#285: Tropfest 2011
On Sunday afternoon, I decided to go to Tropfest – Australia’s biggest short film festival. I sat on picnic chairs with friends in front of the overflow screen, eating chilli and sour cream Doritos and drinking fruit juice. The air was full of the smells of KFC chicken and chips, and popcorn from the nearby food tents.
Read the missing chunk of this article at Weekend Notes.
Fortunately the festival wasn’t all artsy tears.
The first finalist was “The Applicant” starring Pete Rosethorn as an alien attempting to get through a job interview. It was very funny, and I don’t think anyone in the world could have done better than Pete Rosethorn. His physicality and style is perfectly suited to the role, with lines like, “Oh! Yes! I want to eat children *pause* TEACH children.” And there was a nice added dimension at the end.
The second finalist was “Silencer” starring Frank Woodley talking about the very serious dangers of mime. It was also funny, but not as funny as “The Applicant”.
The third was “Flight”, a strangely haunting story about hope in poverty, featuring a skateboarder who isn’t part of the local skateboarding crowd, and who privately attempts to fly. There was literally half a word of dialogue. I thought it was beautifully acted and filmed, saturated with hope against a crummy backdrop, and the mix of skateboarding with naiive hope and grace was an excellent choice.
The fourth was about Sven the Swedish astronaut – I wasn’t able to get the title and I missed large sections of dialogue because I wasn’t able to read the subtitles. It was charmingly retro and funny all the same. The best part was that during the film HUNDREDS OF FRIGGIN BATS swooped directly overhead, flapping their silhouette wings so jerkily it was as if they were made of black cardboard cutouts and string. Excellent! I’ll include a short video of THEM at the end of this entry.
I missed the title of the fifth one, too, and found the plot slightly confusing (CJ explained it to me later). The main actress was red-headed and beautiful, and the peculiar dialogue all made sense at the end.
The sixth was another hilarious one, a mockumentary called “Y2Gay” about a redneck fool building a fallout shelter to avoid the increasing gayness of the outside world. As humour, it was exquisite. As a message, the message was clear but the humour weakened it (because – and yes I’ve heard of Glenn Beck – no-one in the real world is that stupid).
The seventh was “Missing Her” about a Thai boy adopted by Australian parents after his mother’s death. It was sad and awkward and tragic, and the boy’s acting was brilliant. The ending was hopeful, but weakened by the fact that I’d thought of it as a possibility (although I think most people wouldn’t).
The eighth was “Monkeys” a passionate tale of bogan drama in the burbs starring Joel Edgerton. I could see why people would like it, but for me it wasn’t that exciting.
The moon was out, and looked far more stunning than this pic can convey:
There was a break in which I managed to meet my friend who I hadn’t seen since she went to Japan. Aieee! We were so excited (and also cold) that we spent ages standing and dancing at each other.
The ninth film, “The Unspoken” was a monologue to a dying father from his son (because no-one hears their own eulogy). It was quite beautiful and heartfelt, but also a bit wrong. Either it was fiction (in which case it was quite a gimmick, and I found the shots of the “dad” a little too “Oh, look at the skinny sad dying guy”) or it was non-fiction (in which case the sentiments feel a little exploitative because of being part of a film festival).
The tenth film, “Maestro” was about a homeless man conducting the music in his head; a squeegee; Luna Park; and the ocean. It was stunningly acted, stunningly filmed, and the music was good. Since we heard (and saw) the music he heard, it was either a tragic insight into a madman’s head – or it was a joyful exploration of a world we rarely see. It felt uplifting to me.
After that was “A Family Affair” which was another mockumentary, this time on an incestuous couple. It was way, way too gross for me.
The twelth film was “Animal Beat Box”, a childishly fun and strangely hilarious beat box animation song done with animal names and pictures.
“Focus” (from South Africa) was an elegant black and white film, with fine acting (including a brief and carefully-filmed sex scene) but the story was utterly ordinary. The ordinariness was the point I think, but ultimately I found it dull (excluding the visuals, which were exquisite). During that film, a group of people were dancing around one of the tall lights. That was cool.
After that was “A Desperate Deed” which had an interesting, ominous and original story with a twist in the tail.
Film fifteen was “Transparency” about the choice an artist made to exploit the worst moment of his girlfriend’s life. It was well done.
The last film (the famous audience choice film, narrated by Russell Crowe) was called “Bird Therapy” and had a support group of people dressed in seriously ridiculous bird costumes, talking passionately about their various disorders – the pigeon who lost his mate to a jet engine, and so on. The acting must have been extremely difficult, but it was spot on. I couldn’t help wondering, though, what the point was (possibly it was just mocking all self-help groups). It was funny, and suited the seven minute time frame, but still not as funny as “The Applicant”.
So! Who do I reckon should have won?
I really loved “The Applicant” (the funniest, with fine acting and an extra kick at the end), “Flight” (brilliant juxtapositions and a sense of hope) “Y2Gay” (very funny and politically timely), “Missing Her” (for the exploration of a hard subject, and for the acting of the boy) and “Maestro” (for making all of Sydney into an orchestra of light and sound)- and “Animal Beat Box” really made me laugh (although with about as much originality as a clown slipping on a banana peel).
In my opinion, the gold goes to “Maestro”. “The Applicant” is the first runner-up, with “Y2Gay” getting bronze.
But the actual winner was, oddly, “Animal Beat Box”.
Note to self: Next time you go to Tropfest (there most certainly will be a next time) take: (1) a coat, (2) Aeroguard, and (3) your Batman outfit.
#284: Leftover Fu
Arguably the most peculiar challenge of a decently epic party is what on earth to do with the leftovers. This was far more random than usual after the epic international feast.
I took this photo many times, as I kept finding another odd pot of something here or there.
From approximately left to right you have soda water (which I fed to CJ until he begged me to get rid of it), crosstata (which we had for dessert after dinner), chocolates & macadamias (which we browsed on all day), sour cream (which I’ll get to later), brazil nuts (we’re still happily eating those), tacos (which we froze), two bowls of satay sauce (I’ll get to those later), maple syrup and pancake mix (that was my breakfast), a coconut (which we ate some of, then threw away because it was a little dodgy), baklava (morning and afternoon tea), hommus and vegetables (which we ate some of, then threw away), halva (we got through that entire bucket at break-neck speed), caviar & mini toasts (which we ate gradually, over several days).
In the fridge I also had a large amount of uncooked yum cha dumpling mix which needed to be eaten, stat. Also some cream. So I fried all the yum cha dumpling mix, then added all the satay sauce and a whole bunch of cream. I mixed it with fresh-cooked rice and served it with sour cream to offset the chilli. It was seriously delicious, and a fitting epilogue to the international madness of the feast. It was, literally, a melting pot.
Speaking of epilogues, I had about seven different lists making the party happen, and this was the main one on the day:
I know how that list feels.
Last night CJ and I went to TROPFEST 2011 in Canberra. Tomorrow I’ll be writing a full report, including reviews of every single film AND a bonus film I made myself – capturing some of the hundreds of bats that responded to Tropfest by flying over our heads all at once.
#283: World Map of Food
This all started way back here.
I’ve mentioned that mashed potato inspired me as I prepared for the Epic International Feast. Here’s the result:
And yep, we ate it all.
At the poles there are cups of ice (which are melting in a realistic manner).
The Americas (from top to bottom) are represented by maple syrup and pancakes for Canada; coke (in a bowl) for the USA; tacos (with beef, corn, and tomato) for Mexico; chocolate for Central America; Brazil nuts for Brazil; easy-to-shape mashed potato for Argentina.
Africa (from bottom to top) is represented by banana; coconut; sweet potato; halva (very popular in West Africa); mango; historic bread and honey for Egypt.
Europe is represented by Devonshire Tea for the UK; a savoury French tart; Italian crosstata fruit pie.
The Middle East is represented by Turkish Delight; hummus; baklava.
Asia gets caviar (and mini toast) for Russia; sushi for Japan; dim sum dumplings and soy sauce for China; butter chicken on naan bread for India.
Australiasia has satay for Indonesia; muli wari (lemonade) for Papua New Guinea; macadamias for Australia; kiwifruit for New Zealand.
You can post this map and/or the food list anywhere you like as long as you link back to this blog.
And yes, I know I missed a lot of great food, and made some odd choices in order to balance the map (a lot of food is well-known for coming from a lot of places/Europe is seriously small) and to pick only dishes that I like.
The only food not bought in a supermarket (or made from supermarket ingredients) was halva, which I bought at a Middle Eastern shop. During the party I discovered it’s traditional fare at Christmas in Spain. Yay for multiculturalism.
The above photo was taken while standing on a chair, as demonstrated here by the bearded brigade:
About twenty people contributed by bringing various dishes. Here’s one last delicious photo before we started eating:
Mari makan!
Tuck in y’all!
Hen hao!
‘Ave a go then, gov’nor!
Kaikai i winim me!
Nom nom!
#282: Furniture Tetris
I really, really like rearranging furniture. In preparation for the Epic Internaitonal Feast (tomorrow’s blog), and after days of thoughtful planning, I rearranged our entire upstairs specifically for the party. It was wonderful. After the party I made some minor changes, and our “normal” room now looks like this:
During the party, the goal was to provide comfortable and sociable seating for all, and to prevent bottlenecks near the food. This is what it looked like:
Mmm. . . slightly different seating. . .
There’s very little that’s free, easy, and as empowering as being able to rearrange your own living space. Highly recommended for playing along at home.
I can’t wait to show you the hero picture of the epic international feast. The set-up for that one picture took several minions several weeks.
*not a euphemism.
#281: Mawson Gallery
Mawson Gallery is a tiny studio and gallery built into a suburban home on an ordinary street. I’ve passed it hundreds of times on my way to and from the home of a particular student, so when they cancelled their lesson* I squashed the urge to just go home, and I went there instead.
I was greeted at the door by two small and hysterically excited dogs. Two artists** were in the studio, and they answered my questions without intruding.
It took me about five seconds to ask, “May I touch things?”
I’d come across this:
I was assured that not only could I touch it, I could rearrange it. It was a movable sculpture designed to be interacted with.
From that point on, I was hooked. I love art that can be touched.
The above is a clay postcard with handmade buttons by Linda Davey, which costs $55. Seriously adorable.
The below is West George Street (Glasgow), made from stoneware and zinc. I deliberately photographed the glare, because the background is completely smooth and the foreground is smooth *swoon* It’s $400.
Many of the items in the gallery are “kitchen art” that is beautiful and handmade while also being useful. Most of those were made by one of the women I met.
And some traditional pictures too:
This was raku fired, and costs $140:
Given how much I hate ornaments in my home, it’s odd that I so passionately love sculpture. But I do. There were three stunning bronze pieces about 30cm high. This one is called “The Rehearsal” and it’s $2,200.
But this is the one that couldn’t help but draw the eye. It’s “Lily” by Berendina de Ruiter, and it’s $2,150. That’s the studio area behind her.
The marble itself is smoother and cooler than glass. Marble is the coolest substance ever, and that is all I have to say about that.
*and still paid me, thanks very much – only fair, since I’d driven all the way over and knocked on their door only to discover the student was sick.
**human artists, in case you’re wondering.
S#12: Healing Stones
My mission today was to go to “one of those hippy shops” and buy “something weird.” I bought a pack of “Mystic East” Frangipani incense sticks that apparently “improves the concentration of the mind for meditation and prayer”.
I decided, by way of experiment, to see if burning fangipani incense helped me remember more details from the history book I’m currently reading. Unfortunately, although I can’t say it didn’t improve my concentration, it did give me a headache so quickly that I didn’t have time to crack open the book. Result: Inconclusive, but definitely non-helpful.
I moved the burning sticks on their improvised stand into the laundry – home of cat food, CJ’s bike, and cat litter – to see if it could dissipate the peculiar smell that has lingered in that room since the octopus incident.
I can’t tell for certain if the smell is gone or not, but when I went inside to test the air (and check I hadn’t just burned down our rental home), I got a surprise: Ana was hanging out happily on the floor. Neither cat has EVER just lolled about in the laundry before – it’s their toilet, after all.
So it seems I’m mildly allergic to incense, but my cat really likes it.
Weird.
There are very few items left on the steffmetal.com list of awesomeness. Here’s what I’ve promised to do before the end of next month:
#79: Karaoke (and yep, I’m gonna sing – even if it kills me and every other person in the room – and video it)
#86: Starry Night (at an observatory)
#94: Pay off debt (it’s gonna be a tight squeeze, but I hope we can pay back my parents in the next four weeks).
#89: Dinner and a movie (all by myself – that’s the condition)
#32: Break from technology (four days down, three to go)
#8: Ich bin ein stern (glow in the dark stars)
#28: To the theatre (we plan to see the one-man Lord of the Rings! Awesome!)
and the most expensive exciting. . .
#76: Up in the air (hot air balloon ride!)
On THIS sunday, I’ll be writing about the epic international feast.
Halfway. Ish.
Not long ago, I wrote that I was planning to write a steampunk novel, but I wasn’t letting myself just dive straight in. Not this time.
First I had to:
1. Read at least twenty relevant history/technology books.
2. Write all my twittertales for 2011.
3. Write all my monthly short-short stories (there’s an email list – and yes, you can get on it) for 2011.
4. Take a break between the reading and the writing, so I don’t get overly excited and start lecturing readers on historical dates and/or how to build a steam engine (don’t you hate it when writers show off how much research they’ve done?)
About five seconds ago, I finished #3 with a murder mystery. Yay!!
#2 is one-quarter done, but I can do plenty more during #4.
I’m halfway through # 1.
These are the books I’ve read so far:
“Australian Bushrangers” by Bill Wannan – which also has a short but very useful section on guns.
“History’s Worst Inventions” by Eric Chaline
“Savage or Civilised” by Penny Russell
“Australian Lives” by Michael Bosworth -more on the 1900s than the 1800s, but still very good detail.
“Oxford Illustrated Dictionary of Australian History” by Jan Basset
“Black Kettle and Full Moon” by Geoffrey Blainey – again, focused on the everyday details that are so important for writing.
“A History of Victoria” by Geoffrey Blainey – good, but not as good as the above.
“The Most Powerful Idea in the World” by William Rosen – good, but the most useful bits were above my head.
“Commonwealth of Thieves: The Sydney Experiment” by Thomas Keneally – heartbreaking and enthralling reading.
“The Aeronauts” by Time/Life Books – SO much fun.
I’m also reading all the modern steampunk I can find that I haven’t already read, and I plan to read some 1800s fiction (which I have ready to go), but right now my non-fiction to-read pile is ridiculously big. So I’m going to stop procratinating and go start on “Technology in Australia 1788-1988”.
#280: Make yum cha
There are about a million different yum cha dishes. The easiest to make (while still looking awesome) is dumplings.
Here’s the recipe I utterly mangled:
500g minced chicken (or half chicken half pork)
6 canned water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped (get sliced ones)
1 small carrot, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1 tsp each Asian sesame oil, rice wine, and soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
30 wonton wrappers (which are in the ham and cheese aisle at Woolies)
500mL peanut oil
1. Mix together everything but the wonton wrappers and oil.
2. Lay out the wonton wrappers on a clean bench, covering those you’re not using with a clean wet teatowel.
3. Put a teaspoon or so of mixture in the middle of each wonton wrapper, then wet the outside edge and push it together at the top.
4. Steam some (in a steamer lined with greaseproof paper) for twelve minutes. Fry others in oil for about two minutes each (you can tell the oil is at the right temperature when a cube of bread dropped into it immediately sizzled and turns golden). NB: Do not leave boiling oil unattended. It spontanously combusts. NB#2 If your oil suddenly bursts into flame, move it off the heat and put the lid on. You are now a real cook.
5. Eat with soy sauce.
Coming soon: The epic international feast, featuring yum cha dumplings, sushi, and so much more. Getting the mashed potato a day early was the catalyst for something deeply strange but ultimately beautiful (and, my peeps, photogenic).
#279: Cat reunion
I was cunning and did a big clean just before we left for holidays – including the toxic epicness that is my annual oven clean (the plants are downstairs because I set off a Mortein bomb at the same time).
Indah (aka Grumblebum) expressed her displeasure at our abandonment by meowing a great deal for the first day (we also discovered a present she’d left for us in a hidden corner of the living room).
Ana (aka Fuzzybutt) was pleased to see us, but has been misbehaving more than usual.
Still, we’ve been home over a week now and everything is back to usual.
Ana stayed with my parents (so Indah didn’t leave us an even more exciting present of her entrails), and we waited a day before bringing her back. She travels best in a pillowslip – so this video begins the instant I placed her pillowcase on the floor.
The secret of love
CJ and I have now been married over two years (the two that are meant to be the hardest – one of several reasons we haven’t tried for kids yet). Overall, it’s been a lot easier and nicer than I expected – and I know how unusual that is.
I think the secret to a happy home (other than picking someone kind) is knowing who should do what – and doing it (before the other person has to ask) plus a bit more for love (but not too much – the other person has to have a chance to show their love too).
CJ earns most of the money; I try my best. I do more chores than CJ, but when I’m freaking out I ask for help and he helps. I let CJ spend money on computer stuff and books; he lets me spend money on awesomenesses and writing things. I coordinate most things, especially money and running the household; CJ has less impact on day to day things but also less to remember and be responsible for. In all these areas, we’ve found what works best for both of us.
Chores are the most difficult thing. Before marriage, I expected chores to be the hardest thing (having seen CJ’s bedroom many a time), and they are (even now) – but they’re a million times better than I expected. We talked about chores plenty, both before and after the wedding. CJ lifted his standards, and I lowered mine.
A good marriage is built on mutual respect and love – which is exactly where chores come in.
I don’t think it’s possible for me as a woman to respect a man who is too immature to do the dishes without being told (that makes him a child, and I’m not attracted to children). I also don’t think it’s possible for me to feel loved if I’m constantly cleaning up after a man. I DO clean up after CJ, but I know he also cleans up after me.
We’ve now spend half our time together dating, and half married. The married half has been nicer, more peaceful, and has seen less disagreements (partly because we know each other better, and can predict the other person’s reactions with enormous accuracy).
The hardest part of being married is that I am forced to carry my mental illness with me. I hate feeling that CJ has only ever met the second-best version of me (not that that’s entirely true; I have plenty of good days). I often feel angry that he is so content and happy when I’m living in the dark. It’s pretty clear neither of those things are his fault – and if he wasn’t immune to my depression he would be pretty useless.
The nicest parts of marriage are being able to make plans together, knowing that we have each other to rely on and laugh with, and having a warm body next to me at night*.
*One that doesn’t only love me for my ability to open the cat food cans.
