Random raves

When piercings in chest start to itch through healing, do not scratch! Ow. Although I will say encountering metal makes you realise what you're doing quite quickly.

And this is why I tape them up before I go to sleep. Although I had to run out and buy real Micropore, since the rip-off brand has given me a rash. Yes, my delicate fair skin is a bit sensitive to these things.

Other than missing the goddamn coach to Sydney by 2 minutes this morning, I had a most excellent day (it turns out the 2 buses through Lyneham go once an hour during the day, within 5 minutes of each other, WTF? They leave from the same place, also within 5 minutes of each other. Also, the supposed arterial road of Northbourne Ave can have 20 minutes go by with no buses, except when three come at once, and also no frigging taxis.)

I have my period, but it's pretty mild this time, and perhaps the Neurofen took the edge off my potential stampy-feet, because I went home, collected my car and drove to Sydney (passing the bus just north of Goulburn). It was warm, but not too warm, and was actually a nice day for a drive. Some of the gum trees are flowering on the way through the Great Dividing Range - very pretty.

I got three piercings done - daith in my left ear, and two microdermals in my chest, a few centimetres below my collarbone, if it were visible. I can't even feel the daith (although I'm sure I will once I try sleeping on that side), but the microdermals are a bit stingy. I was thinking of getting them done in my arm, but Robert at Polymorph reckoned they tend to reject more due to the wear and tear they get there. My chest was my second choice in any case, and I'll get a couple more done in the area if these go ok. He's a great guy - he's an excellent efficient piercer and just charged me for one piercing + jewellery - but I think I'm a pretty easy person to pierce. No hassle, I know what I want, and I'm suitably appreciative! Honestly, it's not pleasurable in the same way that getting your brains fucked out is, but the aftermath with the endorphins is pretty damn analogous.

Then I had nommy sushi, made it to Campos in time to get Coffee of the Gods before they closed, spent $130 in Berkelouw Books in literally 3 minutes (look, the Simon Schama History of Britain books were right by the door), got into my car and drove home. And I get to sleep in tomorrow! Which is just as well, because I'm completely snackerpated (a word which I just invented that means "tired" + "slaphappy").

Speaking of body mods, though, I am seriously seriously seriously thinking of getting a breast reduction. I really am not fond of my tits, and while I've had about a decade of being more or less resigned to them, I'm finding that as I grow older (and they also fucking grow), I am becoming less and less at peace with them. I have never felt they were really a part of my body. Also, I now have health insurance, and I can afford to pay the remainder. My aunt has had more run-ins with cancer this past year (she's already had a double mastectomy), and that's putting the wind up me too. However, I won't do anything about it this year - I haven't been at peace with myself for quite some time, and I want to be sure I'm not projecting unwarrented stuff onto innocent body parts. I don't want to get rid of them altogether, but if they can go down to a C cup from an E-or-more, that would be nice. I'm also feeling a bit blobular at the moment, so if I get some more regular exercise, that might help (although I don't tend to lose weight in my tits, but I might feel that my body is something to like in general).

Anyways, the thing about having a nice day is that it hasn't shifted what I was thinking there - give it another 12 months to gel and get the rest of my head in gear, and we'll see what happens.

I just watched the Star Trek movie, finally. Ok, I've never been a Trekkie, but I didn't mind the TV show as a kidlet (I liked it way better than Lost In Space). But am I the only person in the universe to think that the recent movie was essentially shite? Great cast, but the story sucked, the effects were trite and music was fucking annoying.

It was the story part that was the worst aspect - all the chicks in mini-skirts, James T Kirk driving sports cars (!) and futuristic motor bikes and being a Bad Boy™ until his True Worth™ is finally recognised and he is redeemed via the powah of finding his True Destiny™ as the Noble Captain™, because he Just Knows the Right Thing to Do At All Times™ (it's In His Blood™, don't you know). And he didn't even do the flirting with chicks thing well. Shatner at least managed to play the shagging-the-green-ladies bit with humour and actual panache, as opposed to the "How you doin'?'" style of this moron. And Shatner had better sideburns.

As for Spock and Uhura getting it on, WTF? And even more WTF without any backstory (or forwardstory) about their getting it on whatsoever (except for him getting a bit of a snog from her when Vulcan gets blown up - way to comfort someone) - so much for even bothering to try and sell that particular subplot. I've read fanfic from 17-year-olds that's more convincing in terms of character arc (and getting unlikely couples together). And lack of fucking sword fighting in a sci-fi setting.

Yeah, they threw in a couple of lines from the TV show and some visual gags (viz. green ladies), but it added up to a sticky half-melted mess of candy floss when you were hoping for nice buttery popcorn.

I'm even more amazed at the fact that this pile of crap was so highly rated. I think Roger Ebert's review was the only one that seemed near the mark, from my perspective. I would alter his final line: "If you want [shitty, bombastic, underdeveloped and unnuanced] space opera, you've got it." It's not even good sci-fi, even for the crappy standard of sci-fi in movies.

5/10, mainly for some good characterisation of everyone except Kirk (the Prodigal Bad Boy™ - there is a difference between pouty bad boy and proper mavericks) and Spock-the-younger (he's sooo emotional and conflicted and sad and girls want to kiss it better, gah!) and the baddie (let's get Eric Bana and waste him), and a couple of funny bits - Kirk running around an icy planet being chased by a giant bug seemed to be about the only scene that could have been seamlessly incorporated into the TV show.

Van Oosten's rendering of the Toccata from Widor's Symphony No. 5. I like this one because the tempo is "just right" for my ears. A lot of people seem to play this too fast (ok, it's an organ toccata), and it loses expression. Ooh, and here's the finale from the 1st Symphony.

There are quite a number of their tracks I like, and the ones I like are almost all in minor keys.

So, here goes:

Gimme Shelter - C# minor (static image only with this clip, which is the Altamont version)

Paint It Black - Fm (who says emo is a recent phenomenon? Also, Smells Like Teen Spirit is in this key. How's that for useless information? I still like the alt.cheerleaders in that Nirvana clip, and the memories of playing pool in the dyke club with this blaring on the jukebox. There may or may not have been air guitar with a pool cue. Getting back to the Stones, the screaming in that clip explains why my mother walked out of the show they played in Auckland in the late 60s - she couldn't hear the music.)

Angie - Am (I am almost entirely sick of this song, but I really really loved it once upon a time)

Miss You - Am (doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo, doo doo-doo doo-doo-doo, doo da doo-doo - I love the guitar in this)

And two more for cheating purposes, just cos I like them (E major really is almost a minor key anyway, IMNSHO)

Sympathy for the Devil - E Maj  (yes, 8 minutes of Mick actually almost attractive wriggling around in his wee pants, Keith and Bill looking as thick as ever, and Charlie as cool as always. I do find it strange with these clips that have Brian in them)

Satisfaction -  E Maj (and a bit of cheesy cheese to top it off)

One of the nice things about going home this Xmas time was going to Daikoku Ramen, which, as it says on the tin, is a ramen shop that makes the real thing, in downtown Auckland, right next to the Britomart transport depot (the old GPO).



It's been there since the late-80s - I went there occasionally when I was at university the first time round. The place used to be heavily patronised by Japanese and Korean sailors back in the day (it's literally metres away from the docks), and of course now with the huge upsurge in immigration from east Asia, there are plenty of people who go there for a taste of home.

The place has barely changed. There is still the huge pot of stock simmering away on the stove, with mysterious items in it, and a stream of water constantly running from a tap to replenish what is lost in the steam. The cooks are big friendly Japanese guys with not-exactly-immaculate aprons on. The noodles aren't those slippery wriggly soft ones from a vacuum pack, and are cooked fresh every time in their own basket dunked into boiling water. The decor is bare-bones, to say the least, although the early-80s style oddly-shaped wooden seats have been replaced with more conventional metal-framed seats with padding. You can still sit at the bar by the kitchen area, on the benches that have coloured stripes to mark which is your half. The only notable addition to the menu is edamame, because naturally that was unheard of in NZ back in the day. Oh, and cold noodles - must give them a try, since I've liked hiyashi chuka when I've made them at home.

You can get all different styles of ramen, shoyu, miso, Hokkaido style. You can get extra corn, pork, wakame, mung bean sprouts, menma (bamboo) added to your ramen. There are side-dishes, including very tasty gyoza. On the tables are extra soy sauce, chilli oil, vinegar and shichimi togarashi.

If you like ramen, it's the only place to go in NZ. :-) And a great place to get a healthy and tasty meal for around $10 (or a bit more with additions and side dishes). Open 7 days for lunch and dinner!

So I thought I'd save a bit of cash this time round, and I'm staying in a backpacker's in Ponsonby, which is a suburb that is nice and central and full of cafes.

This place is clean, queer-friendly and the room is decent (I got a private en-suite room - there is a limit). But this is the second bloody night in a row where people have played loud music for hours in the patio out the back, while talking drunkenly and loudly at the same time (also, what is it about upper-middle-class poms and their shrill braying? Some think antipodean accents are annoying).

Last night they kept going till after three. Now it's nearly 1, and they're still going. And ear-plugs are making no damn difference. Well, I'll ask the nice gay guy at reception if this is the normal thing for this place, and if it is, I won't be staying here again. I get quite narky when I'm not able to go to sleep when I want to, and right now I'm sitting on an almost irresistible urge to go out and smash their boombox to the ground, and jump on it a few times.

Still, I found that my favourite place to eat in Auckland is still there after 20 years, so I'll post about that another day. :-) And I have been squeezing babies and getting nice nurturing vibes from some of my nearest and dearest.

Oh, and for LULZ, a Dell representative decided to reply to me about the rant I posted up about their horrific customer support .... Nice going with trying to take me to task in my own journal!

The Australian Bureau of Meteorology is publishing a great calendar this year full of Australian scenery and interesting weather. I like the themes of nature and activity - calendars of gorgeous scenery can be just a tad boring and inexpressive of the dynamic phases of the year.

So, any transpeople who still don't have accounts over here on DW, I have a metric butt-ton of invites, and I'm sure I can scrounge up more from other of my friends.

Because, seriously, why stay there?

ETA: Ok, it was a mistake during a beta code release, so it looks like compulsory m/f gender is not going to be rolled out after all. <omitting many other reasons to migrate here>

I cracked the first of my ginger beers today, and should probably have done that a few days ago - the results were fountainous. Oh well, my kitchen floor (and bench, and sink, and splashback) needed a wash anyway. Thank god for the Grolsch bottles, because they didn't break of themselves. I've depressurised all the others, and have lost about 1/4 of the contents in the process.

The one I've drunk is ironically not quite as fizzy as I would like, undoubtedly due to the nice bubbles exhausting themselves everywhere else but in the glass first. ETA: the second one has perfect fizziness, with the bubbles having a chance to recover a bit in the next bottle.

Also, not quite as gingery as I would prefer - I started off with fresh ginger, but supplemented with fairly old powdered ginger, which was probably not the best thing to do. Maybe a tad less lemon as well (I'm amazed at that - I like lemon), but I got the sweetness exactly right - i.e. I used only 2/3rds of the recommended amount of sugar.

Still, it's very refreshing and nom. When I refine the recipe a bit further, I'll post it up.