One of those annoyingly unproductive days...

But I did manage to resolve some ongoing annoyances as follows:

1. I finally found my CUT COPY cd...next time you can't find a CD and you have turned your whole house upside down- check your laptop!
Anyway I'm glad I found it in time for NYE...my prediction is that songs off this album will be on high airplay...

2. Technologically challenged me finally worked out how to post a picture on a forum.

3. I finally got my notebook touchpad working again which has been Out of Action and replaced by an annoying laser mouse for the past few months...no thanks to the folks at Compaq who wanted to charge me $33 to press shift F6- I love all you helpful geeks on the internet!

'Herbal' Coolers...

In Chinese medicine, prevention is key. Hence proper diet, proper lifestyle etc are all the 'first line of defence' against illness...we believe food is the first 'medicine'- so if you like to get on the diet therapy bandwagon...

When the weather is stinking hot and humid like this and you feel unbearably heaty,

What can you do short of stripping off, walking around naked with damp towels on your head and neck and wrists while a standing fan blows air across your skin?

WELL, as someone who always finds heat unberable as opposed to cold, here are two of my favourite readily available, nice tasting foods that will help keep you cool over the Summer...

1. Chrysanthemum flower tea - Boil a few for 10-15 minutes with water, drink warm or chilled, beautiful with a bit of honey. Not only is it great to clear heat but it also works wonders for eye ailments....in terms of eye issues, for enhanced effect and an immunity boost all at once just add a small handful of goji berries :)!

2. Watermelon - This is a great heat clearer! Especially good to combat thirst...although the red flesh is tastier- it's actually the white crunchy bit that packs more therapeutic punch. But just don't eat too much cos it can give you a cold stomach ache and also make you pee alot!

Hope someone found this useful...Love from, Herbs Nerd.

FILMS TO SEE

okay, so in this stinking heat and humidity, I am feeling too lethargic to attempt filling the blank canvas that adorns my shelf.

Hence I will reinvigorate another long lost hobby that needs Time: film viewing!

In no particular order I have compiled a list of films I will try to see (if I can get a hold of them)- my local video store is so SHITE that I feel like I will probably need to raid tertiary libraries and specialty stores. There are foreign films in this list but I've given their English titles since the list is too long to accommodate and remember all their foreign titles!

Feel free to comment if you have seen any of these and feel strongly either way about them...whatever you do just don't kill the plot for me! Also, if you have any others you believe are must see viewing to add to my list, suggest away...but there's a 50% chance if it's classic I've seen it back in my film student days ;)

1. Old Boy (Korean cult equivalent of Pulp Fiction) -yargh, incredibly graphic violence confronting gangsta film, incredibly unique as a film with some inventive cinematography but hardly enjoyable entertainment for the sensitive or weak-stomached. Winner of the grand jury prize in 2004-not my cup of tea! 3.5/5
2. Magnolia (these americans sure produce a lot of weird movies! it was interesting if not overly loooong, and if you really can't stand tom cruise, well this is surely one to be avoided...some great acting though 3.5/5)
3. Oyster Farmer (Aussie) -this I found a waste of time watching unless you seriously have loads of free time and nothing better to do...2.5/5
4. Annie Hall (Woody!) Loved his monologues...Diane Keaton was great as Annie...love the requisite "dysfunctionality" of his characters. 4 stars
5. The Seventh Seal (Classic by Swede, Ingmar Bergman)
6. Wild Strawberries (Classic by Swede, Ingmar Bergman) fascinating psychological exploration with great dialogue...4.5 stars
7. Broken Flowers (Jim Jarmusch) - found this film cleverly made constructed and liked the ethiopian lounge music, bill murray was great. an unusual combination of comedy and suspense. enjoyed the slight quirk factor. keen to see more jarmusch! 4/5
8. The Black Balloon
9. Stranger Than Fiction
10. The Man who shot Liberty Valance
11. Eternity (Doco about guy who chalked CBD pavements with this word)
12. In Bruges
13. Kiki's Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki) -entertaining enough, I just wanted to see it considering I visited the place where he was inspired and wrote the script. if you like witches or where Girl saves boy! LOL 3/5
14. Ratatouille
15. Wall E (hmmm this went way over my head- I think it was too taxing for a complete left brain - fell asleep so won't give this one a rating)
16. The Dark Knight
17. Pan's Labyrinth
18. The Darjeeling Limited
19. Me, You and Everyone We Know
20. Doubt
21. How to lose friends and alienate people
22. Leon
23. A clockwork orange
24. The Prestige
25. No Country for old men
26. Casino Royale
27. Ed Wood
28. Twelve Monkeys
29. Children of Men
30. Charlie Wilson's War
31. Zodiac (David Fincher) - well the story itself was pretty interesting, however it was a pretty well made film too...Fight Club was still more memorable personally though... 4 stars
32. Barton Fink (Coen Brothers) - this was a pretty cool film but I couldn't stand the ending...the acting was pretty good...storyline intriguingly different and unique. 4 stars
33. Night on Earth (Jim Jarmusch) - found this one very enjoyable even if it sort of anticlimaxed in standard towards the end. Had some great laughs. 4/5 stars
34. Kenny (Aussie Comedy) -if only there were more GOOD-NATURED, kind, warm, Giving characters like Kenny in the world, it would be a much nicer place to be a part of...4/5 stars
35. Let the right one in
36. The Cat Returns -there are better anime out there - but if you like cats...3/5 stars
38. Where the Truth Lies
39. I've loved you so long
40. American Teen
41. The curious case of Benjamin Button
42. Man on wire
43. Goodbye Lenin! (German) elaborate ruses don't get any better than this! 4.5 stars
44. The Shining (Kubrick) Jack Nicholson is great as psychopath. Luckily it wasn't "too" scary. 4 stars.
45. Chocolat it had me at the title! Enjoyable easy watch with the gorgeous Juliette Binoche 4 stars.
46. Les Quatres Cents Coups (Truffaut) great childhood story, stunning visuals, definitely deserves its place on the mantel of "greats" 4.5 stars
47. Innocence (Paul Cox) difficult subject matter, difficult to watch...admirable effort 3 stars.

Woe is Me: Social Pariah!

Hmmm some Christmas. On Boxing day I woke up COVERED in multiple huge red itchy welts after sleeping over at one who will not be named.....Ewwwww. (What utter IRONY... considering what gross places I've been the last few weeks that it wasn't from that!)

I know I am failing miserably at being a more extrospective blogger but sheesh my life is constantly full of some "drama" or other cropping up before too long...with my history, it seems I was just Born with this kind of "luck"! :-p

I am still covered in huge red blobs which are seriously unsightly and look incredibly contagious but the doctor assured me they aren't - thank goodness...cos I've been in contact with loads of babies and kids! I've never been covered in such HUGE red blobs while itching like crazy for so long before- luckily I have been through waaaaaaaay too much and am waaaaaaaaaay too exhausted to overreact. The real bummer is that I feel too ashamed to go out without being covered up from neck to toe (and honestly it is waaay too hot for that!) The positive is that, now I have absolutely no desire to go out and be social and am content to stay holed up in my apartment which is what would have likely been most of the case since few people are around anyway!

I'm tempted to make a serious visit to an old Chinese doctor who will no doubt send me home with baggies full of expensive raw herbs to boil up and stink out my apartment so I can be a social pariah twice over- woohoo! Although the western antihistimines were conveniently available on a public holiday and work faster than raw herbs, I am still incredibly unimpressed with their efficacy and if it wasn't for the cost anxiety and not knowing who to see over the holiday period, I'm really tempted, in typical scientist fashion, to get some Chinese herbs to compare the efficacy.

In other news I heard back a "yes you can come" if you don't mind back breaking work from the herb farm I was hoping to learn from over the summer...however in light of these red spots, the grossness and challenge of rural life attempt 1 and the fact that I have to wait for my left behind mud covered clothes (including favourite jeans) to arrive still-FINGERS CROSSED-...it's not looking too promising. Maybe I just need some nice quiet drama-free time out for the remaining Summer...to preserve what sanity I do have in time for another crazy semester.

Reminder Cliche To Self: Whatever doesn't kill you can only make you stronger *sigh*

Is the nameless now named?

Everytime people ask me my name, my typical response is "I don't know that depends."

Yeah it might sound kinda mysterious and intriguing but actually it's nothing but downright annoying and adds to any remnant of what I might have left of an "identity crisis"!

I guess I can't blame my folks- in keeping with the traditions of those who came before me even if they might have had wind which country I would be growing up in, they preferred neat uniformity in line with my other siblings than give me an anglo name that would be easy for people to say and use in Australia.

Hence...why I have so very many names, of which I have met people who don't like any of them! Typically I have my kid name(which is too "cute"), my birth certificate name which is very "gruff" abrupt and manly in the English alphabet, the mandarin pronounciation of my name which I'm told is very elegant but unfortunately I can't even say with the correct tones and various others I'm not particularly used to so if you call me that I might not respond!

I have often been asked why, like so many other Asians, have I not given myself an English name? Well...I can't for the life of me think of one that suits and I feel I'm a bit old to start! In any case my 2.5 year old niece spontaneously started calling me....

Mackenzie!!!

I kinda like it actually...and I was so amused I've decided to tell new people that just for my own amusement...LOL...I mentioned the name to a close friend or two but they both don't think it's me/like it...