Currently

listening to Quentin Tarantino 's Jackie Brown soundtrack, making apricot jam and tomato chutney (if I said I was about to begin sewing the shirt I have laid out on the floor.. would that be a bit too much?)

Holding nothing

I have a glorious treasure that is no longer in my grasp
I treasure glimpses of it every day
Every moment is special time, fleeting
Special gorgeous unrealising gift
Gorgeous exquisite lovepain gratitude enfolding
Gratitude, now and present
Intense present slipping suddenly to a memory
Suddenly now a question; is this the last time?
Every day, grasp, accept, last..

Xmas light drive around hunt

So this evening I went with my sister na dbrother in law and nephew Rain ( the coolest boy on the planet) to drive about the place hunting for people'/s xmas lights.

i thought (and so did perry and dawn) that we were just gonna drive around and maybe peak in some windows at people's trees....
BUT there is liek a secret underground xmas lights circuit or something
IT WAS CRAZY
We couldn't believe it
it was like WONDERLANDS
we were like dancing in fairy lights next to sleighs with animated reindeer
and sitting in little xmas grottos with santa collectiosn and xmas terain sets and xmas sofas with xmas picture books and hiphop bunnies

AND (no word of a lie) THAT WAS JUST TWO PLACES















more photos clickie clickie

Sad

Feel like a bag of hurty pain. *sigh*
life eh!
It's somewhat eased off now.

Tomorrow I will get up, feed the cat, plant some beetroot, bake the xmas cake, wrap some xmas presents, talk to Todd, watch some shows and go to bed.

One day this life will be over and I'll have worked off some karma for something =)

Still no book.

Still haven't got that book I ordered.

Tonight I made first dinner and it looked great but sucked crap so I threw it out and made second dinner.

Second dinner looked like crap but it tasted good! (homemade basil pesto and angel hair pasta)

Elegant Truths aka I miss Carl...

Writer Nick Sagan, son of Carl Sagan, was impressed with "A Glorious Dawn", giving it a favorable review and stamp of approval. Sagan writes: "John Boswell over at Colorpulse Music is a mad genius, sampling both Cosmos and Stephen Hawking's Universe series into three minutes and thirty-four seconds of pure, concentrated awesomeness...Love it, love it, love it. Dad would have loved it, too." (from Wikipedia)

byebye Whatisbethdoingrightnow

About to delete the joke blog - some people taking it seriously rather than laughing about it.

But wanted to keep this one post *giggles*





















What is Beth doing?

a. Preparing her prayer mat to worship at the foot of Shine?
b. Picking up Jonesy munge?
c. Preparing a little picnic?
d. First aid on a wounded officeworker?

End of the Day

Kind of a conflicting, confronting day.
Got a run in with Jonesy so that is something! Oh and the nomination I submitted for Beth WON!
YAH!

Funny!

Made a new blog today while joking around with Beth at work MUWuahHAHAhahHA!

whatisbethdoingnow.blogspot.com

Will have to remember to take camera to work tomorrow!


Day after freerange chicken is goooooood - especially with lettuce, red onion and mint I grew... thai chicken salad YUM!

Oh.... and a self portrait!

Roast chicken...

Roast free range chicken for dinner.
One step closer to clearing out the non cleanse food in readiness for the Quantum Wellness cleanse.

There is dwelling to be done on the long term merits of veganism vs setting a good example/supporting the humane treatment of animals by buying and requesting humanely treated animals products.

Veganism does little to improve conditions for our fellow living beings.
The commercial power of choosing free range does.

Sony signed Hayley

Totally chuffed!
Although they would have been silly not to right now - she's gonna be doing good music anyway.

My Garden Rocks

Dinner tonight included three items grown myself and supported the leaning into the 21 day cleanse...
Thai Lamb salad.
NOTE: Did not grow my own lamb
NOTE2: Lamb exactly NOT one of things on cleanse list but does contribute towards cleaning out my freezer and fridge of things not on cleanse list before I start so they dont' go to waste (and not, that's not an excuse not to start it's is part of the be more consious and don't waste stuff philosophy that fits well with the 21 day cleanse ideals I'm sure!)


Tomorrow will be Dec and then I woudl have 21 days before xmas to do the cleanse... but, I still have a free range chicken in the fridge and haven't got the book in the mail yet.
I figure I will have cooked up the chicken by week's end thenthere's just freerange pork and fennel sausages (x2) and then I'd be set.
However.. do I want my first day of uncleanse to be XMAS DAY... LOL! I'd spend it throwing up no doubt or at the very least disappointing some poor exvited xmas day chef.

Must dwell more on this, although not long to dwell.
I have a thought today that perhaps 21 days will turn into 365 days of doing something radically different that i coudl blog about every day.
Ok, one thing to dwell on at a time.

Note to self: John Campbell will be doign a bit on the meaning of "free range" this week. He's great (and I am not just saying that coz he twittered me the other night)!

Josh Madden, Edward Scissorhands, The Crow and Heath Ledger's Joker

So, lately, (and I think I can hold Aussie Idol and Rove accountable) I have found myself drawn to the Madden Lads. I don't listen to Good Charlotte (although I know who they are) and don't have any Good Charlotte music (although the song they played accoustic on Aussie Idol I do like so maybe I will check some out). I have, however, been following Joel's (and Benji's and Nicole's for that matter) tweets.

For some reason in my Madden following I found this blog and for some reason I thought it was Joel's... (which leads me to an embarassing twitter gaff that I just realise I have just made by tweeting to Joel to ask him something about the post I am about to refer to in this entry... *blushes with embarassment* - Josh is actually Benji and Joel's brother...at least now I know why in my head I keep calling Joel, Josh... thank god I don't know these people!!)

Putting aside my embarassment for a few mins, this entry got me to thinking about two things.
Firstly - my pie blog post that I made way back last year sometime which is probably a reblog from an eariler blog entry ( I think because of the research and the linking and such) and
Secondly - I wonder if there is a link from the stuff he found links to and to Heath Ledger's Joker - coz Brandon Leee in the Crow reminds me a lot of Heath's version of The Joker (which is the embarassing thing I just asked JOEL in twitter when I THOUGHT I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time when he twittered that he would answer the first 10 twitter questions *sighs in more embarassment*).

Ok, back to my embarassment now. *blushes* Man, I hope Joel does actually ignore what I tweeted to him and I don't get "lucky" like I did when John Campbell tweeted me back the other day.
*slinks away to do mantras of self forgiveness*

Two fings

Got up early to crank up the PC. Starting the recovery scan on the broken external drive from a few months ago... don't know why I didn't think to do this sooner instead of sending it down to my IT buddy who wasn't able to fix this one.
He has previously dehoused seemingly dead drives for me and rehomed them in a desktop pc and they are fine and dandy... this one however is a laptop size external so no joy.. until now!
Scan is working!
Time elapsed: 32 mins Processing block: 1444800 of 4882818 Remaining time: 1:18:43 ....
Next issue will be finding space to recover the files too... very little on the PC hence the need for externals!

Had opportunity to get a terrabyte external recently but NONO - bugger putting ALL my preciousness on one drive and loosing the lot in one foul swoop...bad enough loosing 5 seasons of Top Gear all in one hit, can't imagine the depths of depression I would delve into if all my QI and BBC docos went as well!
*shudders*

In other news - I have some 21 day cleanse updates.
I have a rewards card for a big NZ book store chain and they emailed me telling me I would get 20% off if I ordered books from their website.. so off I surfed. Found the Quantum Wellness main book for 23$ (which is the book the physical store told me they don't have in the country and that it wouldn't arrive here until after xmas...) and thought.. ooO and I get 20% off!
Except I don't coz I screwed up the order in my excitedness and totally missed the spot where one would intelligently enter their rewards card number.

No response to pathetic followup email asking if some kind soul could please remedy my err.

OK.. sitting on floor watching process typing on laptop not helping - only inducing cramp AND pins and needles in left foot!

Still over an hour remaining.

Wind and the Night Stakes

You know how I said it was windy... well, it still is.

Last night I was outside in the dark and wind with my head torch staking up my sunflowers and tomatoes which weren't gonna stand another night of the weird gusty strong wind of never before...

21 day cleanse

never dieted before in my life...

But wanted to let you all know, in my casual leaning in to a more healthy food instake that aligns better with my spiritual outlook, I am going to soon embark on a version of Kathy Freston's 21 day cleanse and blog about it (just for a bit of accountability).

Was gonna do this soon but as my brother pointed out, when i invited him to join me virtually and make it a joint quest of sorts... the timing is not so flash with xmas approaching... LOL!

Stay tuned!

it's windy

very windy.


EDIT: Please note: This post is not food related...

QI

I am jolly chuffed to have addicted Todd to QI.

*pleased with self*

More things to remember when sewing

2. Don't hold the pins in your mouth.

I can't even begin to explain to you the injury I did to the inside of my nostril...

A Change

I believe I am becoming weary of not enough people being aware of how much I rock...

Things to keep in mind while cutting fabric for sewing.

1. Keep hair tied back.

Twit

Just looking at the length of my recent posts - may as well be tweeting! (twittering?, a tweeter? hmmm)

BBC Radio 4 News Quiz

Nothing like a Sunday morning listening to the BBC Radio 4 News Quiz and eating homemade sushi.

My poor cat friend!

The instances of me forgetting to unlock his cat door in the morning are becoming more frequent.

In writing

it conveys nothing like what it was in my mind

Disappear

I composed a poem in my head just now, I wonder if I should have written it down...

My hoard

In response to this, I too, have discovered an exciting, albeit somewhat smaller and come to think of it, less valuable, hoard of my own.

I Rock

I know coz Beth made me a list!

1. You are surrounded by friends and family who lurve you

2. You get cuddles by request and on demand from a particularly cute wee lad

3. You live in a beautiful part of an amazing country

4. You have a job where people respect and admire you

5. You are fit and healthy

6. You have a good sense of personal style

7. You are intelligent and witty

8. Opportunities abound for personal growth in both your private and work life

9. You have a kickin’ new bike to hoon around on

10. Plus, you just rock!

My new t shirt

I am staying young

I am hip and groovey

I am not an old fogey...

I signed up to twitter *giggles*

new bike-badthing

It was the right idea to replace my stolen bike. I miss my oldnew bike very much, but the new one makes me happy too.

in anyone else

You're part time lover and a full time friend,
The monkey on the back is the latest trend,
Don't see what anyone can see,
In anyone else,
But you

Here is a church and here is a steeple,
We sure are cute for two ugly people,
Don't see what anyone can see,
In anyone else,
But you

We both have shiny happy fits of rage,
I want more fans, you want more stage,
Don't see what anyone can see,
In anyone else,
But you

I'm always tryin to keep it real,
Now I'm in love with how you feel,
I don't see what anyone can see,
In anyone else,
But you

I kiss you on the brain in the shadow of the train,
I kiss you all starry eyed,
My body swings from side to side,
I don't see what anyone can see,
In anyone else,
But you

The pebbles forgive me,
The trees forgive me,
So why can't,
You forgive me?
I don't see what anyone can see,
In anyone else,
But you

Du du du du du du dudu
Du du du du du du dudu
I don't see what anyone can see,
In anyone else,
But you.

Milk

"Without hope the USs give up"

Procrastination

200 years ago.

Happy Birthday Charles Darwin!
(and thanks!)

There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.

Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

Part of your house's fire plan...

The Human Engine for Evolution

I spend a considerable amount of time thinking about evolution. It stems, no doubt, from my apitude for natural sciences. I really am a follower of the religion of Darwinism.


Often these days my physical-anthropolgist-self ponders about human evolution. What form does this take now?
We have obviously surpassed the whole issue of stronger, faster, handsomer, bigger, better in terms of selecting the other partner for our childmaking.
All our 'advances' in medicine and genetics and science and hygiene and vaccinations and policies and dental care and food production etc etc have all led to a range of what would have previously been unproductive gene contributors who are now actually contributing genes and carrying on their lines (so to speak).

The weak, the small, the obese, the cancerous, the dentally challenged (to bluntly name a few) breed. The bald, the big nosed, the short armed, the computer fingered, the blind, the paraplegic... I'd rather not go on in the event that my seemingly flippant mingling of serious afflictions and non serious may cause offense when that is not at all my intention so let's carry on with my point.
Which is, really, that physical traits and abilities have been surpassed in evolutionary terms and things that are less practical/physical/tangible and more etherial and have become the deciding factor in human gene bequethment. And thank goodness for that (?!)
So, human evolution must be shifting. You can pass on your genes if you are (for examples sake) unable to hunt, and be strong and/or fit. Our weak and weary can pass on their genes making the intangible just as important a contribution to human genetic diversity as the afore mentioned strong fit thing.

Alison Lapper, British artist, was born in 1965 without arms and shortened legs, the result of a medical condition called phocomelia and her son, Parys.

So I ponder - what drives human evolution now?
Today I am pondering that it could well be choice.

Gary Zukav says in his book "Seat of the Soul" that choice is the engine of human evolution.
I gravitate strongly towards his idea that the centre of the human evolutionary process now is choice.
I think that the goal (and I will anthropomorphise the whole process of evolution so I can call it a goal) up until now has been to develop our physical skills and our innovative brain to exploit** the things we identify around us for our own advancement in a species selfish way.
We have certainly reached that goal.
We know how to do that and when you have attained a goal, it is time to set a new one.
We have been so ferociously good at accomplishing our goal we are at a point when the appropriate next goal for our species would be to work on our compassionate and mindful side potential.
You might say.. but that is not how evolution works. We don't get to decide.
And I would say.. before humans came along I would have agreed with you (although the specifics of that argument best not be dwelled upon on the grounds that it might well seem impossible).

We control evolution.
We control, either inadvertently, accidentally or on purpose, the evolutionary process of other species in an accelerated way. We cause the extinction of species and alternatively, we are the only thing stopping some species from becoming extinct.

(must note that Todd interupts here with "WE. ARE. IN. CONTROL. WITH. OUR. SHIPS." which, no doubt, is reference to the aliens that were meant to unmistakably visit last September, or was it October? and then he notes, somewhat more relevantly "because we have suspended natural selection for others as well").


The world's heaviest parrot. The kakapo. A flightless ground nesting noctural slow breeding marvel of a bird that is all but defenseless against the myriad of introduced mammal species that have devastated New Zealand's native species. 90 of these birds exist currently (up from 54) and only because of the efforts of a dedicated and commited (certifiable?!) bunch of kakapo heroes! (such as Daryl Eason, also pictured)

The humans species has been so good at the evolutionary process we have developed a few traits to an extent which really does set us apart from other species in a number crucial respects.
We make choices and have the ability to weigh up the consequences of those choices, we use increasingly complex tools, we have empathy, we co-ordinate others through sophisticated communication, we practise medicine and tend to our sick (and sometimes the sick of others), we deliberately innovate (rather than mutation related accidents), we modify the environment to suit our needs, we have a concept of a spiritual life and spiritual beliefs, we collect luxury items not directly related to our survival (then pay to put them in a storage unit...!!), we are artists, we bury our dead.

With the exception of perhaps the spiritual life, all these other traits are exhibited in varying amounts among some other species. Otters and primates (for example) use tools, beavers modify waterways, chimps eat a particular combination of soil with a certain plant that combined combat malaria, chimps and african wild dogs both have sophisticated communication for co-ordinated hunting parties, elephants recognise the bones of their dead and at times bury their dead family members, elephants, whales and dolphins tend to and support their wounded.


However, in humans, the very essence of what makes one of those traits different has developed to such an extent we have the choice of what to do our other developed traits. The conscious choice. We have the ability while flexing this choice muscle to utilise our aquired knowledge (thanks Karma) operate in a more spiritually aware, compassionate and mindful way. We can weigh the consequences and fix our intention.
That is the part that relates to this new proposed goal for the next phase of human development - the intention behind that choice.
There is an intention behind every action we have and it is those intentions that shape our individual paths through the world and influence how we see the world and others in it and how we intepret the actions and attitudes of others.
In 'Seat of the Soul', Zukav says

...each choice that you make is a choice of intention.
You may choose to remain silent in a particular situation and that action may serve one of these intentions
* penalising
* showing compassion
* exacting vengence
* showing patience
* loving
Alternatively you may choose to speak forcefully - with the one of the exact same intentions.

What you choose with each action and thought is an intention, a quality of consciouness that you bring to your action or thought.

And it is that consciousness and intention that creates not only our immediate individual realities through attitudes and the way we deal with things that happen to us, but also the future of our species and just as importantly, increasing numbers of other species.


I have yet to take pondering to a further level to actually provide proof of how choice manifests in human evolution past what I am saying because I only conglomerated most of this today heehhehe!
So, stay tuned I guess.
It's all part of my whole "all roads lead to rome" theory on life the universe and everything.
It's the part of me that would like to use my past life regression training as a scientific method to amass anthropological information of the mundane details of lifetimes of the past.

(Todd interupts again to say "Once when I wore metal skirts and brushes on my head..." - which is a throw back to a character from the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the lightning guy whose stories of times he was hit by lightning have integrated themselves into his and my daily culture...)

Todd uses this moment to also coin a term for that predilection of mine... "spiritual archeology!"
(That archeology degree had to have a use sometime! Roll on PhD!)

Shine Kelly: Spiritual Archeologist
It's field work without the field!

Maybe in my next life *giggles*

** I understand that exploit here is a very subjective term that really already doesn't relate to a lot of species working in the realm of everyday normal, has-been-going-on-for-millions-of-years, evolution. But it does, to be honest, fit in quite well with the nutshell description of what humans do to the earth as a species. And furthermore, I am not preaching scripture here or delivering gospel - I'm blogging, give me a break.

Blessings for the Day

1. We saw a kereru quite close above the track on the tour this morning (and by we I mean the special children and I, well except the one that was blind and mostly deaf...)
2. All four inside caterpillars look to be cocooning safely (when I say look to be, I mean two have made J shapes on the plant and one has a silk platform on a high shelf and the other one is not sure what he's doing but I left him well provided for and I don't suppose he will hang from teh lower shelf like one of the previous ones who was lost in an unforuntately squishing incident involving the cleaner...)
3. Went for bike ride (although I did not take my gloves so I might have jiggered arms later!)
4. Gate I usually have to stop at to lift bike over, at top of one of the wee hills I bike up, was open and the cows were all lounging about in the shade lookign all mellow and lowish.
5. I did not get a jolt from the electric fence at the gate I did need to lift my bike over (and I mentioned this because last time I DID - although i woudl have worked out a way to be grateful for that as well!)
6. Saw Rain at the river one way back from biking (I saw him on the way bikign as well, and waved to him across the river, it was funny because he was the only one that saw me heehheeh)
7. Ely's little legs unbent (watched Echo of the Elephants with Todd)

Seven Pounds of Pissed Off (NB: contains spoilers for film)

AGAIN I SAY: If you plan on seeing a much better than reviewed Will Smith movie and don't want it to be spoiled by finding out what happens then skip reading my blog today.


'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
I reckon I'd be super pissed if I had a rare blood type and a congenital heart defect and this amazing man came into my life who was good and kind and smart and caring and he told me he loved me and talked about marriage and having kids with me then he went home and lay in a bath of ice with a poisonous jelly fish so I could live a longer life with his heart and woody harrelson could have his cornea.

I reckon I would be so pissed I would turn my printing press into a tardis and travel back in time and kick his arse really hard.
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

I'm just sayin'

Barrack

With Obama being inaugurated today I think
... there is a return of reverence to the office of President
... he will be a gracious president
... his example will empower us by showing us all how to use what we have in a positive way to move forward rather than a negitive way looking back and blaming others
... he will use language in a positive and inspiring way that will be a wonderful role model for a leader of others
... his presidency will contribute to the feeling that we are all family and that the planet is our home

Professional Development

.
.

Have decided to give myself some professional development (upskill myself in something because I feel I am just not learnign enough new stuff) so I picked Photoshop cs3 seeing I have it and just am not utilising it to it's full potential AND there are some excellent tutorials easily found online!

These pics show my first effort at two things I have created over the last few days.

My Thoughts are Powerful

Every thought I think
creates my future