An alien in formalwear

Notes: Hand drawn and labelled map.

Shows location of Stringy bark forests and Scotchmans Creek.

Contents / Summary: Henderson Street -- Dalgety Street -- Broadwood Street* -- Logie Street -- Short Street -- Atkinson Street -- Drummond Street

* Later named Broadway.

Map data: Scale not given

Subjects: Auctions -- Victoria -- Oakleigh -- Maps; Real property -- Victoria -- Oakleigh -- Maps; Oakleigh (Vic.) -- Maps

Copyright status: This work is out of copyright

Terms of use: No copyright restrictions apply.

Series / Collection: Vale collection

Link to online item: handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/161768

Link to this record: search.slv.vic.gov.au/MAIN:Everything:SLV_VOYAGER2117731

The Boxtrolls: Dare to Be Square

A primary feature in the style of character design in “The Boxtrolls” is unrealistic proportions of the human form. They are heavily distorted into strange shapes, with torsos ranging from needle-thin to heavily rounded, heights from squat to medium to lanky, and face shapes and features as unique as the character itself. A common theme in the anatomy, however, is skinny, long arms on all characters, regardless of body type, with the exception of the character Winnie.

When it comes to the anatomy of the boxtrolls, they mirror certain traits of design in the humans, but not to the same extreme degree. Three of the main boxtroll characters, Fish, Oilcan, and Shoe, play on the spectrum of tall to short, portly to skinny. This spectrum is actually mirrored in the three henchmen of the antagonist, Snatcher. Both of these trios remind me of the hitchhiking ghosts from the Haunted Mansion attraction at the Disneyland resort. It is my belief that these spooky spectres are in fact the inspiration for these two sets of characters.

An element I specifically noticed again and again in the course of the film is hair. The hair, although mostly static – as is the nature of the beast in stop motion animation – is purposefully designed to reflect individual personality. Eggs, the protagonist, has unkempt dusty hair, reflective of his life underground and not concerned with appearance. Winnie has a more pristine style with a touch of dirt and disarray, hinting at her proper upbringing clashing with her rebellious “unladylike” disposition. Snatcher, meanwhile, has almost nauseatingly greasy unhealthy locks. Beneath his red hat are stringy, dull strands that complement his ashy face. He is written to be a slimy, greasy character, and his design reflects those traits.

Just as important to the film’s design are the settings and backdrops. Set in a town, precariously and preposterously clinging to an almost Burton-looking hill (in fact, Tim Burton’s style screams through every aspect of this film, from storyline to aesthetics), the entire setting is inherently slanted. I took note of the fact that in the entirety of the film, I saw almost NO right angles. Although straight lines would seem to be the foundation of a town full of roads and buildings, almost every last line in this film is crooked or curved to some extent. The cobblestones on the road and the tiles on the roofs are individualized, never uniform. Each window pane is just slightly askew. Lampposts are crooked, walls are always leaning, and no table leg is ever even with another. Yes, in a film seemingly revolved around boxes, even the boxes themselves are never a perfect prism.

Additionally, the attention to detail in regards to texture is mind boggling. The fabrics of the characters’ clothing are so realistic. Of course, seeing as how this is stop motion, chances are the fabrics were real. But in the sculpting of textures such as unfinished wood signs and of course the cardboard boxes critical to the film’s themes, the design technique is admirable.

There was a lovely contrast between the “upper” and “lower” realms of this world. Above ground, in the world of humans (and order and rules), sunlight and artificial lighting was plentiful. Yet the artists’ choice in color and lighting made the upper world, almost paradoxically, darker than the world below. In the underground lair of the boxtrolls, in a land of freedom and fun, the design reflects the light feeling of the boxtroll society. Bare lightbulbs, with each light representing a member of the community, unite to illuminate a world without sun, but certainly not without light. This luminosity is mirrored by the eyes of the boxtrolls. Unlike humans, the costarring species in this film have eyes that glow at night. At first this is viewed in a perspective of “monster” or “animal”. But as the film progresses, you realize it refers to the light nature within these misunderstood creatures. The tunnel structure of the underground contributes to the free-flowing attitude of the design. Compared with the attempted (and failed) rigidity of the upper world, the underground is a land of curves and flow and freedom.

When the characters and settings are combined, they create a world so well-lived-in that the film really takes on a dimension of reality in its own way. Almost everything (and everyone) in this universe is designed to look aged, weathered, or dirty. Eggs is always seen with soot and dirt smudging his face. The wardrobes of most of the characters are tattered or stained. Even in scenes that suggest higher class living, such as the gala in Lord Portly Rind’s residence, the whites of the linens are dingy, and the metal fixtures of the candelabras all boast a patina. The boxes, a major focal point of the film, are all lived-in… literally. They are slightly sagging, faded, and stained with dirt and moisture. Nothing in this film looks fresh or new, and this is a major contributor to the overall context of this movie.

Dried fruit found on ground at vacant house is becoming hard and light weight. Fibrous interior not fleshy but porous like a loofah in some ways. It began as a soft and pale green pod, which I cut open with a serrated knife. The interior was the same powdery brown as noticed above, and quite stringy and porous.

It has been likened to a fig, but is not drying soft and pliable as I imagine a fig dries. Instead it is becoming light weight and quite hard, almost like a dried ornamental botanical speciman.

I did not note a fig tree nearby, nor any other fruits on the ground or hanging from nearby trees and vines. Zone 8b Mobile Alabama

The chopped hangar steak was topped with a Bernaise sauce ice cream and sided with scallions, pickled Asian pear and a bitter Amaro liquer sauce. ($15).

Notes: This dish was terribly similar to one I had at the Avenues the month before: Click Here

As beautiful as this dish is, the choice of hangar steak was unsucessful. The cut of meat was just too tough and stringy to work well in tartare form. The Bernaise ice cream's creaminess was frustrated by the chewy meat. While the flavors where all there - especially the freshness of the meat - the textures just didn't meld like I'd hoped. I preferred the Avenues version, which spoiled me with silky Wagyu beef, Bernaise ice cream and a piquant, yet substantial horseradish beignet.

Point Lookout, Maryland, holds the distinction of being America's Most Haunted Lighthouse. It was the first to be investigated by a team of paranormal researchers in 1987, the Maryland Committee for Psychic Research. Among the denizens of this abandoned lighthouse are Ann Davis, the wife of the first keeper and herself a keeper for thirty after her husband died. She moans and sighs, and has been heard to say, "this is my home." Ann, who is most often seen in a long blue dress and white blouse, was found dead in the lantern room still on duty.

Another ghost said to reside there is the Joseph Haney, an officer on a ship that wrecked offshore in 1878, and whose body drifted onto the lighthouse rocks. Park rangers, who are responsible for keeping the vandals away, have reported seeing his apparition, still in blue and white uniform, with brass buttons, standing near the lighthouse door with his hair stringy and wet, as if he'd just come out of the sea. He appears before every major storm.

Numerous other ghosts live in the lighthouse. One park ranger reported several apparitions passing through as he sat in the kitchen, the air moving, vibrations on the floor, and their clothes rustling as they calmly floated by, never to be seen again. Foul odors in the upstairs rooms have been reported. One state employee who was living in the lighthouse, once woke to a circle of lights dancing in the air above her. She smelled smoke, ran downstairs and found a heater on fire.

Point Lookout was the site of a hospital and prison camp during the Civil War, and over 4,000 graves have been found near and under the lighthouse. The moans and cries of the long ago prisoners and patients are heard by passing ships, and their specters have been seen, still in uniform.

I was not getting my hopes up when harvesting some large Kohl Rabi Green Vienna as they can go stringy inside, but these were perfect for eating raw or steamed. Beetroot Armenian, good colour and a slightly elongated shape, all from the Heritage Seed Library.

I brought Jack to the Normanskill with Dezzy because he loves to swim. Unfortunately, he's also super disobedient when he finds better things to focus on (other dogs). Half the time I was yelling at him and reeling him in. He also managed to find the only dead decaying slimy thing on the shore and proceeded to suck it down inch by inch while I choked him up and correct the hell out of him and yell "Drop it!" ...until I finally had to take my bare hand and pull the dead decaying rotting corpse of whatever animal it used to be out of his throat. I think it was the remnant of a squirrel, the stringy spaghetti washed up remnants of a squirrel.

Thanks for always being true to your character, Jack. Always the dick.

On another note: My computer died last week, so I was unable to upload/process my photos in time for the week 18 submission. *sigh* I feel like such a failure in this project. I also have a lot of difficulty squeezing in photos of Jack because he isn't my primary companion on outings. He's a housedog, he doesn't go out to public places because of his anxieties. He's also a big fat jerk of a dominant terrier, so he isn't reliable off-leash and has the worst case of selective hearing I have ever encountered in a dog. Can I change my commitment for this project from just one dog to two? If I can use Dezzy when I can't get Jack out for photos it would make my life a lot easier. I feel like I should have gone with my gut and used Dezzy for this project instead of Jack. :(

These images have been copied from 1934 book "The construction of modern shipping accommodation at Port Adelaide" by H C Meyer which details the step by step reconstruction of Mclaren Wharf. The book has been created from a paper read before the Adelaide Division of the Institution of Engineers (Aust) on 22nd June, 1934.

Local stringy bark and blackbutt timber from NSW are fitted with cast iron shoes and used to reinforce the Cofferdam Outer Wall.

boy dressed in 50's costume, eating grilled cheese and shake at a local diner

The Boxtrolls: Dare to Be Square

A primary feature in the style of character design in “The Boxtrolls” is unrealistic proportions of the human form. They are heavily distorted into strange shapes, with torsos ranging from needle-thin to heavily rounded, heights from squat to medium to lanky, and face shapes and features as unique as the character itself. A common theme in the anatomy, however, is skinny, long arms on all characters, regardless of body type, with the exception of the character Winnie.

When it comes to the anatomy of the boxtrolls, they mirror certain traits of design in the humans, but not to the same extreme degree. Three of the main boxtroll characters, Fish, Oilcan, and Shoe, play on the spectrum of tall to short, portly to skinny. This spectrum is actually mirrored in the three henchmen of the antagonist, Snatcher. Both of these trios remind me of the hitchhiking ghosts from the Haunted Mansion attraction at the Disneyland resort. It is my belief that these spooky spectres are in fact the inspiration for these two sets of characters.

An element I specifically noticed again and again in the course of the film is hair. The hair, although mostly static – as is the nature of the beast in stop motion animation – is purposefully designed to reflect individual personality. Eggs, the protagonist, has unkempt dusty hair, reflective of his life underground and not concerned with appearance. Winnie has a more pristine style with a touch of dirt and disarray, hinting at her proper upbringing clashing with her rebellious “unladylike” disposition. Snatcher, meanwhile, has almost nauseatingly greasy unhealthy locks. Beneath his red hat are stringy, dull strands that complement his ashy face. He is written to be a slimy, greasy character, and his design reflects those traits.

Just as important to the film’s design are the settings and backdrops. Set in a town, precariously and preposterously clinging to an almost Burton-looking hill (in fact, Tim Burton’s style screams through every aspect of this film, from storyline to aesthetics), the entire setting is inherently slanted. I took note of the fact that in the entirety of the film, I saw almost NO right angles. Although straight lines would seem to be the foundation of a town full of roads and buildings, almost every last line in this film is crooked or curved to some extent. The cobblestones on the road and the tiles on the roofs are individualized, never uniform. Each window pane is just slightly askew. Lampposts are crooked, walls are always leaning, and no table leg is ever even with another. Yes, in a film seemingly revolved around boxes, even the boxes themselves are never a perfect prism.

Additionally, the attention to detail in regards to texture is mind boggling. The fabrics of the characters’ clothing are so realistic. Of course, seeing as how this is stop motion, chances are the fabrics were real. But in the sculpting of textures such as unfinished wood signs and of course the cardboard boxes critical to the film’s themes, the design technique is admirable.

There was a lovely contrast between the “upper” and “lower” realms of this world. Above ground, in the world of humans (and order and rules), sunlight and artificial lighting was plentiful. Yet the artists’ choice in color and lighting made the upper world, almost paradoxically, darker than the world below. In the underground lair of the boxtrolls, in a land of freedom and fun, the design reflects the light feeling of the boxtroll society. Bare lightbulbs, with each light representing a member of the community, unite to illuminate a world without sun, but certainly not without light. This luminosity is mirrored by the eyes of the boxtrolls. Unlike humans, the costarring species in this film have eyes that glow at night. At first this is viewed in a perspective of “monster” or “animal”. But as the film progresses, you realize it refers to the light nature within these misunderstood creatures. The tunnel structure of the underground contributes to the free-flowing attitude of the design. Compared with the attempted (and failed) rigidity of the upper world, the underground is a land of curves and flow and freedom.

When the characters and settings are combined, they create a world so well-lived-in that the film really takes on a dimension of reality in its own way. Almost everything (and everyone) in this universe is designed to look aged, weathered, or dirty. Eggs is always seen with soot and dirt smudging his face. The wardrobes of most of the characters are tattered or stained. Even in scenes that suggest higher class living, such as the gala in Lord Portly Rind’s residence, the whites of the linens are dingy, and the metal fixtures of the candelabras all boast a patina. The boxes, a major focal point of the film, are all lived-in… literally. They are slightly sagging, faded, and stained with dirt and moisture. Nothing in this film looks fresh or new, and this is a major contributor to the overall context of this movie.

Victorian Alpine Huts survey, for Parks Victoria 1994-5.

The hut was reputedly built c1917 by members of the McNamara family on GB48 which was leased by the family until recently{ MP: 70, Stephenson: 333; Boadle (1983): 39}. Cabena lists the McNamara's grazing holdings as follows: Albert Edward (Bogong High Plains `R', 1902-8, and Cobungra SA50, 1902-14); Daniel (C22 1908-20 and C29, 1908); Patrick (C21, 1918-59 and Cobungra SA51, 1902-55); Thomas (Bogong High Plains `A', 1887-1908, C6 1908-10, Cobungra SA46, 1902-14); and T J (or Tommy) (C21, 1933-46 and C22, 1920-43){ Cabena: 164}. Roy Weston described the hut in the early 1930s as having a timber floor and sides, iron roof and double bunks at one end with the chimney at the other. The door was on the side and the plan measured 15x12'. The hut was located 7 miles from Young's Hut and was at 4900'{ Stephenson (1982): 288}. Cleve Cole also recorded this hut in the 1930s as measuring 15'x12' (4.5x3.7m, see below) with double shelf bunks at one end and fireplace at the other. Tor Holth illustrated the hut extensively in his 1980 book and devoted many pages to the family history, noting that TJ and Jack (a fine horseman) were the sons of Thomas & Anne McNamara also Pat and Ned (Edward?) were the sons of Michael McNamara{ Holth: 173-}. Another son, Charles, married Matilda Abraham and their family included (another) Jack, George and Charlie{ Holth: 173-.}. Charlie worked for his cousins Jack & TJ (Thomas) in the 1950s until their death meant he worked the cattle with other helpers such as Ian Gibson, choosing the Dinner Plain and this hut as his base{ Holth: 173-; Carroll}. Charlie described the hut: `She's a rough old hut but by God we have sheltered some rough nights in her. Built in 1917. Stan Johns architect and builder. Me uncle Mick (Michael) was here, Jack and TJ McNamara. Cut the snow gum logs over here and carted them on an old horse called Trip..It was rough built. They had to split things to put in between the logs and then they got sphagnum moss to put wet between the logs and it dries out- great stuff for pokin' up huts- one of the great things for pokin' up huts is wet newspaper - when it dries it's like cement.' `The chimney used to be right here.. Was made out of chock and logs like the hut is, built up with stones. For years all they had was a bag hung up (as a door), no windows. Old Jack sat just here and there's a chock sticken' out there and where he sat with his head against it he had it worn as shiny as buggery… (for the bark roof) If you strip off a standin' tree you cut it all around the bottom and you get hold of a forky stick with a knot in him so you can put your foot on that and you lean your fork against the tree to hold you up- you don't have ladders -you put your foot on the knob and hang on to [the tree] and chop it around up so high with your axe. Then you mark it down the side of the tree, zig zag a bit, open it up. Then you have the limb of a tree shaped like a boomerang with a curve and flattened on one side and you keep putting that around the tree, or you can have a couple of them, one at the top and one at the bottom, and that keeps pushin' the bark out. Of course he'll fold up again if its a good tree- stringy bark, that's the stuff to strip -- then you want to have a good lot of bark and leaves for a fire and you put [the strip] on like a funnel and put the fire up through him until it's charred and that sort of tempers it. It'll dry out and smoke it and make it tough as hell. Then when you spread it out she won't crack. Then you put it down and put some weights on it, stones or logs, and leave it and she'll flatten out. `If you get hold of a tree when the sap's up you can knock it off. It's up in the summer time when there's plenty of rain but then it gets dry and you might be only able to strip the tree on the south side where the sun don't get it{ ibid.}.' `When the bark was dry the pieces were laid on the rafters of the roof, slightly overlapping. A strip was placed along the apex of the ridge and another strip or little pieces like tiles laid along the top like a capping. Some cattlemen tacked the bark down and others wired heavy poles together and hung them horizontally from the ridge pole so that they rested on the bark some at the top, some halfway down and some at the bottom of the roof. Still others would hook logs with a fork at the top onto the ridge pole so that they hung down vertically onto the bark. Other logs could be laid across them horizontally, secured in forks or wired. Holes were sometimes bored through the bark so that it could be held to the rafters with pegs or greenhide'{ ibid. Holth's observations}. `"Bark makes a very good warm roof", said Charlie Rundell. Most cattlemen used bark from woollybutt trees as that was readily available but, said Sid Ryder, 'It isn't good bark as it didn't last very long', about ten years." `The bark roof on the McNamaras' Dinner Plain hut was eventually replaced with iron by Charlie and his son. `My son Peter and I extended [the hut]. That iron on the roof and on this chimney come from the power house at Cobungra that was built there at the time that they were generatin' electricity for the Cassilis mine. We packed that iron out to Young's hut and put the roof on it and when the old hut fell down we packed it back into Dinner Plain and put it on there. The malthoid linin' -- we put that on in 1951 -- bloody oath it made it warmer.' `No floor until one time it rained for three or four days and it got that boggy we stripped bark off the trees at the back of the hut to put on the floor so you could walk around. [Later] we packed the boards [for the floor] across from Horsehair. The door is out of the bedroom at Young's hut.' `The second McNamara hut is located on Buckety Plain(q.v.). Charlie never used it but he knew that 'it was a little log hut with a paling roof, dirt floor. `Me brother built that and me uncle Mick and Bill Toland; I s'pose in the 1940s.' `In the 1970s the hut was enlarged and renovated by a scout group. Charlie's supply of information appeared to be limitless: "These McNamaras were great friends with the [Ned] Kellys 'cause they come from over at Wangaratta. Hinnomungie Station had all the watersheds of the Livingstone: -- that's the divide that runs down to the Big River. Ned Kelly worked on this dead-wood fence they put along there. That's the time there was a lull in them and [the police] didn't know where they were." In the early 1980s McNamara's hut was still termed a cattleman's hut, judged in fair condition, and used and maintained by cattlemen (C McNamara) and some walkers. It had nearby yards for horses{ National Parks Service, `Bogong National Park Proposed Interim Management Plan' (NPS, 1983): 47}. The main section was of logs with sheet iron additions to the west (store) and east{ Boadle (1983): 39}. There was corrugated iron on the roof held down by logs and rocks. Inside the roof is timber lined in part and with tar paper near the bunks{ ibid.}. The floor was timber slabs, set on a snow gum frame, but was in patchy condition. There was an old meat safe, cupboards and other fittings but the bunk bedding was old and the hut was described generally as in a dirty condition. The main hut measured 5.15 x 3 x 1.8m wall height, with two bunks at the west end and the fireplace at the east. The added store measured 2 x 3m{ Boadle (1983): 40A plan} The hut was set in snow gum woodland and the edge of snow grass plains. There was a small horse yard near the hut with larger yards 1K to the east which were built for brumby running by the Omeo Rodeo Club{ ibid.}. Recent lessees were Maguire and Kelly{ DCNR, 1995}.

Finished up shoveling and blowing the driveway and noticed a cool looking, wind-blown snow peak. Photographed and adjusted in PhotoShop.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, ACT

Not often seen at the Reserve so always fun to watch when they're feeding amongst the stringy bark

The grilled asparagus at Chego! has been their veggie of choice, I think, since they opened their new place in Chinatown. That's going to change soon, so I thought it best to get some while I could. The asparagus is topped with Roy Choi's excellent blueberry habanero salsa, lots of garlic, along with chilies, Parmesan, and some lemon.

For me this has unfortunately been the biggest miss so far in my visits to Chego! Mainly because the asparagus was overdone. It was impossible to bite through anything but the tips without having to gnaw through the blackened, stringy spears. The flavors were all there, and the dish itself would be a winner, except for the above-mentioned issue with the asparagus itself. The hot/sweet salsa, the abundance of roasted garlic slices, all the crunchy peppers and fried bits were all good. So, far from a failure, it would have been so much better had the asparagus not been overdone. Charred asparagus, about $6.

Emu Bottom Homestead is a historic homestead near Sunbury, in Victoria. Built around 1836, Emu Bottom is the oldest existing farmhouse constructed by settlers in Victoria. It was so named because it was on low lying ground which was the haunt of numerous emus. The main homestead and some of its outlying buildings were constructed from local stone, dry coursed with creek mud and stringy bark.

Emu Bottom is also a rare example of early Australian colonial architecture, with its twelve paned deeply recessed windows recalling the old world, whilst the homestead was also intelligently adapted to the new harsh Australian environment with its wide verandas and easterly aspect.

The building of Emu Bottom homestead commenced circa 1836. George Evans (1785 – 1876), who had arrived on the Schooner Enterprise from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1835, settled near modern day Sunbury. Emu Bottom, later called Emu Vale, was occupied by George Evans, by squatting license, as one of many large squatting runs on Crown Land. In 1843, George Evans, then aged fifty-eight, married eighteen year old Anne Holden. Six children were born from the union and grew up at the homestead. After 1851, many squatting runs, including Emu Bottom, became available for outright purchase. To George Evans' dismay, “his” run was purchased by the immensely wealthy pastoralist W. J. T. Clarke. The homestead block of 640 acres stayed with George Evans, but this was hardly viable. In about 1860, George Evans leased the property and moved to operate the Royal Oak Hotel in Queen Street in central Melbourne. He died in Melbourne in 1876, but his family eventually returned to Emu Bottom. In 1916 the last of Evans’ son’s died and the property passed through several owners, being renamed “Holly Green.”

In 1968, the property was purchased by the current owners, and Holly Green was completely restored and was given back its original - if perhaps less poetic - name. During restoration, several discoveries were made including the original kitchen fireplace and oven, as well as some artifacts. Today the homestead and surrounds are managed as a reception centre.

Project 365

Tuesday • February 16 , 2010

I was tagged by my buddy Matt to do a self portrait "As I Am Right Now!" Like within 5 minutes of reading the tag! I don't really care to do self portraits but I grabbed the camera (just before I headed off to the gym). This is pretty much SOOC (levels adjustment and a crop). It looks odd across the bottom because the mirror has a large bevel; and my hair is stringy! Hence the hat! Knew I had to hit the grocery store after the gym!

I wasn't going to post this but didn't have anything else for yesterday so here it is! Thanks Matt! So I am supposed to tag five more people! So I did but you do NOT have to do this! And if you already did, disregard!

The Boxtrolls: Dare to Be Square

A primary feature in the style of character design in “The Boxtrolls” is unrealistic proportions of the human form. They are heavily distorted into strange shapes, with torsos ranging from needle-thin to heavily rounded, heights from squat to medium to lanky, and face shapes and features as unique as the character itself. A common theme in the anatomy, however, is skinny, long arms on all characters, regardless of body type, with the exception of the character Winnie.

When it comes to the anatomy of the boxtrolls, they mirror certain traits of design in the humans, but not to the same extreme degree. Three of the main boxtroll characters, Fish, Oilcan, and Shoe, play on the spectrum of tall to short, portly to skinny. This spectrum is actually mirrored in the three henchmen of the antagonist, Snatcher. Both of these trios remind me of the hitchhiking ghosts from the Haunted Mansion attraction at the Disneyland resort. It is my belief that these spooky spectres are in fact the inspiration for these two sets of characters.

An element I specifically noticed again and again in the course of the film is hair. The hair, although mostly static – as is the nature of the beast in stop motion animation – is purposefully designed to reflect individual personality. Eggs, the protagonist, has unkempt dusty hair, reflective of his life underground and not concerned with appearance. Winnie has a more pristine style with a touch of dirt and disarray, hinting at her proper upbringing clashing with her rebellious “unladylike” disposition. Snatcher, meanwhile, has almost nauseatingly greasy unhealthy locks. Beneath his red hat are stringy, dull strands that complement his ashy face. He is written to be a slimy, greasy character, and his design reflects those traits.

Just as important to the film’s design are the settings and backdrops. Set in a town, precariously and preposterously clinging to an almost Burton-looking hill (in fact, Tim Burton’s style screams through every aspect of this film, from storyline to aesthetics), the entire setting is inherently slanted. I took note of the fact that in the entirety of the film, I saw almost NO right angles. Although straight lines would seem to be the foundation of a town full of roads and buildings, almost every last line in this film is crooked or curved to some extent. The cobblestones on the road and the tiles on the roofs are individualized, never uniform. Each window pane is just slightly askew. Lampposts are crooked, walls are always leaning, and no table leg is ever even with another. Yes, in a film seemingly revolved around boxes, even the boxes themselves are never a perfect prism.

Additionally, the attention to detail in regards to texture is mind boggling. The fabrics of the characters’ clothing are so realistic. Of course, seeing as how this is stop motion, chances are the fabrics were real. But in the sculpting of textures such as unfinished wood signs and of course the cardboard boxes critical to the film’s themes, the design technique is admirable.

There was a lovely contrast between the “upper” and “lower” realms of this world. Above ground, in the world of humans (and order and rules), sunlight and artificial lighting was plentiful. Yet the artists’ choice in color and lighting made the upper world, almost paradoxically, darker than the world below. In the underground lair of the boxtrolls, in a land of freedom and fun, the design reflects the light feeling of the boxtroll society. Bare lightbulbs, with each light representing a member of the community, unite to illuminate a world without sun, but certainly not without light. This luminosity is mirrored by the eyes of the boxtrolls. Unlike humans, the costarring species in this film have eyes that glow at night. At first this is viewed in a perspective of “monster” or “animal”. But as the film progresses, you realize it refers to the light nature within these misunderstood creatures. The tunnel structure of the underground contributes to the free-flowing attitude of the design. Compared with the attempted (and failed) rigidity of the upper world, the underground is a land of curves and flow and freedom.

When the characters and settings are combined, they create a world so well-lived-in that the film really takes on a dimension of reality in its own way. Almost everything (and everyone) in this universe is designed to look aged, weathered, or dirty. Eggs is always seen with soot and dirt smudging his face. The wardrobes of most of the characters are tattered or stained. Even in scenes that suggest higher class living, such as the gala in Lord Portly Rind’s residence, the whites of the linens are dingy, and the metal fixtures of the candelabras all boast a patina. The boxes, a major focal point of the film, are all lived-in… literally. They are slightly sagging, faded, and stained with dirt and moisture. Nothing in this film looks fresh or new, and this is a major contributor to the overall context of this movie.

Hakka Style Cooked Belly Pork with Dry Egg noddles 客家炸肉捞面

Malaysia Hawker type dry egg noodle with belly pork

A very typical Hakka dish with cubes of deep fried pork belly, stewed in dark soy sauce and black wood-ear fungus. Unfortunately, the pork belly had been deep fried for too long, resulting in a dry, stringy flesh that not even stewing could amend.

---

The third and largest outlet of the growing Petaling Street empire. Packed on a public holiday Monday, but unlike the Glen Waverley branch, there wasn't a queue at the door.

茨廠街 Petaling Street Box Hill

(03) 9890 0972

600 Station St

Box Hill VIC 3128

also in Glen Waverley and Hawthorn

South door.

. Unbuttressed, late w tower with pyramid roof. But the nave is Norman and has in its s doorway and chancel arch two of the very best and most characteristic pieces of the Herefordshire school of carvers. Both pieces are clearly the work of one man. His obsession was birds, especially cocks. Cocks are e.g. on the capitals of the one order of shafts of the S doorway. The abacus has intertwined trails. In the arch a thick roll moulding and a band of rosettes. But the tympanum is what really matters, a tympanum that helps much to reconstruct the all but lost one of Shobdon, of which Rowlstone is to all intents and purposes a copy. It represents Christ in Glory. The legs are placed in the typically Romanesque way, with knees wide apart and feet together. The folds have the tense, stringy parallel curves of the Herefordshire school. The figure is in a halo, not almond-shaped as usual, but with top and bottom rounded. Four angels hold the halo, and all four are represented flying head downwards. This allows the carver again to display his curved parallels. The composition is highly accomplished. What is against nature is in accordance with stylistic principles. In the capitals of the chancel arch there are again birds. The capitals it are of one piece with the outer adjoining panel of two small figures on each side. On the 1. (N) they are an angel and a bishop, on the r. it is not so easy to recognize them, as they stand upside down. That does not seem quite so accomplished, and the most baffling fact is that the whole stone was not rejected. Such indulgence is attractive; it is instructive too. Many birds once more in the abaci. In the doorway arch a thick roll and an outer band of saltire crosses. Norman windows in nave and chancel.

(Pevsner: The Buildings of England, Herefordshire)

Tuesday morning sunshine was streaming through the skylight portion of the bowed roof on the Jacobson Exhibition Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Melting snow slid off the massive building’s edges in big chunks as a fleet of school buses began arriving from all corners of the district to deliver an elite force of middle school musicians.

They came to rehearse for last night’s All-City Middle School Music Festival. Besides the musicians a gallery of visual art was arranged for display in the building lobby. The annual fine arts event is a generous gift to DMPS from former school board member Marjorie Spevak that she just keeps on giving. You’ve probably heard the term student-athletes? Mrs. Spevak makes a regular point of honoring student-artists.

The musicians were divvied into a choir, a band and an orchestra and assigned separate practice spaces.

The band settled in at the Jacobson Center and after a rowdy arrival that was a mix of middle school hijinks and random, brassy tooting everyone got down to business under the direction of Richard Thimmesch, Director of Bands at Grandview University. Same thing next door with the singers where Stephen Sieck, Co-Director of Choirs at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, blended a strong, choral voice out of the 168 squeaky, changing ones that got off the bus sounding more like the moo-sic that’s heard in that 4H building every August. Meanwhile, Joshua Reznicow, Director of Orchestral Activities for the Linn-Mar Community School District, was working his magic with the stringy warm-up bleats coming from the Walnut Center, up near the sheep barns.

All told, nearly 400 kids from eleven schools were selected by their music teachers to participate. They’d all been practicing the program selections at their home schools since the 2nd semester began in January so they came well-prepared. But until yesterday many of them had never met one another, let alone played together. As they tumbled off the buses, most no bigger than a cello, clad in hoodies and tennis shoes and lugging their instruments and a change of clothes, the cavernous venue looked too big for them. Each school’s delegation arrived and improvised campsite in a corner where backpacks and other gear were stowed.

By the time they broke for dinner each of the three ensembles was ready. They ate and horsed around. Then they changed into their blacks-and-whites. And finally, after weeks of separate practice, school-by-school; and one long crash, mass rehearsal, they made music together – enough to fill that big barn of a recital hall and then some.

Ryan Rowley is the district’s Fine Arts Coordinator; the DMPS Music Man, you could say. And he orchestrated quite a show last night, as per tradition. There weren’t seventy-six trombones (only seven) or a parade. But there were rows and rows of virtuosos and horns of every shape and size, etc. Yes folks, we got music, lots of it, right here in River City. Thanks to Spevak. That starts with ‘S’ and that stands for SCHOOLS!

Outside on the Jacobson Center entrance plaza is a sign that proclaims BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE. It wasn’t put there with this specific event in mind. But it might as well have been.

Went to Clumber Park to shoot Lime Tree Avenue and almost quite literally stumbled across this superb fly agaric when I was on my way back to my car. I cleared away some distracting pieces of stringy grass from around the base of the toadstoool and rested my camera on my rucksack to avoid camera shake in the low light. I also used my maglite torch to paint in the darker areas of the subject. The great thing about the maglite is that it is subtle, yet gives a natural, warmish glow and it is also much easier to control than flash (in my opinion). I have to say that this is the best example of a fly agaric that I've come across because the ones I usually see are either half eaten or half dead.

Tuesday morning sunshine was streaming through the skylight portion of the bowed roof on the Jacobson Exhibition Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Melting snow slid off the massive building’s edges in big chunks as a fleet of school buses began arriving from all corners of the district to deliver an elite force of middle school musicians.

They came to rehearse for last night’s All-City Middle School Music Festival. Besides the musicians a gallery of visual art was arranged for display in the building lobby. The annual fine arts event is a generous gift to DMPS from former school board member Marjorie Spevak that she just keeps on giving. You’ve probably heard the term student-athletes? Mrs. Spevak makes a regular point of honoring student-artists.

The musicians were divvied into a choir, a band and an orchestra and assigned separate practice spaces.

The band settled in at the Jacobson Center and after a rowdy arrival that was a mix of middle school hijinks and random, brassy tooting everyone got down to business under the direction of Richard Thimmesch, Director of Bands at Grandview University. Same thing next door with the singers where Stephen Sieck, Co-Director of Choirs at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, blended a strong, choral voice out of the 168 squeaky, changing ones that got off the bus sounding more like the moo-sic that’s heard in that 4H building every August. Meanwhile, Joshua Reznicow, Director of Orchestral Activities for the Linn-Mar Community School District, was working his magic with the stringy warm-up bleats coming from the Walnut Center, up near the sheep barns.

All told, nearly 400 kids from eleven schools were selected by their music teachers to participate. They’d all been practicing the program selections at their home schools since the 2nd semester began in January so they came well-prepared. But until yesterday many of them had never met one another, let alone played together. As they tumbled off the buses, most no bigger than a cello, clad in hoodies and tennis shoes and lugging their instruments and a change of clothes, the cavernous venue looked too big for them. Each school’s delegation arrived and improvised campsite in a corner where backpacks and other gear were stowed.

By the time they broke for dinner each of the three ensembles was ready. They ate and horsed around. Then they changed into their blacks-and-whites. And finally, after weeks of separate practice, school-by-school; and one long crash, mass rehearsal, they made music together – enough to fill that big barn of a recital hall and then some.

Ryan Rowley is the district’s Fine Arts Coordinator; the DMPS Music Man, you could say. And he orchestrated quite a show last night, as per tradition. There weren’t seventy-six trombones (only seven) or a parade. But there were rows and rows of virtuosos and horns of every shape and size, etc. Yes folks, we got music, lots of it, right here in River City. Thanks to Spevak. That starts with ‘S’ and that stands for SCHOOLS!

Outside on the Jacobson Center entrance plaza is a sign that proclaims BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE. It wasn’t put there with this specific event in mind. But it might as well have been.

Marcella is the right place to start this project. In many ways, she represents the pinnacle of what I hoped to accomplish—in artistic technique and impact of expression. She says what I mean to say.

She is also a product of my growing awareness of copyright issues and comes from the “no known copyright” pool at the Library of Congress. Marcella Hart worked as a “wiper,” a train washer in 1943 at the railroad in Clinton, Iowa,

www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/2178451247/

There are many interesting things about the photo. It was taken by Jack Delano, who was a photographer funded by the government in 1943 to travel across America and get photographs and stories in aid of the war effort. The Farm Security Administration (FSA) Office of War Information Collection in 1943. Many of these photos are famous. Many got used in national publications like Life Magazine (propaganda) promoting the health, ingenuity, and steadfastness of Americans all over the country.

Delano was one of a handful who shot beautiful black and white and some color photos of people all over America—all of which is now copyright free. It was a goldmine for me after years of learning how to paint using other people’s photos. With collections like Library of Congress, I could paint without fear of stepping on anyone’s toes or having to ask permission or give a percentage of sales to if there is a sale or a show (just ethically)—hooray! So, I’ve painted a lot of these. And my favorite is Marcella.

When I paint someone’s face, I spend a lot of time looking at it. The expression is in the details: the tiny wrinkle above her eye tells me she’s not used to smiling or anyone looking at her, she’s self-conscious of how dirty she is, which she didn’t notice until now. She wonders if this photograph request is proper and she should at least be able to wash her hands. And yet she’s proud. She grips her oil can with a sense of ownership; her shoulders are square and down. Her lipstick is even. And she’s smart. She takes this opportunity to pose her question to the world. It’s all in her eyes plain as day. She’s saying: When will you end this war?

1943. Her husband is away at war. Later, he’ll return from war, after which they’ll separate. But right now, she has three small children at home, and she and other women like her have taken over the men’s jobs. “An engine wiper’s primary job was to ‘wipe down’ the locomotive. Coal-burning locomotives were obviously dirty, and the soot settled on the boiler jacketing and cab roof. A wiper used cotton waste (basically stringy offal from textile production) dipped in a light oil to remove the soot. She also swept cinders off the running boards (the walkways alongside the boiler) and the tender deck, and cleaned the running gear motion.” (source: www.shorpy.com/node/155?size=preview). It was a filthy, nasty job. She’s thinking she wasn’t meant for this. She hates the war. Give us our men back, she says. Shame on you, she beams at the camera.

As far as painting her, I used watercolor, ink and gouache on paper. She’s 18x24, which is the size of most ladies. I used black ink in this case to get the shadows between the train wheel spokes dark enough—I don’t usually use black in a painting, so I think this allowed me to deepen the values in Marcella’s face. My version is different than the photo. For one thing, I flipped it horizontally. Aesthetically, I liked the direction of the spokes in the other direction. I also cropped the photo quite a bit—though I dearly loved the oil can. I wanted to emphasize her expression, and any pose with the oil can left her too far away to accomplish my goal—that expression.

This is also a chance to use some new paint that mom gave me. I wanted to show her how the violet gray gouache was a good face paint. Purple gray lavender is a good cool color to use on edges if you want to set that edge back—like a chin or under the tip of the nose, or the edge of her face—especially to reflect the cool iron of the train. It’s all an optical illusion anyway, seeing is. An artist has to learn how the eye sees and to mimic how reality accomplishes the same thing. I mean, if an artist wants to understand why these “tricks” work to create depth, suggest the crazy curves and poky bits that make up a face.

So this is my project. I plan to choose paintings at random after this, paintings with stories and histories and the relationships I’ve forged with their subjects. I can come up with 365 ladies no problem—a year of ladies I painted in the span of about 3 years….

Some, like Marcella, I’m proud of. In fact, she was one of the last ladies I painted…. and some, well, they suck. But in beautiful ways.

Friday, March 27, 2009. 12:15pm

We will be Your hands we will be Your feet

We will run this race for the least of these

In the darkest place we will be Your light

We will be Your light

We sing

-Joel Houston

So now I have realized that I have some rather sickly looking feet. =D It's so gross! ack! Oh and yea those are chocolate flavored cereal pieces..yum! So yea the inspiration for this picture came from the song "solution" by Hillsong United. Hey it's a great song and Joel Houston does it OH, so well. The Lyrics are rather meaningful as well which is totally awesome.

OK, so I just got up from a rather newsey video shoot and am rather happy that it went well plus I got to play multiple characters which was rather weird but fun and hopefully funny. ;) indoor football is fun as well except for when it hits the spotlights. OUCH! yea my kicks are getting better..heh So I just got off the phone with a job interview with the Bank and I am like freaking out cause I might actually get this job! Ha! and yea I am so so nervous. My interview is on Monday and my Dentist appointment is on Monday and I am getting my computer test registration on Monday. I feel...um pressure. but it's great that I got this job interview and I'm gonna make my teeth shiny *sparkle sparkle* =D Hopefully all goes well yea? so HELP me God!

'networkers' On Black

Tuesday morning sunshine was streaming through the skylight portion of the bowed roof on the Jacobson Exhibition Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Melting snow slid off the massive building’s edges in big chunks as a fleet of school buses began arriving from all corners of the district to deliver an elite force of middle school musicians.

They came to rehearse for last night’s All-City Middle School Music Festival. Besides the musicians a gallery of visual art was arranged for display in the building lobby. The annual fine arts event is a generous gift to DMPS from former school board member Marjorie Spevak that she just keeps on giving. You’ve probably heard the term student-athletes? Mrs. Spevak makes a regular point of honoring student-artists.

The musicians were divvied into a choir, a band and an orchestra and assigned separate practice spaces.

The band settled in at the Jacobson Center and after a rowdy arrival that was a mix of middle school hijinks and random, brassy tooting everyone got down to business under the direction of Richard Thimmesch, Director of Bands at Grandview University. Same thing next door with the singers where Stephen Sieck, Co-Director of Choirs at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, blended a strong, choral voice out of the 168 squeaky, changing ones that got off the bus sounding more like the moo-sic that’s heard in that 4H building every August. Meanwhile, Joshua Reznicow, Director of Orchestral Activities for the Linn-Mar Community School District, was working his magic with the stringy warm-up bleats coming from the Walnut Center, up near the sheep barns.

All told, nearly 400 kids from eleven schools were selected by their music teachers to participate. They’d all been practicing the program selections at their home schools since the 2nd semester began in January so they came well-prepared. But until yesterday many of them had never met one another, let alone played together. As they tumbled off the buses, most no bigger than a cello, clad in hoodies and tennis shoes and lugging their instruments and a change of clothes, the cavernous venue looked too big for them. Each school’s delegation arrived and improvised campsite in a corner where backpacks and other gear were stowed.

By the time they broke for dinner each of the three ensembles was ready. They ate and horsed around. Then they changed into their blacks-and-whites. And finally, after weeks of separate practice, school-by-school; and one long crash, mass rehearsal, they made music together – enough to fill that big barn of a recital hall and then some.

Ryan Rowley is the district’s Fine Arts Coordinator; the DMPS Music Man, you could say. And he orchestrated quite a show last night, as per tradition. There weren’t seventy-six trombones (only seven) or a parade. But there were rows and rows of virtuosos and horns of every shape and size, etc. Yes folks, we got music, lots of it, right here in River City. Thanks to Spevak. That starts with ‘S’ and that stands for SCHOOLS!

Outside on the Jacobson Center entrance plaza is a sign that proclaims BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE. It wasn’t put there with this specific event in mind. But it might as well have been.

Together with the melancholy girl from my previous post, I got this blonde. Same bad quality as the first one, but with such a blank face, eyes so asymmetrically painted and hair so stringy that ... really, I can't find anything good in her.

So will I get rid of it? uh ... I suspect not. I suspect I have too soft a heart.

About the bead sprite:

679 Beads

A tough one to complete, not because of color selection of amount of beads, but because of all the stringy connections. The roots are only connected by one bead at places, and this was done before I had any clear beads at all. I like the colors, but if I redo this, it's getting clear beads to reinforce the connections. I don't know a ton about Bellsprout, I think they weren't in my version of the game (red).

What my Fiancée calls this Pokemon:

Bellsprout

Facts & Trivia:

Bellsprout was Pokemon Blue's answer to Red's Oddish. Both are Grass/Poison type, evolve at level 21 and then again with use of Lead stone. Bellsprout shares the same species name with Vileplume and Bellossom. They are all known as Flower Pokémon. Bellsprout's name seems to be be a combination of bell, referring to its bell-like head, and sprout, referring to it being relatively young in its evolutionary line.

[syn. Mariscus javanicus]

Polynesian Names: ʻAhuʻawa (Hawaiʻi); ʻEhuʻawa (Hawaiʻi), Mahele (ʻUvea); Māhelehele (Tonga); Māselehele (Futuna); Mauku tatau tai (Cook Islands); Moʻu haʻari (Society Islands); Mouku (Marquesas); Mouʻu (Austral Islands, Marquesas); Selesele (Samoa)

Cyperaceae

Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands

Oʻahu (Cultivated)

Early Hawaiians pounded stems of ʻahuʻawa until they were only fibers and used them as strainers for ʻawa or niu (coconut), and as cordage. Fibers soaked for a few hours to free pulp, dried in the sun for a day or two, and then could be used. The fibers were very durable lasting two years or more. The cordage was used for cords (hāwele) or nets (kōkō puʻupuʻu) designed to carry ʻumeke (food or water containers).

The stringy fibers were also made into brushes to paint color onto tapa.

The leaves and seed/fruit were used in lei.

nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Cyperus_javanicus

Boots are a style statement. But you can’t wear them everywhere. And they really get tongues wagging, unless you’re a celeb, then you’re making a statement.

No, that’s not it. They can be used for almost everything. Well okay you can’t wear them to work, except on be-cool-Fridays, or whatever day of the week that falls on at your output factory.

Okay, boots can’t be worn there, but they can be worn everywhere else. Like everrrrywherrre!!

So today we’re gonna look through boots…

I thought, like any good net-grown kid, I’ll start off with types, but Wikipedia kind of put a bump on that, with an incredibly extensive (read exhaustive) list-out on the categories; so I’m going to float this impromptu.

So you have boots with the following main dependents: Length of the boot, as in thigh high, knee length, ankle, etc. Then there’s the length of the heel, followed by the toe feature, heeled/wedged or not, pointy, rounded, square-ish, peep-toe (yes they exist), and the like. Lastly, the added unique identifiers, like the fur liners-Russian or Ranch-babe, the stringy strips in the Indian ones, embellishments and stuff. As an additional, you need to know about the material(s) used; basically the main materials used are either leather, f

Read more

happyandpretty.com/boots/

Emu Bottom Homestead is a historic homestead near Sunbury, in Victoria. Built around 1836, Emu Bottom is the oldest existing farmhouse constructed by settlers in Victoria. It was so named because it was on low lying ground which was the haunt of numerous emus. The main homestead and some of its outlying buildings were constructed from local stone, dry coursed with creek mud and stringy bark.

Emu Bottom is also a rare example of early Australian colonial architecture, with its twelve paned deeply recessed windows recalling the old world, whilst the homestead was also intelligently adapted to the new harsh Australian environment with its wide verandas and easterly aspect.

The building of Emu Bottom homestead commenced circa 1836. George Evans (1785 – 1876), who had arrived on the Schooner Enterprise from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1835, settled near modern day Sunbury. Emu Bottom, later called Emu Vale, was occupied by George Evans, by squatting license, as one of many large squatting runs on Crown Land. In 1843, George Evans, then aged fifty-eight, married eighteen year old Anne Holden. Six children were born from the union and grew up at the homestead. After 1851, many squatting runs, including Emu Bottom, became available for outright purchase. To George Evans' dismay, “his” run was purchased by the immensely wealthy pastoralist W. J. T. Clarke. The homestead block of 640 acres stayed with George Evans, but this was hardly viable. In about 1860, George Evans leased the property and moved to operate the Royal Oak Hotel in Queen Street in central Melbourne. He died in Melbourne in 1876, but his family eventually returned to Emu Bottom. In 1916 the last of Evans’ son’s died and the property passed through several owners, being renamed “Holly Green.”

In 1968, the property was purchased by the current owners, and Holly Green was completely restored and was given back its original - if perhaps less poetic - name. During restoration, several discoveries were made including the original kitchen fireplace and oven, as well as some artifacts. Today the homestead and surrounds are managed as a reception centre.

I like to mix it up at Grill'd, and so today, I got the Morroccan Lamb burger.

... except, something was missing! where's the beef? uh lamb? Of course I took it back!

The lamb, when I fonally got it, was quite tasty, although the meat was a tad stringy. Probably best to have lamb in spring. The roasted red peppers and garlicky tzatziki was nice with the lamb too.

Grill'd QV Melbourne

(03) 9663 0399

QV Square, Level 2 cnr Swanston & Lonsdale Sts

Melbourne VIC 3000

www.grilld.com.au/

Grill'd on Flickr

(185/358)

You never cease to, "wow."

:]

[syn. Mariscus javanicus]

Polynesian Names: ʻAhuʻawa (Hawaiʻi); ʻEhuʻawa (Hawaiʻi), Mahele (ʻUvea); Māhelehele (Tonga); Māselehele (Futuna); Mauku tatau tai (Cook Islands); Moʻu haʻari (Society Islands); Mouku (Marquesas); Mouʻu (Austral Islands, Marquesas); Selesele (Samoa)

Cyperaceae

Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands

Oʻahu (Cultivated)

Early Hawaiians pounded stems of ʻahuʻawa until they were only fibers and used them as strainers for ʻawa or niu (coconut), and as cordage. Fibers soaked for a few hours to free pulp, dried in the sun for a day or two, and then could be used. The fibers were very durable lasting two years or more. The cordage was used for cords (hāwele) or nets (kōkō puʻupuʻu) designed to carry ʻumeke (food or water containers).

The stringy fibers were also made into brushes to paint color onto tapa.

The leaves and seed/fruit were used in lei.

nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Cyperus_javanicus

Hakka Style Cooked Belly Pork with Dry Egg noddles 客家炸肉捞面

Malaysia Hawker type dry egg noodle with belly pork

A very typical Hakka dish with cubes of deep fried pork belly, stewed in dark soy sauce and black wood-ear fungus. Unfortunately, the pork belly had been deep fried for too long, resulting in a dry, stringy flesh that not even stewing could amend.

---

The third and largest outlet of the growing Petaling Street empire. Packed on a public holiday Monday, but unlike the Glen Waverley branch, there wasn't a queue at the door.

茨廠街 Petaling Street Box Hill

(03) 9890 0972

600 Station St

Box Hill VIC 3128

also in Glen Waverley and Hawthorn

When cooking, I mostly focus on meat dishes and throw in some simple veggie and pasta dishes.

Since Jerry, Karen & Haley are not eating meat on Fridays during Lent, I had to go vegatarian...

I hadn't tried stuffed pasta shells before so I figured what the heck...

This picture has the list of ingredients in the description.

I kept it pretty simple: a Béchamel sauce, a spinach/cheese stuffing, and a tomato sauce.

A Béchamel sauce is simplicity itself - melt butter in a sauce pan, add an equal (by weight) amount of flour, whisk until blended, gradually add milk (constantly whisking) until you get the consistency you want, add a pinch of nutmeg (preferably freshly grated).

The tomato sauce was pretty basic also. I sautéed some chopped onion in extra virgin olive oil until soft. I added the tomatoes, garlic, red wine, balsamic vinegar, honey, herbs and seasoning. I simmered the sauce while doing everything else. When it was almost time to assemble the stuffed shells with the sauces, I used my stick blender to puree the sauce. I then added some more red wine to get the right consistency.

For the stuffing, I sautéed some onion in extra virgin olive oil until soft. I then added the spinach and garlic, and kept it on the heat until it was heated through and (presumably) the flavors were more integrated. I let the spinach/onion/garlic mixture cool, then added the mascarpone, Parmesan & seasonings (adjust to taste, of course).

As I stuffed the shells, I discovered that I had a lot of shells and not nearly enough stuffing. Luckily, I had plenty of tomato sauce and just mixed the extra shells with the extra sauce and put it in the fridge for another day...

Stuffing the shells was annoying and time consuming. Even chopped, the spinach is stringy enough to make getting a spoonful a challenge. Oh well...

I assembled the components as follows: the Béchamel sauce on the bottom, the stuffed shells, the tomato sauce on top of the shells, and topped off with the mozzarella and Parmesan. I put it in the oven until the cheeses were nicely browned.

It was very good. Dyson loved it, Keira hated it (she's added spinach to the veggies she no longer likes). Jerry and Karen took seconds and thirds...

Perhaps I could've made the two sauces a bit thinner.

Although Halloween is over, the pumpkins that served as Jack-O-Lanterns are still very much alive. They have become a cauldron filled with gooey, oozing, fuzzy, stringy, tangled web of enzymes spores, and mold. All of which are breaking down and consuming the "delectable" flesh of the pumpkin.....every last drop.

hot dogs are so popular here nowadays,

with loads of standalone sausagers & Mr.Wow's hotdog stalls popping up in Sinchon, Hongdae etc. (although Danish chain STEFF hasn't been doing as well as I had expected, closing a few stores lately).

sausages themselves esp on sticks are common in all the street food stalls and come in so many variations inc battered with french fries.

so it's about time another incarnation popped up.

this was spotted near Insadong, complete with a dressing of stringy cheese & a bed of coleslaw.

Jonggak

Emu Bottom Homestead is a historic homestead near Sunbury, in Victoria. Built around 1836, Emu Bottom is the oldest existing farmhouse constructed by settlers in Victoria. It was so named because it was on low lying ground which was the haunt of numerous emus. The main homestead and some of its outlying buildings were constructed from local stone, dry coursed with creek mud and stringy bark.

Emu Bottom is also a rare example of early Australian colonial architecture, with its twelve paned deeply recessed windows recalling the old world, whilst the homestead was also intelligently adapted to the new harsh Australian environment with its wide verandas and easterly aspect.

The building of Emu Bottom homestead commenced circa 1836. George Evans (1785 – 1876), who had arrived on the Schooner Enterprise from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1835, settled near modern day Sunbury. Emu Bottom, later called Emu Vale, was occupied by George Evans, by squatting license, as one of many large squatting runs on Crown Land. In 1843, George Evans, then aged fifty-eight, married eighteen year old Anne Holden. Six children were born from the union and grew up at the homestead. After 1851, many squatting runs, including Emu Bottom, became available for outright purchase. To George Evans' dismay, “his” run was purchased by the immensely wealthy pastoralist W. J. T. Clarke. The homestead block of 640 acres stayed with George Evans, but this was hardly viable. In about 1860, George Evans leased the property and moved to operate the Royal Oak Hotel in Queen Street in central Melbourne. He died in Melbourne in 1876, but his family eventually returned to Emu Bottom. In 1916 the last of Evans’ son’s died and the property passed through several owners, being renamed “Holly Green.”

In 1968, the property was purchased by the current owners, and Holly Green was completely restored and was given back its original - if perhaps less poetic - name. During restoration, several discoveries were made including the original kitchen fireplace and oven, as well as some artifacts. Today the homestead and surrounds are managed as a reception centre.

Tuesday morning sunshine was streaming through the skylight portion of the bowed roof on the Jacobson Exhibition Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Melting snow slid off the massive building’s edges in big chunks as a fleet of school buses began arriving from all corners of the district to deliver an elite force of middle school musicians.

They came to rehearse for last night’s All-City Middle School Music Festival. Besides the musicians a gallery of visual art was arranged for display in the building lobby. The annual fine arts event is a generous gift to DMPS from former school board member Marjorie Spevak that she just keeps on giving. You’ve probably heard the term student-athletes? Mrs. Spevak makes a regular point of honoring student-artists.

The musicians were divvied into a choir, a band and an orchestra and assigned separate practice spaces.

The band settled in at the Jacobson Center and after a rowdy arrival that was a mix of middle school hijinks and random, brassy tooting everyone got down to business under the direction of Richard Thimmesch, Director of Bands at Grandview University. Same thing next door with the singers where Stephen Sieck, Co-Director of Choirs at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, blended a strong, choral voice out of the 168 squeaky, changing ones that got off the bus sounding more like the moo-sic that’s heard in that 4H building every August. Meanwhile, Joshua Reznicow, Director of Orchestral Activities for the Linn-Mar Community School District, was working his magic with the stringy warm-up bleats coming from the Walnut Center, up near the sheep barns.

All told, nearly 400 kids from eleven schools were selected by their music teachers to participate. They’d all been practicing the program selections at their home schools since the 2nd semester began in January so they came well-prepared. But until yesterday many of them had never met one another, let alone played together. As they tumbled off the buses, most no bigger than a cello, clad in hoodies and tennis shoes and lugging their instruments and a change of clothes, the cavernous venue looked too big for them. Each school’s delegation arrived and improvised campsite in a corner where backpacks and other gear were stowed.

By the time they broke for dinner each of the three ensembles was ready. They ate and horsed around. Then they changed into their blacks-and-whites. And finally, after weeks of separate practice, school-by-school; and one long crash, mass rehearsal, they made music together – enough to fill that big barn of a recital hall and then some.

Ryan Rowley is the district’s Fine Arts Coordinator; the DMPS Music Man, you could say. And he orchestrated quite a show last night, as per tradition. There weren’t seventy-six trombones (only seven) or a parade. But there were rows and rows of virtuosos and horns of every shape and size, etc. Yes folks, we got music, lots of it, right here in River City. Thanks to Spevak. That starts with ‘S’ and that stands for SCHOOLS!

Outside on the Jacobson Center entrance plaza is a sign that proclaims BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE. It wasn’t put there with this specific event in mind. But it might as well have been.

Cashing in a coupon for henna, D got her feet hennaed for her upcoming trip. Last time we did Indian, this time it was Moroccan slippers. I had really stringy henna paste so it was perfect timing. She's promised me after pics.

Emu Bottom Homestead is a historic homestead near Sunbury, in Victoria. Built around 1836, Emu Bottom is the oldest existing farmhouse constructed by settlers in Victoria. It was so named because it was on low lying ground which was the haunt of numerous emus. The main homestead and some of its outlying buildings were constructed from local stone, dry coursed with creek mud and stringy bark.

Emu Bottom is also a rare example of early Australian colonial architecture, with its twelve paned deeply recessed windows recalling the old world, whilst the homestead was also intelligently adapted to the new harsh Australian environment with its wide verandas and easterly aspect.

The building of Emu Bottom homestead commenced circa 1836. George Evans (1785 – 1876), who had arrived on the Schooner Enterprise from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1835, settled near modern day Sunbury. Emu Bottom, later called Emu Vale, was occupied by George Evans, by squatting license, as one of many large squatting runs on Crown Land. In 1843, George Evans, then aged fifty-eight, married eighteen year old Anne Holden. Six children were born from the union and grew up at the homestead. After 1851, many squatting runs, including Emu Bottom, became available for outright purchase. To George Evans' dismay, “his” run was purchased by the immensely wealthy pastoralist W. J. T. Clarke. The homestead block of 640 acres stayed with George Evans, but this was hardly viable. In about 1860, George Evans leased the property and moved to operate the Royal Oak Hotel in Queen Street in central Melbourne. He died in Melbourne in 1876, but his family eventually returned to Emu Bottom. In 1916 the last of Evans’ son’s died and the property passed through several owners, being renamed “Holly Green.”

In 1968, the property was purchased by the current owners, and Holly Green was completely restored and was given back its original - if perhaps less poetic - name. During restoration, several discoveries were made including the original kitchen fireplace and oven, as well as some artifacts. Today the homestead and surrounds are managed as a reception centre.

I was dripping water out through a straw (I need to get an eyedropper :P), and I guess a little saliva made the water stringier.

I got my new Snap Shot II strobe light the other day. It's a great big thing, made for DJ's light systems. It makes a pretty good photo strobe, though. Nice and short but very intense flashes, up to 15 a second, and it can be controlled by my MAKE: Magazine strobe controller.

A composition for Wks 51 & 52 - ' Indoors / Outdoors' - set by the Compositionally Challenged Group.

A composition for December's Most Versatile - set by Sharon for the Compositionally Challenged Group

Our Xmas card display kit.

A sheet of polystyrene insulation, covered with Xmas wrapping, and some wire on the back to act as a hanger and support it's weight. By the end of Xmas it will completely covered in cards.

Since I took the photo the display has become well filled in, but it looks so much prettier here, with a bit of space, very much like Linda's collages do.

A handmade frame using Photoshop Elements 2021.

Overlay of stringy stuff that has a Xmas look added in Ribbet.

At Comic Con

So, here's my application for The Producer, since I did say I would upload it and all. God, I'm SO excited to get started.

You could say I'm... PUH-PUH-PUMMPED. Yeah, I've had quite a lot of soda today. YEY, WAHOOO, YIPPEE.

--

The wind gently caressed her pallid face. The soft breeze toying with her long blonde locks, teasing the curls as it touched them. Her eyes, glued shut from the rays of yellow light emitting from the sky above. Veiled was how they hid from the world, ignoring the sun. However, as her eyes remained closed, the brilliant sunlight would kiss them ever so softly. Keeping her entire body covered in a sweet blanket of warm, calm security. As the sun's energy entered her body, it filled her with a foreign hope. Hope she had never been exposed to previously in her short, innocent life.

--

Well, hope you guys who've read this enjoyed it. Special thanks to my friend Erin who proofread and make some nice little suggestions here and there. SHE RULEZ.

p.s - Fuckin' English exam tomorrow at 9:30 AM. FUKMAHLYFE.

[syn. Mariscus javanicus]

Polynesian Names: ʻAhuʻawa (Hawaiʻi); ʻEhuʻawa (Hawaiʻi), Mahele (ʻUvea); Māhelehele (Tonga); Māselehele (Futuna); Mauku tatau tai (Cook Islands); Moʻu haʻari (Society Islands); Mouku (Marquesas); Mouʻu (Austral Islands, Marquesas); Selesele (Samoa)

Cyperaceae

Indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands

Oʻahu (Cultivated)

Early Hawaiians pounded stems of ʻahuʻawa until they were only fibers and used them as strainers for ʻawa or niu (coconut), and as cordage. Fibers soaked for a few hours to free pulp, dried in the sun for a day or two, and then could be used. The fibers were very durable lasting two years or more. The cordage was used for cords (hāwele) or nets (kōkō puʻupuʻu) designed to carry ʻumeke (food or water containers).

The stringy fibers were also made into brushes to paint color onto tapa.

The leaves and seed/fruit were used in lei.

nativeplants.hawaii.edu/plant/view/Cyperus_javanicus