The Song - Go Faster Stripes

Time for another song. This one is by Kat Flint, a Scottish singer-songwriter, who was raised in Barbados but born in Aberdeen. She seems to be quite multi-talented: not only can she write, sing and play music, but she is also an illustrator and designer. Her tumblr page is definitely worth a look.

Anyway, as with some of my other music, I was introduced to Kat Flint's works by my Canadian friend Claire. The first song she played for me was "Anti-Climax" - after the first 10 seconds I was hooked. The lyrics are so fun and different, and it also includes clapping and kazoo playing. Something I have recently discovered is that I cannot resist a song with clapping and kazoo playing.

Unfortunately, I can't find this song on Youtube for you, so you'll just have to listen to another one. Sorry that was actually a bit of an "anticlimax"... but you should listen to it on iTunes or wherever anyway. However, you can still get a feel for the style and sounds from this clip.

Enjoy!

Until next time :)

The Review - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

So as previously mentioned, a few weekends ago (my, time does fly, doesn’t it?) Luke and I went to see Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a part of the 2012 New Zealand International Film Festival. I've seen this movie a few times before. In fact, I got into Marilyn Monroe films because of my sister, who once had a brief infatuation with her. It was near Christmas time, so I decided to buy her a box set of Marilyn movies. This was back in the days of videos. Unfortunately, by the time Christmas rolled around, my sister’s infatuation had been replaced by something else. So the box set sat in its plastic wrap for about a year, when finally I thought: Dammit, I’m going to watch them. So I did. And I loved them all, especially Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

As mentioned in yesterday’s blog, Luke took me to see this movie at the Roxy Cinema a couple of weeks ago. This film is actually an adaption of a 1949 stage musical of the same name, while the musical was based on a 1925 novel by Anita Loos. Interestingly, Jane Russell, who co-stars with Monroe, was the bigger star when the film was released and was paid more than ten times what Monroe received. The storyline is pretty trivial. And at the end of the day the movie is more about the musical numbers, comedic one-liners, and of course the beautiful main characters. So if you’re wanting to watch a bit of fluffy nonsense, then this movie is perfect. 

Lady Beekman: It's a tiara.
Lorelei Lee: You DO wear it on your head. I just LOVE finding new places to wear diamonds.

 Fun fact: In the "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" sequence, Jane Russell’s fall into the pool was an accident. When the director saw the take, he kept it in the film. 

 Gus Esmond: Dorothy Shaw. I want you to remember you're supposed to be the chaperone on this trip.
Dorothy Shaw: Now let's get this straight, Gus. The chaperone's job is to see that nobody else has any fun. Nobody chaperones the chaperone. That's why I'm so right for this job.

 Dorothy Shaw: You know I think you're the only girl in the world who can stand on a stage with a spotlight in her eye and still see a diamond inside a man's pocket.

Esmond Sr: Have you got the nerve to tell me you don't want to marry my son for his money?
Lorelie Lee: It's true.
Esmond Sr: Then what do you want to marry him for?
Lorelei Lee: I want to marry him for YOUR money.

Until next time :)

The Outing - Roxy

So the New Zealand International Film Festival is on at the moment. There are some really good movies playing this year, and some that you probably couldn’t even pay me to watch. But that’s the way Film Festivals go, I think. And I’m always careful with the movies I select. Being the sensitive soul that I am, I don’t want to pay $15 to sit there feeling rather squeamish, checking my watch for the time, and futilely glancing at the exit. 

I started attending Film Festivals after I became friends with a girl named Nikita in Taiwan. To date, Nikita is the biggest movie fan I have ever met or probably ever will meet. She instilled a love of film festivals in me (although truth be told I was already on my way there, having a preference for foreign films and independent movies). So when I saw the brochure for this year’s NZIFF I quickly picked it up and devoured its contents. Luke said I could pick one movie… which was so hard. I was torn between a digitally remastered version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and a 1926 silent movie called The Mantrap which included live music. I chose the latter, as I thought it would be a more unique experience. 

But then 2 weekends ago, Luke surprised me by taking me to see Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. On top of that, it was playing at the Roxy, Peter Jackson’s art deco-themed cinema in Miramar, which I’ve been wanting to visit for the longest time! It is such a lovely theatre, and as my friend commented to me the other day: there are no teenagers! This is probably because the Roxy is so far out of town and away from a McDonalds.

I will review Gentlemen Prefer Blondes later this week, but for now here are some photos of the Roxy. If you live in Wellington or are visiting, it’s definitely worth a look. I only wish we could have stayed longer.

Until next time :) 

The Verse - Isaiah 46:3-4

Listen to me, O house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been borne by me from before your birth,

carried from the womb;

even to your old age I am he,

and to gray hairs I will carry you.

I have made, and I will bear;

I will carry and will save.

(Isaiah 46:3-4)

My sister-in-law Rebekah sent me this verse the other day, and I liked it so much that I wanted to share it with you. God, speaking to Israel (and subsequently the church, which was grafted into Israel after the new covenant), used the first-person pronoun seven times, showing his deep personal connection with Israel.

I love how this passage conveys the ideas that God knows us so well, that He knew us before we were born, that He formed us in our mothers' wombs and will be with us until our old age. Throughout our life, God our Creator carries us and saves us. What comforting words these are; what profound words these are.

Theologian Mathew Henry comments on this verse: "The history of the life of every believer is a kind of abstract of the history of Israel." Henry alludes to the fact that, like Israel, we are in constant need of God's grace. Also like Israel, God will never leave us, because He is with us from the beginning to the end. And at the end He will carry us home. As Jesus said at the end of the Great Commission: "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20.)

Why should we Christians be anxious about anything? If we trust in God He will carry our burdens. as Jesus says in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

I hope these words are a comfort to you, as they were to me.

The Wish List - The House

So Luke and I are currently in the negotiating stage of buying a house. Consequently I find that my heart seems to feel the need to pump blood around my body twice as fast and I keep on needing to remind myself to breathe (something that I normally managed to do without a whole lot of mental processing). I guess buying a house is just one of those big life discions that you’re probably never 100% ready for until you take the plunge, like getting married, or having kids or going on a roller coaster for the first time (now come on that was life changing right?).

Anyway, I guess the point of this email is to say that your prayers and good wishes would really be appreciated at this stage. Both Luke and I just want to be faithful to God and live where He wants us to be. I’ll keep you posted about the house saga.  Wow, all this getting married, working and buying houses is really making me start to feel like an adult, despite the fact that I still sing Disney songs around the house and get way too excited over twirly skirts and ALWAYS cry at least once while watching a PIXAR movie.

I hope you all had a good weekend.

By the way this is not the house we’re going buy, but since we’re in NZ I thought it might be funny if people  thought we actually lived in hobbit holes here, even for about 2 seconds!

Until next time :)

The Dress - Fantastic Mr Fox

You might recognise this jumper from a wishlist a while back (albeit in a different colour). Well, last week Mr Fox arrived and I was uber-excited (yes, audibly squealing and dancing round the house).

So I first spotted this most adorable fox-adorned jumper on Lilli's blog Frocks & Frou Frou and fell in love instantly. Ironically enough, a few months later I saw a similar idea in the window of Max, although it was nowhere near as cute. By the time I went in to inquire, they had sold out nationwide. Oh well, I said to myself, it wasn't as cute as the one I saw on Lilli's blog anyway.

I mean how could you not love this? It's a jumper with a fox felted onto it. My heart melted in an instant. Lisa Higuchi from Dandyrions makes them by hand. How special is that? It takes her about 6 weeks to create, but it was so worth the wait - not to mention so clever. It is also the only article of clothing I own with a name... Foxy. :)

 Sweater: Dandyrions

I've actually never owned this colour before. I've mostly kept away from yellows and mustards, but now I'm actually wondering why. It is such a nice colour. Mustard, where have you been all my life? Hmmm... note to self: must buy more things in this colour - well, when I'm no longer on a clothing ban, that is. 

Mr Fox, time for your close-up. 

Soooo cute!

Coolest Little Capital in the World

I heart Wellington. I first came to this city on a holiday to New Zealand when I was 14 years old. We only spent 2 days in Wellington, but I distinctly remember thinking to myself: "This is such a cool little city, I'd really love to live here." Little did I know that I would be doing that 8 years later. God has a pretty funny sense of humour sometimes. My co-worker says this is a city that you grow to love. If you're used to long summers and perfect weather, then Wellington's usual dose of cold wind takes a while to get used to. I must complain about the weather at least 100 times a week, but I still love Wellington. It's such an awesome place to live and visit. There is always something to look at: galleries, markets, music, exhibitions, and theatre. Also, everything is so compact! You can walk from one side of the city to the other in half an hour, so it actually feels like a big town more than a city - which is why I thought this little video was very appropriate:

So come visit! I'm sure you'll love it.

Until next time :)