Possible Saturday with "Noughties Heavy Music 2000-2009" @ The Rosemount Hotel

Link to information: Rosemount Event. 

I am considering this event, as I would be rather keen on anything that would promise of good Strapping Young Lad and Devin Townsend Project covers... and with NIN, Tool, SOAD, MM, Porcupine Tree... why not. 

Most exciting purchase...!

In the end, I have chosen the following for my upcoming role in a Star Trek campaign (Medical Officer):

The expensive but totally worth it Drama Die, available at Paizo;

And 5x the Chessex Aluminum d6 - 

Archiving to reclaim browser tab space.

Moleskine Sale

Star Trek Medical

I have to find time to continue studying the medical equipment of the Star Trek world.

Space is the Place --- for dice

It's so hard to decide...

X-Files - Season 10

The comic guy at comiczone helped me out a great deal. I was on too much on a tight budget to go out to the city and spend, so I built up a lot of guilt that there had been an X-Files comic waiting for me for over a week... a fortnight... a month... then another issue was released. It was shocking. I was so lazy and so riddled with guilt. 

Anyway, I finally (as now being back in the basement) finally got over that ridiculously low social challenge and finally handed over my $21.63 that I was so stubborn about. I was happy with the transaction, and now I am able to continue the story of X-Files. What a time to be alive.  

Devin Townsend Band - Storm LIVE

A live performance so great, it is worth the bad audio quality. 

Orecchiette w/ broccoli, pine nuts

This book was a gift from S+S, It's big, beautiful, and bountiful of really wonderful recipes. I've learned from this book, and hope to continue doing so. 

Lots of oil and garlic. The pasta is boiled in the broccoli pot. 

Simmering this pasta sauce was incredibly lovely, it smelled glorious and I couldn't wait to mix everything together. 

The finished product... there are leftovers for tonight and I'm hanging out for it. Will definitely put this on the list of 'to serve at dinner parties'. So, if you want to try it.. hint, hint. 

A little note about the pasta used here (for interest's sake)... 

Orecchiette

"Orecchiette (singular, orecchietta), from orecchio (ear) + etto (small)) is a kind of home-made pasta typical of Puglia or Apulia, a region of southern Italy."

&

"In China a similar type of pasta is called maoerdo (cat's ears)."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orecchiette

Autumn / Early Winter Meals

I've been doing a lot of cooking lately in my little apartment kitchen...

Mind the teabags...

Zucchini cake with honey and Margaret River chocolate powder. Made for a friend's going away afternoon tea. 

A nice chicken lentil stew. I could live off this.

My second attempt at Japanese style fried chicken and omelette. Rice and omelette roll seasoned with Mirin, and served with an instant Miso. Oh... and some leftovers from the night before (which was a Chicken and Chorizo Paella)...

Vegetable Curry with Fried Noodles

This was a vegetable curry served to compliment some fried noodles I had been able to make from the cupboard stocks. It turned out really well and I am enjoying this style of food very much. I hope I can remember where to find the recipe...

Career change...?

My external tutorial task for my Public Health unit included a documentary viewing and analysis. The documentary is narrated by Brad Pitt, so naturally I imagine it's Louis from Interview with a Vampire somehow telling me a story for my tape recorder. Very effective study method.

Documentary series - 'Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge' - - http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/rxforsurvival/series/video/ 

Ziltoid 2 - Universal Choir

Should I tag this as 'upcominggigs', maybe. Biggest gig of my career...! Haha!

Hey, Devin fans... so... maybe you know that Devin Townsend has put forward a call for people to record vocals to be a part of the next Ziltoid album?

http://universalchoir.insideoutmusic.com

I've been bragging to everyone about it for ages now... and now he is currently calling for submissions. The deadline is about a week away, and I wanted to share the project just in case you haven't heard about it yet.

Anyone already involved with Ziltoid 2? I hope to record my little contribution over the weekend. I've been practicing and listening to Devin a lot. I think it's a very cool thing to be involved with. It is like recieving personal lessons from the man himself as I practice in my study... 

Communication Breakdown

I am getting increasingly paranoid of phone calls and communication via my mobile phone.

Having the X-Files theme as my ring-tone does not help. 

Bedside Library

Woke up at 2:30am, had little emotional crisis, got up out of bed at 4am... and then I was here starting a draft of this post. Deciding between depressing movie (Norwegian Wood) or reading something in bed (probably a little more sensible), I went back to bed with a selection of what is currently set by my bedside:

UFOs: A Scientific Debate
by Thornton Page (editor), Carl Sagan (editor)

Image Link

The Good War 
by Studs Terkel

Charles Manson - Coming Down Fast
by Simon Wells

Image Link

Upcoming Gig - Finntroll @ Amplifier

Mail

I received a few really lovely things in the mail yesterday from all over the world. Feeling loved from Canada, Iceland and New Zealand. 

And yes - signed copy of the new Devin Townsend 'Casualties of Cool' album! It was my first ever 'pledge' item. I gave it a good listen to last night - it has a very intriguing sound - very different, but still very Devin. I look forward to further listens and definitely adding a few tracks to the wedding playlist (I've promised Ben that heavy Devy will not dominate the playlist too much)... maybe a little Ziltoid... (we dance to Ziltoid together in our loungeroom).

Winter sun.

The only time of year when I welcome a little sun (I'm still sitting in the shade though). My walk to the city library was beneficial for mind and body.

How I begin to wade the waters to new music genre territory.

During my young formative music discovery years, I had always been interested in the fringes of blues, jazz, and experimental, but wasn't really too sure how to approach it. I likened it to a sense of not being ready for certain aspects of the genres; complex rhythms, strong emphasis on sound, vast history and cultural significance, and the difficulties of knowing where to start.

I look for music fans that get so excited about their genre that they are excited to speak with you about it on a level deeper than most general music conversation. It is an approach that works well for me as I approach the doors of a new sound. I've been lucky in finding a few associations such as these in the past few years. 

One dear friend and future groovy sister helped me to become more familiar with the sounds I had a curiosity about; through dinner parties, gifts, CD lending, recommendations and open access to browse her (and my brothers) collection. I was able to 'weed out' sounds I wasn't really keen on - in effort to hone in on what I was really looking for. This search of mine led to the following that now rotate in stereo time and are a stepping stone to other alternative artists I hear from time to time on FM frequency radio. I find myself approaching the genres with a little more confidence having met and pursued that connection with an excited fan.