Wunderkammer, Melbourne

Listening to Funnyman by KT Tunstall

I haven't visited the store itself in a few months. For those of you in Melbourne, Australia with an interest in framed insect/arachnid specimens, taxidermy, carnivorous plants, and vintage scientific prints/objects/equipment you will find Wunderkammer (say woon-der-cay-ma) a delightful place to visit/shop. It's like a little museum as a wunderkammer should be. The owner selects his stock because he has a personal interest and affection for it. Due to the often antique, natural, rare or hand crafted nature of the materials, on no two visits will you see the same selection. There are a also few things N.F.S. as part of the owner's permanent collection.

Michael Sowa

Michael Sowa's quirky animal art was featured in the French film Amelie. Unfortunately there isn't much information available about him on the internet, with no official site though many poster sites sell prints of his works.


























Bunny Dressing

Julia deVille's Memento Mori

Listening to Safety Dance by Men Without Hats

Julia deVille is a New Zealand artist based in Melbourne, Australia. Last year I had the priviledge of seeing her work in the flesh as part of the touring show Cicely & Colin Rigg Contemporary Design Award 2006.

This morning I got reaquainted with her work through discovering her steampunk flavoured website.

Her works combine leather work, taxidermy and gold smithing skills. Most of it is wearable art. It's exquisitely detailed, often combining the remains of (naturally deceased) small mammals with precious and semi precious materials. A major inspiration is Memento Mori jewellery especially of the Victorian period. All of her works deal with mortality, which some may view as morbid, perhaps even grisly though this is not the intention. Instead DeVille is interested in exploring the fragility and value of life.


Brooch: Bird Claw 2006
Sterling silver, black rhodium plate, Keshi pearl
9 x 4 x 2 cm

Natural History Inspired Art Overload

Invidia/Sebastian
Emoto Hajime
mixed media, 2005

I started looking for a particular artist, Emoto Hajime (thanks Scoia)
then found this wonderful blog combining art and science,
Bioephemera

which led to,
Morbid Anatomy (NSFW)

a well as a range of artists and fantastic works my favourites being:
Peter Callesen, poetic paper sculptor
Peter Milton, steam punk flavoured
Unusual taxidermy
Les Deux Garcon aka more surreal taxidermy
Custom Creature Taxidermy, quite a few squirrels some cute, some an aquired taste!
Jessica Joslin, fabulous skeletal animals, combining Baroque with steam punk.

Chai Tea with kick

Listening to The Way I Are by Timberland

Chai lattés right now are the hottest thing since ... café lattés a few years ago. Most cafés make them.
What about when you're at home?
Try this:
Brew some chai tea (I'm sure loose leaf is best but I have only bags myself).
Sweeten with honey. Sugar cubes daintily dropped into your cup with sugar tongs are fun as well :)
Sprinkle a shake of ground cinnamon, then stir it in.
Stir in a shot of Vanilla Galliano.
Delish!

Quokka Nest Island

Listening to Ladykiller by Alice in Videoland

;) aka Rottnest Island
M took most of the photos since he had the SLR with him. Check out Cute Overload for his best quokka shot which made the grade!
Here are some of mine taken with the compact.

Our accomodation was so close to the beach we could fall asleep to and wake up to the soothing sound of waves softing breaking on the beach. The curtains on the windows were cute (if only they had matching tea towels in the gift shop!).


We hired bikes and went for a ride each day. I took this pic on our first ride (it may well be an outdoor toilet but I thought it made a good photo anyway!).


In lieu of going swimming - it was too cold even though the weather was fine - I lay down and made this:


The quokka were adorable and mildly inquisitive. They are at their most easy to spot in the late afternoon around 4/5pm and into the night (they're nocturnal). They are macropods like kangaroos. At this time of year there are many mothers with their joeys out and about.

Wind Chimes' Engrish

Listening to Luv Your Life by Silverchair

'The simplicity of design endows it with variations, each pipe is given the music score of life just as if a group of innocent children is singing blessing for you along with breeze'

'For your safety, do not put the aluminium alloy or chiming rod into mouth or near eyes as such actions would bring injury'

Labyrinth Masquerade Ball

Listening to Relativity by Grafton Primary

On Saturday we went to the first Melbourne, Labyrinth Masquerade Ball. There were party games, period style dancing, beautiful costumes, and much effort put in to looking fantastic by virtually all who attended. Hopefully they will have another one next year!







Website of the Day

Cute Overload for your daily dose of cuteness. Check out the dancing otter!

Pirate Macros

I've started a new community on Live Journal called Pirate Macros (link).
Not sure what a macro is? Explanation here.

Anyone can view it but only community members can post. Become a member and join in the fun, or link and bookmark us to keep up with the latest silly pirate thing we dish up :) It's small but growing!

Aah!

Found one of these in the garden today


Victorian Funnel Web spider

It popped out of an old pot thing I was trying to move. I gently nudged it back in with a stick and it retreated so not an aggressive spider. Eventually it popped out of another hole, crawled off and I gave it a quick flick to move it further along! Somewhat disconcerting since it was the biggest spider I've met while gardening ... The worms here are the biggest worms I've come across but that is cool not scary.

Recipe: Banana Smoothie

2 ripe bananas (over ripe is even better!)
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
2 tsp powdered drinking chocolate

Blend all ingredients together :)
Serves 2.

5 things about Italy you won't read in a book

Listening to: Policy of Truth (Art of Mix) by Depeche Mode

1
More Italians are riding motorcycles than scooters now. 10 years ago the mosquito whine was an intergral part of the Roman soundscape. There are still lots just not as many...
[purrs] Ciaaaaao [makes scooter revving motion with hands] ala Eddie Izzard in Dressed to Thrill...

2
It's funny watching the street vendors of fake designer hand bags/sunglasses all running along in a group, each with a bundled up sheet of bags or board of sunglasses bouncing about. You know the police must be in the area. It's funny because they are persistant/annoying when you normally go past them.

3
As ubiquitous as the fake designer ware vendors, are the vendors selling rattle snake eggs (magnetic 'eggs' that make a racket when you throw them together) at every major Roman tourist attaction. They are like magic you know, and made in Italy of course that's why they sell them, and you can't buy them anywhere else in the world...

4
Laser pointer vendors point their wares at your feet while crossing San Marco's Square at night making you think you're about to get burnt by stray cigarette ash... Presumably laser pointers are really easy to buy in Venice. 'Cause you need them there to point at the water. Otherwise you might miss it. I should be directing all of my customers there. "You can try Officeworks, a pen shop or St Mark's Square in Venice."

5
Judging by the billboards Italians dig fake breasts and tans in a big way :P Two campaigns in particular were prominent. One was for a luggage company the name of which eludes us. Clearly not an effective campaign. The two women featured were barely buttoned into their shirts, coyly handling the, ah, merchandise. I found it amusing to say 'Tits! :)' to M - he sometimes spotted them before me and said it - every time we went past them at Rome's Termini station as well as quite a few other places.

A more effective campaign in terms of remembering the brand and conveying a message is this one which I managed to track down online:



Seen at train stations in Rome, Milan and Naples. We saw this one on average every two minutes on our lengthy bus ride to the airport in Milan. Imagine the Hollywood Tape needed for this shoot!

Cocktail Recipes: Ski Lift and Tropical Hobbit

Warm drink, known as a Ski Lift in the cocktail book* I have.
Make a yourself a hot chocolate as you normally would. Add to your cup:
1/2 measure of Malibu
1 measure of peach schnapps
Stir
Gives you a nice warm glow :)

Cold drink - my own concoction. Do you think we could get the name kiwi fruit changed to hobbit fruit? :P
Tropical Hobbit
1 mango chopped
2 kiwifruit peeled and chopped
1 cup or so of orange juice
Blend ingredients together. Drink up!


* Walton S, Olivier S, Farrow J, 'The Bartender's Companion to 750 Cocktails', Hermes House (Anness Publishing), London, 2005
This book is excellent value, with a wide range of cocktails, juices, smoothies and an index by cocktail name and ingredient. It also gives you information on liquors you might not know a lot (or anything) about.

Tokyo - Shopping and Gothic Subculture

Listening to: It's like that by Run DMC
We're back from our trip!
Our stop over in Tokyo was eye popping!

The shopping there is amazing. My favourite shop was Tokyu Hands, Shibuya. It's a department store that sells EVERYTHING you could need to make things/DIY/arty crafty from hardware, lengths of all sorts of materials to jewellery making and scientific glassware! I would have bought a lot more than a plastic pipette and some sculpting balloons if I didn't have to worry about lugging it around the world with me. Mobile phone danglies galore. Even scored a freebie one of a squirrel wearing headphones. Visited a shinto shrine which was nice for a change of pace. They are big on ladies' knee/thigh high socks. You see women in customer service wearing them and as street wear with heels and boots. I got some in stripey and lace tops.

Harajuko for Goths
Was strange seeing the tourists wandering around taking photos of goths. Yes there were 'wow!' outfits though most were wearing a Japanese flavoured outfit of what I'm already familiar with. The idea that members of my subculture are a tourist attraction makes me feel weird. Why isn't it happening at Flinders Street Station? Okay don't answer that! Maybe we better dressed goths need to go there and congregate every 4th Sunday dressed to the 9s ... or not because it could be boring :P It's interesting that goths are part of the streetscape everywhere else but here there is such a fascination with them. A few of the Harijuko goths had little wheely suitcases with them. I suspect they contained a change of clothes and make up remover so they could go home like nothing had happened afterwards.

It was sooo hard to choose something to buy there what with stylish things, very reasonable prices, and the current Australian dollar to Yen exchange rate. Got a cute, black tutu skirt from Bodyline (they don't have change rooms but a skirt with an elastic waist wasn't a big gamble fit wise) and a wrist cuff combining metallic, red PVC, black lace and silvery chain from Putumayo (best range of jewellery/accessories). Alice in Wonderland is a major influence. Lolita style is HUGE with one boutique dedicated to it (very cute Strawberry Shortcake-like things). Lots of oversized bows, frills and lace. There is a heavy metal influence as well. Printed Engrish text as a pattern on black gaberdine/cotton drill fabric is the bread and butter of more than one shop. Quite a few men had what I described as the Jareth or Bowie hair cut ala Goblin King. Kabuki and traditional influences could also be found in the individual outifits but not so much the boutiques. A local goth checked out M's pinstripe sneakers :)


Street performer/busker, Harajuko.
He was nuts!

*As a woman - there's still not a lot for men :(

Pan's Labyrinth - Review

Listening to: Long, Long Time Ago from Pan's Labyrinth soundtrack

Wow. It was so wonderful, I was blown away. Everything good you have read about it is true. After one viewing it's on my list of favourite movies.

In short, it's a fairytale for adults. The dark, gothic sensibility ranges from earthiness to brutality, visceral to brooding, making the scenes of sweetness, beauty and light even more brilliant and delightful. Visually rich, attentive to detail, scary, gruesome, emotive. You feel such empathy for Ofelia, the film's little girl heroine.

The fairytale magical realm, Ofelia's world, and the rest of the world are intertwined. You can't be sure which one is real or intruding on the other. Is all of this magic really happening or is it just in her head? Right up until the end you can't be 100% sure. After a while you figure, "that couldn't have happened otherwise so it must be real".

Definitely not to be confused with Jim Henson's film Labyrinth. It's absolutely nothing like it. The story is set during the civil war, 1944 in Fascist Spain. The MA rating is well justified, this is NOT a family film. There are several particularly gruesome scenes. Two of these made me wince and screw up my face though I kept on watching because I didn't want to miss anything. I won't say which ones but those who have seen it will probably guess. I could hear others in the audience making stifled sounds of alarm at the time.



The Pale Man was terrifying - I felt scared for Ofelia. It wasn't just the creepy eyes in his hands, it was the pictures on the wall letting you know what he could/would do, the way he staggered about and ripped into ... things.



Pan himself was a bit creepy. You couldn't be completely sure if he was noble in his intentions. Traditionally fauns are ambiguous creatures. That certainly made him more interesting as a character. He made rattle noises like the alien from Predator and had a temper, yet his blue eyes were seemed to have such a kindness about them. How did they made him walk? Was he was a man in a costume with some animatronics or CGI? After revisiting the website it looks as if they have added extra features, and I have my answer.

Another creature of note is the giant toad. It was kind of cute in a way that only toads can be. The scene with it and Ofelia reminded me a bit of a scene from the NeverEnding Story. Atreyu the warrior child is in the Swamp of Sadness covered in mud and encounters the giant tortoise, Morla. I guess it was the mud soaked, brown haired, wide eyed child and cold blooded, moist critter splattering the kid in mucous-mud-goop that did it :P Don't take mention of this to mean I think it's derivative because it isn't. This film is nothing like anything else I have seen and I'm a connoisseur of fantasy and magic :)

I can't recommend it highly enough. Loved it.

Website of the Day
Pan's Labyrinth Official Website
Features multimedia and excerpts from Del Toro's sketchbook, character design sketches and behind the scenes make-up photos. You can also listen to the entire movie soundtrack as available on CD.

Bad luck

Listening to: Love Action by The Human League

Does bad luck come in threes?
Any tips for stopping it from happening?
Do you believe in karma?
What did I do wrong?

Yesterday I bought a teapot to match my tea cups at 20% off at House in Melbourne Central and broke it in less than a minute of leaving the shop.

It was wrapped in one sheet of paper which under normal circumstances would probably be adequate. The shoes I was wearing wearing have from time to time clipped the ground when I've been walking along but they're not clown shoes and I haven't exactly stumbled in them :P Anyhoo. I walked out of the shop and went to take the first step on the stairs just outside but stumbled - perhaps on the bumps put there to aid the vision impaired, perhaps on my clown shoes. Naturally I put my hands in front of me to stop my fall . I was okay but the teapot hit the stone steps with a heart sinking tinkle. Back into the store I went, told them what happened. We unwrapped it to find the handle was beyond repair. I asked what they could do for me. I wasn't expecting a refund or even a replacement for free. That would be unreasonable. They took 30% off a replacement teapot and used some bubble wrap. [sigh]

Tonight M did the green thing and cycled down the shops to buy stuff for dinner. He used his new cable combination lock which he had just figured out. I suggested using my U-lock until he had it licked but he was insistent. 45 minutes later I get a call saying he can't the lock open! Safeway doesn't sell any kind of saw in its 'hardware' section. Fortunately I had packed a small kitchen saw when I moved over here. We were able to saw through in less than 15 minutes with no questions asked by passers by.

So let our bad luck be a lesson you dear reader:
Insist on well wrapped crockery.
Cable locks are pointless unless you're leaving your bike for a VERY short period. I recommend a U-lock. It's heavier but it does the job well.
$15, combination, cable locks from Big W are unreliable.
Keep a hack saw with a metal-cutting blade in the house.

I'm thinking of getting a fire blanket :(

Cocktail Recipe: The Meerkat

Listening to: Flute Concerto in D, Op. 27; I - Allegro moderato by Luigi Boccherini

I have developed a cocktail. Nothing fancy - it's a sexed up and sophisticated version of a vodka tonic. Tonic water has such a distinctive, strong flavour so it isn't used in many cocktails. You have the G&T and the V&T. This is my ode to tonic water which I think is delicious and worthy of being in more than a simple 2 part cocktail. I've added my own flourishes to make it special. It's so very refreshing on a hot day and because it's built rather than shaken, no fuss at all to make. Like all good inventions it was created out of necessity. We didn't have any lemonade!

Here's how to make The Meerkat.

The Meerkat
Build over ice in a tall glass:
1 measure* vodka;
half a measure of old fashioned lime cordial;
half a measure of lime juice.
Fill with tonic water.

Garnishes to try:
A slice or curl of lime.
A slice or curl of lemon.
An intact or lightly crushed (between your fingers not muddled), fresh mint leaf. Delicious!



*measure = 30ml

Website of the Day
I saw the figures at my local toy shop this morning.
Mega Bloks (ala Lego clone) does Pirates of the Carribean
OMG there's an animation of it on the website! [lol 'til my eyes water]

Nuke an instant artefact

Listening to : All is Full of Love by Bjork

Got dud CD burns or other CD/DVD material you don't want? Perhaps you want to jazz up your existing CD coasters. Or maybe you just want to do something slightly dangerous with an element of science/experimentation ala Myth Busters.

Nuke an instant artefact!

You will need a:
CD
microwave oven
paper towel or a piece of paper

Put the paper/paper towel on the microwave oven carousel, and place CD on top on it, label down.
For 1500W ovens: nuke for 2 seconds
For 800W ovens: nuke for 5 seconds
Don't press your nose to the glass but watch as you nuke it for the exciting blue sparking and a small cracking noise as the tracks go pop!
Take care when removing the disk from the microwave as there will be a small amount of fumes. Give it a little rinse with cool water to remove loose label fragments.
Take a look at it. It should have gone from something new and shiny to something that looks instantly aged with interesting track patterns. Nifty or what? If you use a piece of glossy paper like I did, you will see the track patterns on it.

Thanks to Pandita for this one :) The lady is a fount of interesting things. She showed this trick to me with a demo Olivia Newton John Christmas CD at work. Mwahahaha!




Disclaimer: Lady Meerkat accepts no responsibility for damage to equipment or persons who try this experiment for themselves.

Irony @ Safeway

Listening to: Living in America by James Brown

My local Safeway* doesn't sell brake light bulbs.


*Interational readers: it's a supermarket.

A Japanese Slipper makes it Hunky Dory.

Listening to: Oh! You pretty things by David Bowie

Digging:
0 David Bowie's Hunky Dory, esp. current track which I haven't heard before owning this album. Life on Mars has always been a favourite for the dramatic, sweeping strings and vocals in the chorus.
0 Homemade, Japanese Slippers (about 30ml each of Cointreau, Midori, lemon or lime juice shaken with ice).

Work was nuts this afternoon. SOOOO BUSY! Understaffed by one person. We coped but had to take a deep breath now and then. Went on autopilot at about 10am and stayed on that for most of the day.