New Mexico bites back

So Judi and I are kayaking at Apple Tree Bay late on Friday afternoon. Here's a Google Earth picture:



The hot sun and sand on the skin makes me wish for a fish taco. I mention this to Judi and we stop after only an hour or so - she's hungry too! So where can you get a fish taco in Sydney? Our mobile phones don't help or at least we don't know how to use them to find out - we're googlers. So after trawling through Turramurra on the way back, we decide that a fish curry would do as well. There are three options in Turramurra - we choose the wrong one, I think. Both of us are sick the next day, me especially (by the way one of the Mexican restaurants in Sydney is called Montezuma, which really isn't a good name). Anyway, today, Sunday, we did the research and found a place in Cafe La Soul in Bateau Bay that has an excellent sounding fish taco on the menu. It's about an hour's drive and we're neither one of us up to the drive. So it's off to Woolworth's for the makings - Old El Paso's Taco Shells, some freshwater basa (catfish), green stuff, etc. Turned out pretty good, even if I say so myself. So it can be done. I also bought some refried beans with green chile for the inevitable craving for a burrito. It's best to be prepared.

The source for my craving was a happy memory of the fish tacos at El Sombrero in Socorro. All the New Mexican food there is excellent but I really like the fish tacos. Next time you're passing by, try it out.

Tim

Entry point to American Political Blogs

Ruth and Ernie asked about American political blogs. The left (both moderate and further out) are now beginning to make good use of blogs. The Huffington Post is an excellent starting point - see both the headlined news stories and also the pointers to various blog sites about half way down the page in the middle. For video, you can go to Crooks and Liars, which provides short clips from various programs, including news and late night shows.

The Daou Report has links to both left and right wing blogs, chosen from a liberal point of view so the right wing links always look foolish (at least to me).

These are the main places that I read.

Tim

Kayaking with an Artist

Tim and I went kayaking this morning with Ernie Gerzabek. We met at a windy Narrabeen Lake, but chose a nice little creek to paddle down. Since Ernie wasn't going to bring his kayak (he hasn't used it for 3 years), I brought the dogs along thinking I would have some spare time to look after them. Well, Ernie brought his kayak (one of those sleek, tippy models), so the dogs had to keep up by running along the shoreline. This worked out well for every one, except perhaps the poor hapless ducks who were just minding their own business.... until this little black water rat, named Sammy, dog-paddled his way.... well, let me just say that his stamina is incredible. Two kayakers were paddling by whilst Sammy was pursuing his prey and to be friendly, I called out, "This dog is a very optimistic hunter!" (re: catching a duck); and one kayaker yelled back to me, "Thanks mate, I thought that was just the ugliest duck I ever saw!"

After kayaking, Tim and I went to Ernie's house and visited with he and his wife, Ruth. These are great people - interesting, well educated, can't understand how the US population could re-elect Bush... etc. Their home is like an art museum. Ernie is an architect by training, but "retired" to pursue his art. I've put a link to the side of the blog, but here is the same link, Some Favorite Art. Ernie's art is unique and he uses the most incredible colors. You will see that he has been in the process of really being "discovered" for several years now, but his incredible work is still affordable - original art! A friend of mine in Arizona has been collecting his work for some time, I contacted Ernie while we were still in the US, and I am enamored of his paintings. By the way, Ernie is also a refugee of Hungary.... and, well.... read his site or wait until the movie comes out!

A nice way to spend a day.

Cheers, Judi

The President and the Law

See the very illuminating Q&A by Fafnir.

Tim

This Bobbin Head Ain't Noddin' Off

It has been two nights now of little to no sleep. I don't know what is causing my insomnia, but I want it to stop now! I thought yesterday after an afternoon of kayaking and no sleep the night before.... anyway, please bear with my "brain-deadness."

One thing I suggest that you not do if you desire a restful night is read Amazing Australia's on-line account of shark attacks, crocodile attacks, spider attacks, snakes, and so forth. If I weren't so darn good at dissociating, I wouldn't leave my home - ever! - but I AM a good dissociator, so I just won't think about it! I'll float around on my little blue kayak and I just won't think about the sharks, the 4-5 meter "bull" sharks, sliding through the dark water beneath me waiting to jump up and bite my boat in half! Ugh!

Speaking of kayaking, Tim and I went boating on Sunday afternoon. We went to Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park at Bobbin Head and paddled (at high tide) through the mangroves. It was beautiful. (Not my photo - but it gives you an idea of what it's like.)











Tim is.... hmmmmmm... upright challenged. He's capsized more than the Titanic has been made into movies. This was a particularly funny capsize, especially since I just caught the part where his white hat is flying and his orange kayak is bobbing without it's skipper and he is just past an overhanging branch. The scenario in my head was that he ran smack into the branch and was knocked out of the boat. What he "said" happened is that he was leaning back to clear the branch and lost his balance. In any case, it was very funny.

Cheers, Judi

Two book recommendations

Another couple of book recommendations.

First, both Zoe and I (independently) read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and liked it a lot.

It's a novel stretching over a thousand years or so - it's hard to tell, starting a few hundred years ago and going into the distant future. I wouldn't call it science fiction, despite that. It's not easily classifiable but it is fascinating and wonderfully written. It consists of a number of linked stories but the links aren't as straightforward as they initially seem, even once you think about it for a while. The author does many things in this book - he subverts narrative, history, the idea of progress. And it's about real people. There are many satisfactions to this book and I really enjoyed it.

Second, I bought this book for Gavin at Christmas and he left it for me to read - A Voyage for Madmen. If you enjoy adventure books (like The Worst Journey in the World), you'll love this. It's the story of the first round the world solo non-stop yacht race. It has horrible catastrophes at sea, cheating, dispair, depression, death, and madness. Can't be beat.


Tim

Museums, Rain and Bathrooms

A woman visitor at the Contemporary Art Museum in Sydney challenged Tim to follow the artist's instructions to unzip his fly, lie down on the floor and stick the bouquet of silk flowers in his open fly. Of course, Tim, not one to back down from a challenge accepted in a heartbeat. This artist was a kick. Another of his "instructions" was to stand in one bucket while wearing a second bucket on your head. Check out the link to see a much better explanation of the artist's work.

Sunday was another rainy day here in Oz. I know the rain is needed, but I wouldn't mind a bit of sun now either. At least the temperatures are wonderful - cool and comfortable. When we had the killer hot day on January 1 (112 degrees F), all our beautiful ferns and several other plants turned brown and keeled over. I'm sure they will recover, but I think their response shows how unusual that kind of weather is around our home.

On Sunday we dragged (drugged?) each other out and took the train into the big city of Sydney. Our plan was to go to the Contemporary Art Museum, which we did, but we decided to eat first - at the Museum Cafe. We got a wonderful table sitting on the veranda overlooking Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour, various street performers - and the people-watching was fascinating. I ordered what Tim ordered (since he always gets something good and I always get something that only "sounds" good). Our lunch was a blue cheese souffle with endive salad greens and caramelized walnuts. Sounds great, doesn't it? Actually, it was good, all 1.5 grams of it! The souffle arrived in a tiny white ceramic cup and the plate had about 10 small leaves of endive with what seemed to be enough pieces of walnut to perhaps make one whole walnut. This plate should have been called an appetizer, because it certainly did that - made us more hungry! We of course had some wine (in that venue, how could one resist?), and the Riesling was lovely, fruity and crisp and made us mellow enough not to protest the tiny portions.

After lunch and museum we went over to get a closer view of the street performer we had earlier been viewing from afar. Now this was one crazy guy. He juggled and rode a 9' high unicycle. Mostly he had the one-liner down to an artform. He was particularly good at embarrassing people, e.g., to the two men standing on the ferry coming in near us he yelled, "I was glad to hear you two got back together!" and the old woman who he gave a hug to and came away holding a lacy black bra. At first she didn't see the bra, but when she did she exclaimed, "It's not mine! Really, it's not mine!" Tim and I both had severe "cheek ache" when we finally walked away. This photo I took with my mobile phone camera shows the performer and an unwitting 10 year old volunteer.



Last Friday, I had a lovely new friend over to our house for some afternoon snacks. Lisa brought Bella with her, who is probably the most beautiful and well behaved and good tempered baby in the world. I don't know Bella's exact age, but she is seriously considering walking about now. Lisa and her husband, Chris, were kind enough to invite us for dinner at their home not long after we settled into our house last May. That kind of hospitality is unusual and special and did wonders for our sense of belonging. Chris works with Tim at ATNF, and Lisa is working part-time as a pharmacist as well as caring for Bella.

Saturday found Tim anxious to get out and do something, while I was anxious to stay home and do little. Tim called Chris to go kayaking and later that afternoon, off they went. I went to the mall to buy magazines for collaging (the weirder the mag the better).

Note: Australian toilets are interesting in that they have two buttons. The button on the left is for "light" duty and the one on the right is for "heavy" doodee. :)

In the brochure put out by the water company who is encouraging residents to be careful with their water use, I read: "If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down." They don't mince words here in Oz.

Have a lovely day, Mates! Judi

Our house

Well, I'm late to this but I was finally able to run Google Earth. Here's where we live:

33°42'54.38"S 151° 5'1.28"E

And here's a screen shot:




Tim

Picking Up Nasty Hitchhikers

Tim and the dogs went for a walk in the bush this morning and inadvertently brought home a few Republican Lobbyists and Politicians, oops, I mean bloodsucking leeches. I first saw one on Karma's foot and removed it. I then suggested to Tim that he might check himself - yuck, three inside his sock! Those things go through fiber like it's not even there. One or two had made contact, because he had a slow bleed around the ankle for a good 45 minutes. Karma got the worst of it, and we've been finding the slimy buggers slinking across the rugs here and there. Since a good dose of salt is the recommended exterminant -- well, you probably know about the blood and stuff. Surely you've seen The African Queen?!!

Moving onto films... We saw King Kong last night. Think of 3 1/2 hours of watching giant killer leeches, and you'll get the gist of this movie. Tim will probably think this is unfair and untrue, since he totally enjoyed it. Moi? Basically it was 3 1/2 hours of pouring sweat, tense muscles and tears (or near tears). If the theater chairs would have allowed it, I'd have spent the time curled up in a fetal position.

If you like gore, you'll like this movie - primitive peoples bashing heads and offering a cute blonde to the evil Kong, giant human eating squidlike things sucking in the head of some poor sailor, and bodies being thrown against walls and the ground by the giant ape - too many to count. The special effects were incredible and the subtle expressions of the ape would break your heart, but it was one of the most exhausting movies I've watched in many years. I'm not really a blood and guts kind of movie watcher anyway, so you should really ask Tim for his review of the film.

One last thought... After three hours or so, they still hadn't moved onto NY and the Empire State Building from the terrifying prehistoric island; and if they made the cute blonde (Kong's significant other) climb any more flights of stairs (wearing stilettos) on the top of the Empire State Building.... well, I was ready to shoot her myself. Reviewers comment: ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

Cheers, Judi

Hairdressers Are Sent By God

At the insistence of my friends at the dog park who told me that "the color doesn't really go with your skin tone," I decided nix on the Clairol fix and went to a recommended hairdresser for a professional job. Good decision. I didn't have the courage to photograph my disastrous dye job, but last night on the way to dinner, I photographed myself (in the car) using my mobile (Australian for "cell phone"). Below is the result.



You would hope that a smart woman would learn her lesson after dying her hair black in Hawaii... Hmmmm. No comment.

Clairol, Born Blonde, Uh Oh!!

This is me.


This is me on Clairol.


I hate to admit this, but I did it again. In the quest for true bottle beauty I've made a horrible mistake. Last night, I tried to go a bit blonder. Now the word "bit" is relative, but my hair is way more than a "bit" blonder. Not only is it blonder, but it has that lovely reddish/orangish tinge that is so sought after in the finest hair salons. Yeah, right. It looks like crap! A$%#rc#%ghh*&)#$cRhhhhhhhh.

I am sitting here this morning waiting for enough time to go past 9:00 AM for the Clairol help staff in Australia to have their coffee which will hopefully put them in a helpful and happy mood. They will need to be in a good frame of mind to deal with me -- crying, whining, pleading, angry, childish "me."

I'll let you know how it goes. Until then, I can be reached at home.

Cheers, Judi

PS: The last time I went black. I was so taken by the lovely hawaiian women during a trip to Hawaii that I decided to try the look. There is a reason why "The Higher Power" gave certain ethnicities certain color hair, skin, etc. She/he had good taste. Moi? I looked like a middle age goth wannabe!

Ben and Katie

My nephew, Ben, and his girlfriend, Katie, left on Sunday, the hottest New Years day ever in Sydney (112F/44.2C).

They bought a car and camping supplies and intend to drive, or meander, up to Cairns, taking about 4 months to get there. They might work occasionally or there again, they might not. Sounds a good way to see the country.



We're really sorry to see them go. It's been fun having them here, especially at the same time as Gavin. I think it was also a good chance for Gavin to meet his cousin who he last saw about ten years ago.

Tim

Too hot

44C / 111F today in Thornleigh. The Specials say:

Too hot, this town is too hot
Now they're calling for their guns
About to spoil the rude boys' fun
But rude boys never give up their guns
It's too hot

No man, can tell them what to do
Pound for pound, they say they're ruder than you
They are the boss, and no back down
You might have a couple you like
Choose your burial sight
Take insurance, make up your will
Come out and tell them, find them

The soldiers came back to you without them
The police force are afraid, they can't even touch them
They say "You think you're bad? Why don't you come out yourself"
These boys are calling for a fight, fighting tonight they don't lie
It's too hot

Too hot, too hot
Too hot, too hot
Too hot, too hot
Too hot, too hot

Tim

Happy New Year - Welcome 2006!!!

OUR PREDICTIONS FOR 2006:

1. The US will win the Soccer World Cup.
2. Dick Cheney is unveiled as an Al Qaida double agent.
3. "W" will take 365 days vacation in 2006 - the country prospers as a result.
4. Zoe will cook an entire meal without burning part of her house down.
5. Gavin will be deported from Brazil due to a face slapping incident at a Capoeira demonstration.
6. Our friend Vicky will find the "real" man of her dreams and he will NOT be a geologist!
7. Diamond Belle Saloon age discrimination suit finally settles out of court.

8. Ben and girlfriend, Katie, organize Australian Outback's seasonal workers and win the right for all to work only at the beach.
9. A movie adaptation of Robyn's new book, The History of the VLA, is forthcoming and will star Christopher Walken as Director Miller Goss.


Give us more to add to the list! Happy New Year - Judi and Tim