Fuzzy Spiced Apple Punch

Fruit punch 'recipe'. Like most party punch, this was cobbled together to taste and it did please my guests muchly.
In a punch bowl or similar combine the following:
Ginger wine infused with cinnamon*
Apple juice
Diet dry ginger ale
Soda water to reduce sweetness if needed
Muddled apple mint leaves

*In a clean bottle or jar, place 2 cups of ginger wine with a whole stick of cinnamon. Store in a dark place to infuse for about a month.

Oven Baked Falafel Recipe

I have adapted more than one online falafel recipe to arrive at one of my own. It was so popular at my last party that I promised to share the recipe with my guests. It went as follows:

Oven Baked Falafels

Ingredients
2 cups dried chickpeas
1 small brown onion, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley,
3-5 cloves garlic
1 1/2 tbsp flour
1 3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
a pinch of ground cardamon
1 1/2 tbsp tahini
sesame seeds to garnish or roll in to taste
olive oil (optional)

Method
Soak the chickpeas overnight in cold water.
Drain well.
Combine all ingredients in a food processor.
Set aside for 30 minutes to develop flavours.
Preheat oven to 220°C.
Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Use a teaspoon to scoop mixture, and roll into slightly flattened balls. Place directly onto baking paper - or onto a plate first if you're not sure about spacing.
Garnish with a pinch of sesame seeds - gently pat into the surface on top. Or, roll in sesame seeds if you are that way inclined!
Optional: spray lightly with olive oil. I use a refillable atomiser. The oil adds extra flavour and helps them brown up nicely, but you will still get a reasonable result without it.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve hot with dips. Hommus, tzatziki and aioli are harmonious combinations with these falafels.
Serve cold in a vegetarian/salad sandwich in place of meat.
Can be frozen.

Free green submarine

According to my research, I'm not the only who sees it.



We tram for free in a green submarine [tram bell] *ding ding*
A green submarine *ding ding*
Free green submarine.

Why is Mr Happy so?

Why is Mr Happy so? Did he help the others to freedom via The Claw and this altruism warmed his little yellow cockles? Is it because he is finally alone and has some space to himself? Is it because it's all about him now and he loves that? The mind boggles.



He was my favorite Mr Man as a child.

Why you should ignore what's fashionable

Denim on denim is distressing whilst someone might be auditioning for a dwarf role in the Hobbit. No visible neck, bushy beard and stumpy looking legs check!

Sullen uncordinated/preppy look

Bushy beards

I'm not a fan of the current fashion for a bushy beard. It makes young men look like much older men, collects food, reduces the prominence of strong cheekbones and jawline and the sensual upper lip. Looking  through a current fashion catalogue yesterday I surprised to find a big beard on one of the models. Looking at the edge of his cheek bones and big brown eyes peering out from that wilderness, there appeared to potentially be an attractive man there - but we will never know because all we can see is his damn beard! [/rant]

The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to Catwalk

17 Oct 2014 — 8 Feb 2015   National Gallery of Victoria

Here are my little iPhone snaps of this rather good show which ends in very soon!

My fashion design student co-worker didn't think much of it. Hers was the throw away, proverbial complaint when it comes to art 'I could have done that myself'. Yet you didn't! My friend and I (both industrial designers and artists) enjoyed it. Gaultier himself was happy with it so that must count for something eh?

Another complaint was the low light levels for black garments and I have to admit, they were significantly lower than elsewhere in the show in two rooms, which made it hard to see the intricate lace and beading. Setting them against a black background certainly didn't help and may have altered perception of lux levels ie a light background would have required less light since it would bounce around. That's the first rule of strong display: set your subject to stand out from a background by using a different colour/tone. The First rule of camoflauge : blend into the background by being a similar colour! The conservation arguement doesn't hold sway because having since researched this show these same pieces were displayed elsewhere in more adequate light.



Left: Virgins Collection?
Right: Virgins Collection
Dolorès
Haute Couture, Spring-Summer 2007


Bridal Mermaid, crutches detail
Mermaid collection
Haute couture, Spring-Summer 2008


Bridal Mermaid, purse detail
Haute couture, Spring-Summer 2008

The man is more than a fashion designer - he is an artist. The level of detail in the works was amazing. The general public rarely gets to see haute couture this close while the fashionista usually only sees it for a minute at arm's length at best. It's definitely worth seeing this show if you're in town.


Ex-voto
Virgins (or Madonnas) collection
Haute couture, Spring-Summer 2007
Chiffon and lame lace gown with ex-voto (an offering to a saint or divinity) plaque appliques and star and sea-shell embellished smoked plexiglass headdress. 
This gown took 315 hours to create.



 
Ex-voto, detail
Virgins (or Madonnas) collection
Haute couture, Spring-Summer 2007

A Cheesy Love Story - The Ad Doritos Don't Want You to See

Giraffe sticker

Giraffe sticker on pole, Mount Alexander Road, Ascot Vale. 

Snail and slug trap Mark III: The Final Design.

I've made a few versions of slug and snail beer traps and here is another one to try.

Take an empty, single serve, lidded yoghurt pot and remove the cardboard outer sheath:


Remove the lid and cut an aperture in it using a cutting knife or strong scissors/shears. Make the hole big enough to take an adult snail but small enough so that the lid still clips on to keep out most of the rain:



Examples of shapes you can cut into it and some decoration because I can't help myself:



In situ in my sister's veggie patch, partially buried for stability and access, freshly baited with Carlton Draught


The same idea using a single serve, microwave soup bowl instead.

The lid can be a bit trickier to get off and it needs more beer but it works as well as the yoghurt pot version if not better. It's very stable, doesn't blow over in the wind, doesn't need to be buried to capture, evaporation is minimal, it keeps out the rain and water from the hose. One way to improve it would be to cut the hole to the edge like the yoghurt pot for easier lid removal.

Visiting a Zoo - a guide to getting the most out of it AKA Zoo Visitor Etiquette

So you have gone to the zoo and all the animals aren't up to much, they're hiding down the back or in a den, and you can't get a good photo on your phone. Is it the zoo or is it you? Here's one simple tip:
Be quiet, listen, and watch. 
That's all you have to do to get more out of every visit. The animals are more likely to linger nearby and relax into their natural behavior if you do this.


To elaborate:
Read the sign telling you what the animal is,
Listen to the keeper or volunteer if there is one, and
be respectful, quiet and patient,
stay still  or move slowly,
give free roaming animals enough space to move,
speak quietly,
watch, observe, be curious.

This means DO NOT:
tap on the glass or walls/fence
yell or make loud noises
throw things
feed the animals
touch the animals (unless a keeper or volunteer has said it's okay to do so, and then avoid the head)
stick any of yourself or your belongings including your camera/phone within the enclosure space
allow your childen to do any of these things.
Think about how you would feel if a stranger appeared in your frontyard doing things from the DO NOT list. I have heard one parent tell their child "How would you feel if some strange person came and yelled at you in your room? You wouldn't like it would you?" It seemed to be effective.

The animals are not here for our entertainment. It's the 21st century - it's about conservation, education and respect for the amazing world we share.

Also check out the meerkats - they're always good value, never a dull moment, and very photogenic too!

Further reading here, the animal's viewpoint here and the zoo's view here.

Sassy, hose wielding lady from the 1980s

The following borderline NSFW image is from an an old Vogue Australia article featuring designer Arabella Ramsay's scrapbook. Not really sure what is going on here [innocent look].



At a stretch it could be by iconic, 1980s illustrator Antonio Lopez - although his style is usually less overt.

The Naughty Mouse

The Naughty Mouse.

In a nice little house,
Lived a silly young mouse,
So snug at the back of a shed;
He would spend all of the day
In fine gambols of play,
Then go to warm little bed.

He had a kind mother,
A good little brother,
And plenty of nice wholesome food;
Oh! how naughty was he,
Discontented to be;
He should have been happy and good.

'Tis with sorrow indeed,
I must say he would heed
No word that his fond mother spoke;
If she told him to stay,
He would scamper away,
And think it a very fine joke.


Now one day on the green
His good parent had seen
A cat, fast asleep in the sun;
So to Mousey she said,
"Pray go back to your bed,
And near that fine creature don't run."


But alas! you will find,
No advice would he mind,
He soon went away with a squeak;
For he thought 'twould be fun
Round the big cat to run,
She looked both so tame and so sleek.

But he made a mistake,
For Miss Puss was awake,
Asleep though pretending to be;
None so deaf do appear
As are those who won't hear,
So blind as all those who won't see.


Little mouse feared no ill,
For the cat lay so still,
Alarm never entered his head;
So he frolicked about,
Till puss put her paw out,
Gave a pat - and the mousey was dead!

Little people attend
To advice from a friend;
Both love and obedience too,
Ever practice to those
Who you may suppose,
If older, are wiser than you.

Poem by Maria Corbould.
Images by Whymper* (first name uncertain) from The Child's Companion and Juvenile Instructor, Vol. XXXIII, 1893, page 49-50

*Probably Edward Whymper. He was both a professional engraver and a famous mountaineer hence why he is listed as one of the 'etc' illustrators rather than listed by name. The etching signature matches known works.

Clever Rats

Clever Rats
Image by Whymper* (first name uncertain) from The Child's Companion and Juvenile Instructor, Vol. XXXIII, 1893, page 121

'The sagacity of rats is a fact that has long been known to naturalists. La Fontaine, in his "Fables," records that "Two rats in foraging, fell on an egg." And the story goes on to tell how
"Brimful of joy and appetite,
They were about to sack the box
So tight without the aid of locks,"
when a fox came into sight. Eager to save their booty, one turned upon his back holding the egg in his paws, and the other dragged him along by his tail to a place of safety.'

Then the following anecdote:

'The other day a son of mine, about eleven, said that through a chink in the floor he could see a rat rolling something that seemed like an egg. I got a saw and cut away the board, and found seven perfectly fresh eggs, not a crack in any except where I had unfortunately cracked a couple with my saw, and we could see that they were quite freshly broken. The nursery (the room in question) is upstairs, and as none of the hens ever lay within thirty or forty yards, and the eggs are collected every day, at what time they (the rats) went to work, or how they got them up the stairs, I can not imagine. We have often missed by the evening the eggs we had seen in the morning, and thougtht the hens had eaten them.'


*Probably Edward Whymper in an enjoyable side project? He was both a professional engraver and a famous mountaineer hence why he he listed as one of the 'etc' illustrators rather than listed by name. The etching signature matches known works.

Sometimes a misheard lyric still makes sense.

My housemate slightly amused and incredulous to me as we're listening to David Bowie's Secret Life of Arabia, from the rather excellent Heroes.
"Did he just say 'the secret life of a labia?'"

Shrunken head

Those folks at Lombard tickle me with their quiet humour.

Here is their Christmas themed homage to the afterlife waiting room in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice.

Madonna and Child in 3D

After seeing Sir David Attenborough present Life in the Third Dimension at the Regent Theatre, some us weren't sure what to do with our 3D glasses. A guy ahead of me popped one on the lady. Chuckling as I passed I went back to pop mine on the child. We both took photographs on our phones with cheeky grins on our faces!

Virgin Mary Costume 'Adult'

In the latest catalogue from Lombard, party shop, they have Christmas costumes. Inevitably the costumes for women are sexier than the ones for men. That is a subject explored by many other bloggers and columnists so I'll leave it to you to explore further.

This one is a little unexpected nonetheless. See through stripper heels on the Virgin Mary? Really?! It would have been better to have her barefoot if no appropriate shoes were available for the photo shoot. I hope that isn't part of the costume. My housemte suggested that it's probably a sneaky injoke.

The 'most inoffensive and gentle creature,' the giraffe.

'In some parts the natives also dig pits in which to trap it.'

Illustration and text from Holiday Stories, published by George Routledge and Sons, London, c. 1890s

Little Shoulders at Lord Coconut.

Little Shoulders

deconstructed French cuff, tea, fabric trim, cotton, synthetic sponge, cardboard, metal fittings

Art of the Cuff
A Fringe Festival Exhibition

16th September - 4th October 2013

Lord Coconut

Suite 3, Level 4
Carlow House
289 Flinders Lane
Melbourne 3000
Tuesday to Friday – 11am to 6pm
Saturday – 12pm to 4pm
Other times by appointment

Enquiries:

0450 015 263

info[at]lordcoconut.com