Share Four Somethings - June

I can't believe I'm here already!

Something I loved VIVID has made it a great month, and I've had plenty of good times with friends. I have a friend who just stopped coming to things, and barely kept in touch (despite my efforts, but I knew it was her headspace, not personal). She came to two things this month. She lives up the coast so it's quite the effort too. It was lovely to see her, and lovely to see her back to her old self. 

Something I learned That Napoleon banned the theatre production of Coriolanus in 1806 for being anti- authority and would reflect badly on him. Given the current production, I can see why.

Something that went well I got my tooth fixed. I was hit by a bottle (I was sitting on the ground drinking out of a bottle - classy, and the person in front of me stepped backwards and banged it against my mouth, damaging my front tooth).  20 years later it needed root canal therapy as it started to die, and it was whitened inside. It started to go black again and the dentist told me I'd need it removed as it was too thin for a veneer. I put it off cos it sounded so terrible a procedure but his offsider decided on my next visit that we could whiten it from the inside again. That appears to have worked. Final procedure tomorrow. This is the only work I've ever had done, no fillings on any other teeth, no braces, so it's quite the drama and I'm a baby about it. But happy with the results none the less.

Something I let go of  The idea of a last 'family' holiday with my youngest. She doesn't want to go anywhere so I think we may have had it. I'm still trying to come up with ideas but the costs are so high, even to Queensland in the school holidays. So I think we may have already had it in January this year. I've not quite given up yet but I'm working on letting go of it.... 

The photos are just things that made me happy. The broken dreams is the recycling of your lotto tickets at the newsagent. Alas, I use it too frequently. I've no idea what the left one is, it was just on my roll but I like it. 

Linking with #ShareFourSomethings 

" 'tis true that a good play needs no epilogue" William Shakespeare.

I mentioned how excited I was to see this poster advertising Coriolanus during the election. I mentioned in this post that I love this play because it was the first Shakespeare play I saw where I did not know what happened, and watched it unfold on stage, gripped in the events.

This production focuses more on the political aspect, and it seems as true now as it was then. I went with a friend who I'd seen the John Howard production with. We were discussing it in interval when we realised that was 32 years ago! (Which explains why I was hazy on which was the Berkoff production and which was the Howard production). We both exclaimed 'How did I get so old!' in unison. Where does the time go?

This production has a really fun interactive aspect, you are either a Patrician scrambling to hold on to power or a Plebeian rising up, sick of poverty at the hands of the profiteering nobles. I will leave that as a surprise but it's rowdy and raucous in parts, very funny and spirited. The staging is unusual and I really enjoyed that part, watching the moving parts come together.

In the course of our conversation, I said to my friend 'I know this will sound odd to you, but I don't really like Shakespeare that much'. The irony was, I'd just seen Sport for Jove's magnificent 'Timon of Athens' last week. It was a brilliant production and if you get a chance to see it, go. The warning in the foyer was enough to pique my interest. 

Wonderful acting, hilarious at times, devastatingly tragic at others. One of the most interesting parts was the use of nudity. The first time was for laughs but the second time if was heart wrenchingly sad, a broken man left with nothing. It was so clever. (And if anyone from Sport for Jove sees this, I'm still wondering about the stunt fall from the top of the scaffolding. I was the loud horrified gasp on the last night).

I did of course also go to the magnificent Player Kings which I really adored. 

So I guess I like Shakespeare if it's done well. And I've been lucky that the 15 hours I've spent with the bard in the last 2 months has been thoroughly enjoyable. 400 years later and still relevant. Says something about him and a lot more about us. 

"Is there no play,
To ease the anguish of a torturing hour?" William Shakespeare

Linking with #WBOYC

Would also like to say a bit thanks to the Bell Shakespeare theatre for having Negroni on your bar list. And the Serendipity ice creams. It really makes for a more enjoyable night!

(To clarify, you can't go wrong with Macbeth or Richard III, they are kick ass plays.) 

Lastly, this cracked me up as it made me think of the Dr Seuss Wacky Wednesday book.

28 years later

 I took the dog for a walk after dark the day I saw 28 years later. We went a different route but suddenly everything seemed abandoned and haunted.

Is it the unfamiliarity that makes us see danger that isn't there? Or was I just overly wary of zombies that day?

It's all how you look at it, as they say.

We used to play this song to the kids when they were little and it still rings in my mind from time to time.

Applies to the Krampus too, as I discovered recently.

Linking with #WeekendinB&W

Little Loves - June

READ I read a post that said there was research out of Penn State (PMID 35798020) that showed postmenopausal women who ate 4-6 prunes a day maintained bone strength and density. Prunes are high in polyphenols seem to blunt inflammatory pathways that drive bone loss. (then a whole lot of stuff about tibia bone quality). So I figure it can't hurt. Off to by some today. Also a reminder that kiwis are a liver superfood and you should eat 2 a day. Again can't hurt. My liver issues cleared up (though that could have also been the year off booze - sucks to be me).

There is also a study the House music slows ageing. Apparently rhythmic beats between 120-130 BPM improves brain health and lowers cortisol, so the subjects showed better brain activity and  heart rate control. It was only 35,000 people so small scale study, however, I'm choosing to believe it. All those festival tickets are for my health.

WATCHED Mountainhead. It's funny but also mildly terrifying because it's a pretty accurate comment on where we are heading with AI and tech influence, given it's unfettered progress. The bit with the baby was hilarious. It's very well done. 5 stars! But also OMG! 

We also watched Back in Action - it is what it is but I thought it was pretty funny. There were however a few moments where I saw myself and cringed. The mum begging the daughter to watch a movie with her hit a little too close to home.

HEARD I just heard that Patrick (cushpat1) from Adventures in Weseland passed away suddenly last Sunday. I'm quite shocked at this news. We never met but he was quite regular on my #Allseasons link up and we both did a lot of the same link ups so I was often commenting on his blog as I followed him round the web. While I didn't know him well, I will miss his enthusiastic photo exploration around his country, and his friendly comments. Terrible news. I send my condolences to his family and all that knew him.

WORE I am living in the Marimekko jumper dresses from Uniqlo with the pile lined tights - the tights are so warm they feel like leggings, so I'm off to buy two more pairs today, so I don't have to wait for them to dry! I call these outfits my 'going out pyjamas' as they're so cosy and snug but look quite smart.

AND LASTLY I was telling someone (Lisa or Christina? I forget) I was from a very rainbow part of town. This is not for Pride (I'm not even sure we do Pride month here, we have Mardi Gras in Feb). This is just every day. I don't even notice this stuff, which is why I get perplexed (and annoyed) when I see people being complete jerks about it. There was a singer in a fairly famous band who picked a fight with a transwoman in a pub on this street and the band got pretty much cancelled after that (he also did some racist and sexist harassment of another performer, so there was a lot to it, not just one incident). It was that moment when I felt we really were better than some countries, as a community. As a nation, for all our flaws, we do have a certain degree of outrage when we think something is not fair or out of line. We are far from perfect but there are moments when I'm pleasantly surprised.

My three favourite things - All my VIVID outings have been really joyful, catching up with friends I haven't seen in a long time and some great shows have been great. It's been a quieter month than usual, but I'm booking and planning things. Hoping for a night away with my youngest in the school holidays but not sure if that will happen yet. 

A lot of the photos are from the Solstice dinner I went to at the Eve Hotel pizzeria.

Linking with #LittleLoves and #TheRandom #TuesdayTwirl #TalkaboutitTuesday

My Insta is here.

Winter Colours

 The cold snap has made the dog walk particularly biting but I suddenly noticed that while it felt cold and grey, there were bright colours everywhere.

The reds of the Japanese maple and the vivid violet made the greenery around them seem brighter.

And that's a little how we look at the world. We taint it with how we think it is.

"Life is a mirror and will reflect back to the thinker what he thinks into it". Ernest Holmes

So maybe we need to look for the colours and brightness in our world, in our friendships and relationships. Lean into the experiences and friends that make you come away feeling good about yourself.

Stay warm everyone!

For some reason seeing those red and green leaves put Kodachrome into my head, even though red isn't mention and it refers to summer, but still applicable....and that song is very hard to get out of your head once it pops up...so, you're welcome.

Linking with #AwwMondays #MondayMusicMovesMe #NaturesNotes #GardenAffair #FloralFridayFoto & I don't know if this one counts for #SaturdayCritters but it is my favourite critter!

Apologies for tardiness adding the linky. Dramas yesterday.

#Allseasons linky runs  from Thursday to Wednesday each week. 

Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration. 

Make sure you link back to this  #AllSeasons post. 

Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter