Three

RIP Sir Paul Holmes, pencil on paper.

Hell/Bus Stop

I started writing this blog post a couple of weeks ago now, during yet another another Hell Pizza debacle. As seen here, the company posted a winning entry in their weekly 'confessional' competition on their Facebook page, in which the entrant outlined the time they sexually assaulted a sleeping dude at a party. Hell has quite rightly been dragged over the coals for the post and have tried to make amends by donating to Wellington Rape Crisis. The incident is kind of ancient history in the media world now, but it's taken me some time to feel comfortable posting this, and the subject has ongoing pertinence.

One evening when I was 18, I was waiting at the bus stop on Willis Street after work. It was summer, twilight, and there were plenty of people like myself just waiting around to go home, but I was the only one sitting on a bench. I was absorbed in text messaging, so it probably took me up to a couple of minutes before I noticed a man had edged his way over to stand uncomfortably close to me, and a few seconds more to realise the newspaper he was holding was obscuring the view of his exposed erection from everyone but me. It makes me shake with anger right now to write about it, but in that moment I was absolutely terrified. I didn't react, feigned oblivion, and stared straight along the road until my bus finally arrived.

Once I was back at my flat I hid in my bed and cried - bewildered, embarrassed, and wondering whether it was something I was supposed to report to the Police. I eventually decided to contact them through an office line and was told it definitely had warranted a 111 emergency call. I ended up going to the station that night to make a statement, and a few weeks later identified the man from a page of mug shots. Turned out he'd targeted a number of victims in a similar ways, including children.

At the time, I thought the reason I was so hesitant to contact Police was due to a lack of education about what which kind of crimes are worthy of an emergency call to Police - is my life in danger? No? No lights and sirens required, ta - and that too much emphasis was placed on calls that wasted Police time. But as time's gone by, I've realised my uncertainty was probably because I shared what the Hell incident has shown me is a fairly widespread dismissive attitude towards sexual crimes. It seems to me that unless an innocent virgin is raped by a stranger in a dark alleyway, sexual assault and harassment is often belittled.

I rejected the Victim Support I was offered at the time, and I don't think I realised how much it had affected me until a few months later, when I met someone who told me about their sexual assault and I recognised several of their resulting feelings as similar to my own.

Sexual crimes aren't something most victims can stand up and speak out about because it's horribly traumatising. Compared to the incident described in the Hell confessional entry, my experience was very mild. But posting this is still incredibly scary, despite the fact it happened five years ago. And I kind of think the fact I feel I need to acknowledge it was 'minor' just shows what a big problem we face when trying to change society's attitude towards sexual crime.

Pet Bereavement

The Kyle and Jackie O Facebook page asked this morning whether people think it is okay to take time off work when their pet dies. The majority of responses were 'yes', but some of these supportive responses did come with conditions - such as appropriate time periods for different animals.

When my first cat, Vodie, was run over, I was told about it in a phone call from my landlord half way through the work day. I was immediately a sobbing mess, and my boss sent me home. This was a big loss for me - I lived alone at the time, and my Mum drove over an hour to be with me as soon as I phoned her. I can't remember now whether I took annual leave for that time, but I did return to work the next day - a little fragile, but ready to move on with the working week.

I don't really advocate the introduction of pet bereavement leave in employment contracts or anything like that (although I know some work places do already have this policy in place), it really needs to be on a case-by-case basis depending on the pet and the role, I think. 

Would you take (or have you taken) time off work after your pet's death, and if so - how much time?

History? Clear All.

Last week I'm sure most of you saw the compilation of Tweets from people who were unaware the sinking of the Titanic was a real event. Along with those I shared it with on Facebook, I was appalled by the writers' ignorance.

But today I began questioning why I was so stunned. I distinctly remember reading a watered-down (no pun intended) account of the disaster at primary school, prior to the original release of James Cameron's film, but I'm unsure whether the majority of my peers did the same. If not for the film, would we early-20-somethings have known about the 1912 event itself? I guess that is impossible to say for certain.

Regardless, this isn't a post written to defend these poor Tweeters. I could speculate for hours about modern education, and the amount of time one could spend focusing on information about events happening around the world right at this very moment, let alone last century.

But I'm thinking more selfishly, and wondering - if these people can go through life being unaware of this iconic tragedy, what am I missing out on?

I feel like almost every day a historical event is referred to in a news report or article, and I learn a whole lot of information about something I'd never heard of before. In the past week alone I have learned, for the first time, about Budd Dwyer's suicide, the Lockerbie bombing, and Unit 731 - the latter of which caused the most disappointment in myself. I knew bad things happened during World War II, but I didn't know details of this Unit, I didn't know who was involved, I didn't know any specifics of the atrocious acts which were carried out there. And to me that event seems far more significant than an engineering feat-come-maritime disaster.

So I'm curious - what are some historical events you think are significant, and that everyone (me) should be aware of?

Shift

I haven't been a very committed blogger for the first month-and-a-bit of this year (really, February already?!) which is a shame because 2012 is shaping up to possibly be my greatest year... so far! In addition to making a conscious effort to improve my health, I recently got a great opportunity at work and... now I have more news!

You may or may not have wondered about my lack of arty-posts recently, and my lack of posts in general. This is mostly due to that fact that only one thing has been occupying my mind, and is something I couldn't share until it was confirmed. Which yesterday it finally was! The apartment my wonderful aunt rented for several years when I was a teenager is available again, and with her connections Charlie and I (and Wallace!) have nabbed it. We're moving! I am so crazy excited. Objectively, it's just a one bedroom flat with the one stand out feature of an amazing view of the city (see a fraction of it above, and excuse the average phone photo... you can bet there'll be many a superior image uploaded once we're there!). But it's the type of place that as a teenager living at home with Mum and Dad, I always dreamed of living in as an independent adult- of course I didn't imagine it would be the exact same apartment my aunt used to live in, but that makes it even more perfect.

I can't wait to move in, and I'm so grateful that Charlie's understood how much living there means to me and agreed to it! We will be moving in just a few weeks (the landlord is doing some renovations before we can take over) so there is SO MUCH to do before then! It's lucky I love packing and setting up house!

Natalie Murphy

Aucklander Natalie Murphy discovered a lump in her breast in July 2009, but as she was pregnant with her first son, Jackson, it was attributed to a blocked milk duct. Because of this, Natalie wasn't diagnosed with breast cancer until early last year, and was told in March 2010 that with chemotherapy she could live for a further two to five years.

In the past few weeks her story has been featured by multiple newspapers and other news outlets across the country. On 5 December she wrote on her website that she had just weeks to live, and many people began donating to help her young family. Wedding ceremony supplies were also donated, as Natalie made plans with her husband of 10 years, Greg, to renew their wedding vows this coming New Year.

Sadly this was not to be, as Greg announced on Natalie's Facebook page yesterday that she had died at 35 years old. I didn't know her, have never met her, but everything I've seen and read about her makes it clear she was just an ordinary Kiwi mum with an incredible spirit and amazing attitude towards battling such a cruel disease.

If you have a few moments, take the time to listen to a radio interview with Natalie broadcast just ten days ago here, and read about her experiences written in her own words on her website.

"It sounds cliché, but don't take your life for granted. Days shouldn't be lost or thrown away thinking we have endless buckets of them. I'm not being morbid, we just don't know what's around the corner. We always think 'the really bad things' happen to everyone else, not to us. But we are 'everyone else'. We all have to appreciate our life. It's a blessing. If there is something you have always wanted to do, go and do it! Make it happen. Make the most of everyday. Stop making excuses. Stop and smell the roses. Watch the sunset. Watch the sunrise. 

One of my favourite sayings is now my life's motto… 

Life is not about the number of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away. 

You've been told, with love."

Image source.

Waiata

The New Zealand Music Awards are being held in Auckland tonight. I haven't taken much notice of who's nominated for what this year, but I thought I'd share my six favourite songs by New Zealand musicians from the past few years. Let me know what you think of any you listen to!

Odds, ends.

It's Hallowe'en today, so a happy one to you if you celebrate that sort of thing. We don't as such, other than taking it as another excuse to dress skanky and party hard (speaking generally, not personally... of late, anyway). During my childhood I remember 'trick-or-treating' only once in my neighbourhood, and visiting neighbours Mum had called ahead to check with.

The only big event we have to celebrate prior to Christmas is Guy Fawkes Night next Saturday, which I'm definitely looking forward to. Again- an excuse to party hard, accompanied by a rather lovely fireworks display over the Wellington harbour.

Voting begins today on what has possibly been the lamest ongoing news story this year. I can't completely ridicule the debate itself considering I'm on one side of it... but I'll whinge away regardless. Wellington Airport is absolutely determined to erect a sign on the Miramar Peninsular, and originally proposed 'Wellywood'... which you definitely couldn't mistake for being well-received by the public. During the Rugby World Cup they had All Blacks written in the Hollywood style, but despite the team's win, that's old news and a replacement sign needs to be erected. There's a bunch of options up on the Dominion Post website now, but whichever option the public prefers is still going to go up against the original 'Wellywood' proposal. Why anyone would want to draw any more attention to that ugly stretch of land is beyond me, but 'no sign' is apparently unacceptable.

So apparently the seven billionth baby will be born today. How very specific. This little widget from the BBC tells you what number you were, at the time of your birth. I was the 5,203,424,840th person alive on Earth, and the 80,216,507,668th person to have lived since history began. Which is all very nice, until I look at those numbers and realise Jonathan Safran Foer was lying, and every man and his dog could play Hamlet after all.

This blog post is the most tragic thing I've read in... well, days. Damn my curiousity for the macabre. A blogger has written out her memory of the night her son Jack died, only a couple of months ago. It's not an uplifting, inspiring tale- just very, very sad. You have been warned! Definitely made me want to go give my parents a hug.

I'm crazy about Instagram, so in case I go AWOL again you should probably follow me there.

Lastly, a plug for myself- I'm selling my Irregular Choice boots here on Trade Me (New Zealand only) if you have size 7ish (Euro 38) feet.

What's new with you?

Au revoir RWC 2011

It was fun while it lasted, but I'm really glad it's over. This picture is has definitely been the highlight of my miserable day so far. Glad it's a short week.

Image source.

Oink

1976

2006

2011

"The original Pink Floyd pig was designed by Roger Waters and built in December 1976 by the artist Jeffrey Shaw with help of Designers team Hipgnosis, in preparation for shooting the cover of the Animals album. Plans were made to fly the forty-foot, helium-filled balloon over Battersea Power Station on the first day's photo-shoot, with a marksman prepared to shoot the pig down if it broke free. However, the pig was not launched.

On the second day, the marksman wasn't present because no one had told him to return, and the pig broke free due to a strong gust of wind on the third day, gaining a lot of press coverage. It disappeared from sight within five minutes, and was spotted by airline pilots at thirty thousand feet in the air. Flights at Heathrow Airport were cancelled as the huge inflatable pig flew through the path of aircraft, eastwards from Britain and out over the English Channel, finally landing on a rural farm in Kent that night.

The pig was recovered and repaired for the resumption of photography for the album cover, but unfortunately the sky was cloudless and blue, thus "boring". However, the pictures of the sky from the first day were suitable; eventually, the album cover was created using a composite of photos from the first and third days."

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Book of Faces

I'd honestly been getting rather bored of Facebook... until I saw the new profiles being rolled out at the end of September! I signed up as a 'developer' in order to test it out (instructions here) and am having fun scrolling back to my posts from 2007. A good opportunity to delete all the super-cringeworthy stuff before it goes public! Happy weekend!

RIP Richard Hamilton

Towards a definitive statement on the coming trends in men's wear and accessories (a) Together let us explore the stars
1962

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
1967

Swingeing London 67 (f)
1968-1969

The citizen
1981-1983

The subject
1988-1990

Bathroom - fig.2
1998

Legendary pop artist Richard Hamilton has died aged 89. I remember spending a ridiculously long time in high school surrounded by mannequins and electrical equipment after studying his painting $he. According to this article: "...until a few days ago Hamilton had been working on a major retrospective that will travel to Los Angeles, Philadelphia, London and Madrid in 2013-14." I need to be rich by then so I can go.

All images source.

Alfred Wertheimer

The first image below has been all over the news today due to a Vanity Fair article which identifies the woman kissing (or, um, whatever) Elvis Presley as now-75-year-old Barbara Gray. Read the article here when you have a minute. Below are a few other photographs of Presley by Alfred Wertheimer, and you can read a great interview with him here. Not really bothered either way when it comes to Presley's music, however I looove old photographs.

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Duchess Catherine & Princess Eugenie

I swear my Middleton madness will die down soon... maybe... they're just so damn lovely! It's usually the highlight of my working day when a new story about them pops up. The two photos above are from the recent Epsom Derby.

Images source.

Jessie Juxtaposed... ISWYDT

All credit to Saskia the Style Fairy for alerting me to the above the moment I logged on to Blogger this morning. I was simply too shocked not to post on my own blog, but make sure you jump over and follow Saskia if you don't already!

If you don't know who Jessie J is, well, I can't say I really blame you. Up until now I liked her a heck of a lot more than Lady Gaga, but she's still not really my thing. Everything about her look was far too harsh (click here to open a photo in a new window if you still can't place her).

Now I know I'm at risk of being a total hypocrite when talking negatively about her old super-straight, super-blunt fringe (bangs), because I just can't seem to stop attempting to make one work myself. However I think that after seeing the above pictures of Jessie from the Woman of the Year Glamour Awards UK (in which she was named Woman of Tomorrow) I may be finally convinced that every girl needs eyebrows. Which you would expect me to know by now, considering how much care I give mine... in my defense, I battle with having both well-groomed eyebrows, and a fivehead. Dilemma. I also have trouble accepting the fact I have a round face and while I know I absolutely should not even attempt a fringe... I just can't help it. But if even strong-jaw-Jessie can't pull it off, I really have to let it go

I digress.

The 'new' Jessie J looks a zillion times more gorgeous than the 'old'. Fin.

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Pippa Lately

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Christchurch Clippings

It's honestly very easy to forget about Christchurch. I listen to national news literally as a full time job, and the mentions of Christchurch are becoming fewer, and rarely are any stories emotionally affecting. Today was slightly different in that I heard Media 7's Russell Norman talking about his recent trip to the city. I've just read his blog post too, which I recommend you find here.

"Back along the fenceline, a middle-aged workman takes pride in showing his younger colleague the smooth repair job he has done on a half-metre section of the gutter in front of the casino. It seems a preposterously small victory – but what do you do?"

A Telethon was held over the weekend, and raised a lot of money for the earthquake recovery fund. I watched about ten minutes of it- other things to think about. I kind of think it's both sad and comforting to know how quickly people move on with their lives.

On a light note, how pretty does our nation's pride and joy Anna Paquin look in the below photos taken in Los Angeles during the Telethon screening? Said with only a hint of facetiousness. You should've heard the media's excitement surrounding Rachel Hunter's involvement.

Read my earlier posts on the Canterbury earthquake here and here.
Christchurch image source.
Anna Paquin image source one.
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Ridiculous levels of glamour.

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I Cannes has?

Chloé

There is still a couple more days until the end of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival, but I just wanted to share with you a few favourite outfits from all the amazing premieres and events.

I loved these colours on Michelle Williams and Diane Kruger a few years back, but I love them on Kirsten Dunst even more! I think the shorter length really suits the colour, and of course the red lipstick which also links the three outfits is perfect. These photos make me wish I were blonde.

Paule Ka

To be honest I had not heard of Frédérique Bel before, and looking up her IMDb page, I haven't seen any of her French films either. At any rate, Bel's outfit is adorable, and I love her bicycle necklace. While browsing her information, I came across this photo below of her dress from Cannes 2009... I wish I were blonde and French, glamourpuss.

Unknown

Monique L'Huillier

I love dress pants, and I think Rachel McAdams looks phenomenal. Does this mean high waisted pants are still in fashion? Stoked! And clueless...

McAdam's dress below has reignited my desire for a floral red-ink-only tattoo.

Marchesa

Reem Acra

Bryce Dallas Howard's dress hasn't been so well received from what I've seen, but I like it- it looks like Van Gogh's Starry Night. Her hair is amaaazing too! I admit that if she is not pregnant then the cut is perhaps not so flattering at the front, however it's nice to see a beautiful celebrity whose upper arms are actually larger than her forearms... total babe.

Kirsten Dunst image source one.
Kirsten Dunst image source two.
Frédérique Bel image source one.
Frédérique Bel image source two.
Frédérique Bel image source three.
Rachel McAdams image source one.
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Bryce Dallas Howard image source one.
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Fluff

According to this story, Prince Harry gave bridesmaid Eliza this pink worm to distract her from the royal wedding madness, and it ended up in the official photos- cute! I had the same worm in blue when I was a kid, and they are definitely fun to play with- there's a nylon string off its 'nose', so you can drag it around your arm/hand and it looks like it's crawling. Man, I want one now myself to play with Wallace.

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