because on the other hand I hate huge aspects of this show.  I hate the over handling of food, which is just gross and unhygenic but most of all I hate the waste of food.  Not just the stuff left on the plates after the tasting and judging but the pantry full of untouched veges left to rot and worse still the wasted meat and fish.  The other night there was a bowl of prawns, also a whole lot of duck another night...and the rest.   Does anyone else notice this?

I was looking up a Bronzino painting to show my father the other night and was reminded of one of my all time favourite artists Jacopo Bassano, a 16th century Italian artist during my quest.  I am not so fond of his paintings, they are pretty typical religious scenes on the whole and not that brilliantly executed comparatively speaking but I love his style.  Artists tend to have a signature by which their paintings can be identified and followers and members of their school tend to pick up on this too, making their influence obvious.  Usually it is a technique to depict flesh like Rubens, the use of colour like Constable or anatomy like Stubbs. 

In the case of Bassano it is this.  Bottoms.  Bassano was affectionately called "Butts Bassano" by my esteemed tutor at Sotheby's and for good reason.  Take a look at any of his works and you can see a full on bum or butt cheek facing you.  Human, horse, whatever, he wasn't fussy.  It was like he was taking a really badly laid out snapshot except of course he wasn't.  I sometimes wonder what kind of contemporary photographer he would have made.  Not a great one I bet.  Even better was that like all great artists his followers did exactly the same thing.  Nobody questioned his aesthetic judgement in showing so many rear views in a painting.  What a legacy.

So there you go, now you know how to spot a genuine Bassano painting or the work of one of his followers.  Just don't give away the trade secret when your audience is impressed. : )

I was just reading the latest Mother's day edition of the Big W catalogue and amongst suggestions for PJs, chocolates and soaps there was the CD selection.  One that stands out this year is the wonderfully named compilation "Housework Songs III".  Is that for the mother who has everything?  Or at least "Housework Songs" volumes 1 and 2.  The fact there have been 3 volumes of this collection is truly mind boggling.

This new book (reviewed in Saturday's West) is bound to satisfy every girl's love of Regency romance and paranormal bloodlust...

Just put on some lipgloss and read the name..."Black Raspberry".  Couldn't they have just been a little more efficient and called it "Blackberry"?

I have just finished reading "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" (don't worry, no plot spoilers for all of you planning to read it).  I am blown away by the fact this book has been published as a young adult novel let alone a young adult romance.  The only thing young adult about it in my mind (and not necessarily a good reason) is the fact the language is so simple (and the odd "big" words often get misused), which was good in this case as it meant it took me only a day to get through.  I will admit it was a page turner but not sure if it was for the right reasons or if I will be going back there...editormum  I might be with you on this one - the jury is out.

Now why didn't I spot this site  when I was young and single?  I particularly love the 10 gross generalisations about geeks as partners Top 10 reasons why geeks make the best catch.

Thanks vodkandlime  for the cute new icon. : )  Get on board team!

Someone called iahupahupa has friended me.  I recognise a name or 2 on their flist but beyond that am drawing a blank.  Anyone know this person or could they themselves enlighten me please?

So people, my question is, do I want an eBook reader?  What are your experiences, thoughts and are they too expensive to put on my birthday wishlist?  I thought they looked very cool but want to know the pros and cons from anyone who has used them or knows of people who do.  One thing I know for certain - I could not use one with a highly lit background - computer monitors are not my long term reading friend and while I know of some which have more "natural" backlighting, are they good devices? 

People who are involved, please check. 

http://2009.swancon.com.au/panels/children

The Children's stream and creche details have been updated and uploaded.  However there are a few errors I have already discussed with shrydar  and he will be fixing them very soon...Looking forward to seeing the finished product!  babalon_93  could you take a look at the guidelines too and see if they have been interpreted and modified as per our discussion?  A second opinion is always good, maybe give it a day to be ironed out though as I did spot at least one change I have suggested. : )

To assist those volunteering and those planning to use the children's facilities at Swancon this year, I have put together a few guidelines.  I have submitted them to be put into the con booklet by the committee in whatever form they see fit.  I just think that it is important that these things are said.  Sorry for any rubbish formatting here, it looked better in Word...  shrydar hope you are reading this and the comments in case there are comments worth noting for the final version. : )
I have just submitted the (hopefully) final version of the program to shrydar for the web and con booklet.  If you have volunteered - sarren logansrogue valeskah1 babalon_93 baby_elvis fred_mouse huckle hkneale splanky I am looking at you! Please check that all is ok as it is meant to go to print tomorrow...Wow, that gives me warm fuzzies just looking at that list of names, hope I didn't forget anyone.

Creche and Children’s stream guidelines

 

Creches

splanky  is organising the professional crèche.  All bookings must go through her.

Fan crèche is being run on a first come first served basis each hour it is in operation.  Max 5 children per adult.

Parent must “book” the child(ren) into the fan crèche and leave a contact number valid for the hour.  Each booking is valid only for the hourly slot and the child must be collected at the end of it.

Be nice to the person running the crèche at that time – they are volunteering their time to make your experience and your child’s experience at Swancon more pleasant.

There will be toys etc available to play with thanks to generous people, however please help respect their property as much as possible.

Hotel Room

The hotel room, other than Saturday when it houses the professional creche, is a quiet(er) space for parents and children (probably of the smaller variety)  to relax, chat and socialise with other parents and children. 

splanky  is generously providing a DVD player and some Wiggles DVDs for entertainment.  Please respect this property and any other DVDs other people may lend to the room.

Activities

There are a number of activities throughout Swancon in the children’s stream.  There is generally no strict age limit however, most are suitable for ages 3 and up unless otherwise specified.  It is best to ask the person running the activity.

A parent/guardian is expected to remain with their child(ren) for the duration of the activity – activities are not a crèche facility.

The person running the activity is expected to provide all the equipment they need for it.

Please be nice to the person running the activity – they are also volunteers.

shrydar has uploaded the Children's stream and creche details at http://2009.swancon.com.au/panels/children.  It has its own tab and everything. : )
Thanks to another offer today there may be changes/additions made to it over the next day or two, nothing radical but good nonetheless.  Keep an eye on it.

I look forward to seeing some friendly faces in the children's spaces and meeting some new ones during the con.

Now I just hope that as a gesture of goodwill the committee can stop programming any of my panels opposite the Awards ceremony! : )

I have sent black_samvara a copy of the what I hope to be the final draft of KiddieCon and Creche facilities to put up on the Swancon website.  Keep an eye out for it and hopefully a swancon post pointing everyone in the right direction...

Having to use the new version of Microsoft word on the computer.  I have never seen a more convoluted way of laying out a table in my life.  And it keeps highlighting or erasing things when I think I have told it to stop.  Grrr.