Through Tim Burton's Looking Glass

Okay. I'm a few weeks behind but I still need to share this in case it somehow slipped under the radar. I don't know if it's the insane amounts of coffee I've already downed or just general excitement over a life-long obsession coming to the screen once more, but I'm almost bouncing off the walls with glee at the latest photos to emerge from Tim Burton's production of Alice in Wonderland.

I'm so enamoured by fellow Aussie Mia Wasikowska as Alice and I can't wait to see what she brings to the role. It's been a while since I've seen a blonde rendition of Alice too - the version I grew up with depicted a fair-haired title role, but for some reason I've since come to envision Alice with darker locks.


No surprises to see Johnny Depp (the Mad Hatter) and Helena Bonham Carter (the Red Queen) making an appearance (I'd really love to see a Burton film sans Bonham Carter! Depp can stay, of course!) but Anne Hathaway as the White Queen is a fantastic, albeit slightly unexpected choice.

The latest concept art to pop up is simply sublime too, with Burton's trademark macabre aesthetic melding seamlessly with C.S. Lewis' Lewis Carroll's* luxuriously elaborate (drug-induced?) world. The dark edge suits the story for the most part, but I can only hope it's not too overwhelming.




Unfortunately we'll have to wait until March 5, 2010 to find out (most likely longer for us Australian folk, unless of course Mia can pull some strings!) Given that filming has already reportedly wrapped up, 9 months worth of post-production bodes well for the look of the movie at the very least.

The countdown is on!

*Thanks Jenn! C.S. Lewis != Lewis Carroll! Much like My Brain != Functional. Is it Friday yet?!


[Images via SlashFilm]

Wednesday Wisdom - Dazed and Confused

Confusion is a word we have invented
for an order which is not understood.

- Henry Miller (1891 - 1980)

Confusion is always
the most honest response.

- Marty Indik

If confusion
is the first step to knowledge,
I must be a genius.

- Larry Leissner

Wowsers! Just when I thought Fate might be taking a well-earned break, she decides to throw another curveball my way when I least expect it. The last week or two has been a circus in amongst running between the hospital and various family abodes, but after a fair chunk of chaos and another unhealthy dose of stress, everyone is doing fine and I'm finally back on board.

More apologies for my quick trip off the face of the Earth! Fingers crossed I can dose up on inordinate amounts of caffeine and finally do some serious catching up! Super gigantic thank you for your patience! <3

It's FRIDAYYYY!!!

This week. Has gone. So. Very. Slowly. I can't even remember how to use punctuation anymore. Can I still blame my cold & flu tablets for that? Whatever! It's finally Friday, and I'm SO glad this week is over that I'm actually jumping around. Something like this, but a tiny bit less graceful.

Ok, a lot less graceful. It's more of a jig, really. And my attire isn't quite that pretty either. Shh, don't ruin my moment!

These beautiful photographs are the work of the incredibly talented Leanne Lim-Walker, and they're just a teeny tiny portion of her ultra-impressive portfolio. She's largely self taught and is now in the midst of completing her Commercial Photography degree, so this lovely lady is definitely one to watch!

Wednesday Wisdom - Always Never Sure

Always and never are two words


you should always remember
never to use.

- Wendell Johnson

Living is a form of not being sure,


not knowing what next or how…


We guess. We may be wrong,


but we take leap after leap in the dark.

- Agnes de Mille (1909 - 1993)

[As always, please click on images for their original sources and show these very talented photographers some love!]

Books, Baby!

As you may know, I'm an unashamed Francophile. My obsession with Paris in particular is legendary, which never really meshed too well with the hard-lined Minimalist sensibilities that were drummed into me during many fateful years of architecture school.

But now that my eyes have been opened to the world of rustic chic, dagnammit I want a spiral staircase that can double as my bookcase, and I won't settle for anything less! Of course, being able to actually afford a multi-level Parisian apartment is possibly a few decades away (at least!), but at least I'll have the chance to accrue a respectable amount of books in the meantime.


Right now however, I'll happily settle for a little bit of Hot Library Smut. Yeah I said what you think I said. Smut. I promise the link is safe for work and that your retinas will not be burned in any way. I also promise that if you have a fetish for books and libraries in general, this is little slice of heaven for you. Library Heaven.


One day, when I can afford that multi-storey Parisian apartment, I presume I'll also be able to afford an abode that has at least one room boasting full height bookcases on all four walls (I'll make an exception for a bay window mind you, I'm not completely unreasonable!)

But when I say full height, it is of course inferred that my multi-level Parisian apartment will somehow have miraculously high ceilings too. Of course! The vaulted ceiling is optional I suppose, but one or two wouldn't hurt. Unless...

[...to be continued]

Happy Monday, I'm Back In Town!

That's right, I'm back...and so is my internet! YAY! You thought I'd just disappeared off into the wilderness, didn't you? That's ok, I understand. I wouldn't call myself Ms. Unreliable if I didn't think I was capable of just disappearing off the face of the planet for a week or two.

But now that my interwebs is back and I've returned from my little adventure in the aforementioned wilderness, I'm not coming back empty handed. For starters, I'm over my little emo pity party (I blame the flu!) and I'm ready to be inspired. I'm even MORE behind with emails, comments, blogs, tags, awards etc than I've ever been before, but that's what all the pretty bribery eye candy is for. Beholddddd....

[Twelve Dancing Princesses by Kay Neilsen]

Swoon. I love the Art Nouveau stylings of Kay Neilsen's illustrations. I'm not normally a massive hulking ballgown type of gal, but if I just so happened to be invited to a little shindig like that, I'd most definitely make an exception.

[Titania (from A Midsummer Night's Dream) by Arthur Rackham]

Arthur Rackham's work leaves me craving chiffon. Lots and lots of chiffon. I already have the long, out of control hair, just get me a wand and I'm on my merry little way!

[The Real Princess by Edmund Dulac]

That bed is pretty much my own personal heaven, pea or no pea dagnammit. I'm only JUST getting over the longest flu in the history of Kit-kind, and after spending up to 20 hours a day in bed (seriously, I think I turned into a koala for a little while there), I like to think I'm a bit of an expert in the sleep department. And whilst all you Northern Hemisphere kids are running around enjoying the Summer, it's actually getting a little bit chilly down this way...so at the moment, I'd estimate that you'd see my head sticking out from about 1/4 of the way down that pile of cosy, toasty warm blankets. (Check out the detail in the curtains - amazing!)

[Princess Tuvstar by John Bauer]

While we're on the topic of details, look at all the beautiful finishing touches in this piece. Tiny lily pads, subtle ripples in the water, and even some little bird friends.

[She Kissed the Bear on the Nose by John Bauer]

And once you're past staring at the amazing hypnotic textures in this painting (or perhaps that's just me and my flu medicine talking again), there's even a teeny tiny little mushroom to cap it off and make it pure perfection. Oh the stuff of fairy tales!

Art prints of all these beautiful pieces are available at Artsy Craftsy, which I joyfully stumbled upon this chilly Monday eve with a little help from the lovely folk at FFFFOUND! (Still searching for that invite peeps!) Because nothing says Monday like a little daydreaming!

The Fork in the Road

Alright. I need to get this off my chest. I'm not usually one to feel sorry for myself, but we all have those moments when we realise that even our best laid plans have fallen apart in a monumental fashion, right? Right? Or is that just me?!

Late last year I did a little pondering. It involved a little message on the footpath that I quite literally stumbled upon a few years ago; a sign that, at that very point in time, my life needed to change direction. And it did.

But now, some 6 years later, I find myself back at those same crossroads, staring blankly at that lil' chunk o' roadside wisdom and not quite able to convince myself that all is peachy keen. I never really intended for this blog to become an outlet for all my little emo moments, so I'm just going to try to get it all out of the way in one foul swoop. Emo commence.

Emo end.

Ahhhhh, I feel better now! Happy non-emo weekend all! <3

Bah! Finally have my interwebs back and realised that this scheduled post didn't work either! What I WAS going to tell you was that I would be away next week (aka last week) but would line up posts for your viewing pleasure, but then, I presume, some random satellite decided it no longer wanted to provide me with internet or 3G services, and I didn't get the chance. How frightfully rude!

Music to my Ears

I know this clip has already done the rounds, but every time I see it on my little television, I stop, sit down and stare in awe. Maybe it's all the cold and flu drugs I'm still scoffing down, but this ad literally stops me in my tracks. It's right up there with the Schweppes 'Burst' commercial - they both have the winning combination - gorgeous, hypnotic visuals and a serene, soothing soundtrack.

The song can be downloaded from the Natural Gas website, but unfortunately as the song was commissioned especially for this commercial, the song is only as long as the ad itself. The man behind it is the mysterious Johnny Green for Nylon Studios, and although it doesn't appear he has any major releases out just yet, he's definitely a name to look out for!

P.S. Either Blogger is eating my posts or I'm so amped up on Benadryl that I'm doing something terrible wrong...I'll try to revive my posts from the last two days!

Wednesday Wisdom - Life in Waiting

We must be willing
to get rid of the life we've planned...


...so as to have the life
that is waiting for us.

- Joseph Campbell (1904 - 1987)

For most of my life, I've been planning to be where I am today. The expensive piece of paper, the ridiculous hours and the below average pay (see #6). I'm not sure what I was thinking, but it becomes more and more obvious each day that I'm not where I want to be. This isn't it. Something has to change.

[Images via FFFFOUND! - And I'm still hunting for an invite! Someone? Anyone?!]

For the Love of Music

Some of my happiest childhood memories revolve around my grandmothers piano. It was always out of tune and I was absolutely terrible regardless, but it was a fun little escape to imagine myself as a musical prodigy playing to thousands of adoring fans. This of course changed from day to day...most days I was busy being insanely jealous of Doogie Howser M.D. because I too wanted to be a prodigious doctor. That's a story for another day.

Nevertheless, there's something about pianos that makes them accessible and inviting, even if the best we can knock out is a slightly off-kilter version of chopsticks (that's where my talent begins and ends!) Earlier this year, Sydney got in touch with its musical side with the 'Play Me, I'm Yours' project, part of the Sydney Festival that strategically scattered 30 pianos around the streets of Sydney, encouraging many brave folk to belt out a few tunes of their own to an unsuspecting public.

Yesterday, the music carried on, but to a far more poignant tune. In the vast industrial halls of Cockatoo Island's Turbine Shed, renowned Australian sculptor Ken Unsworth has created a grand tribute to his beloved wife Elisabeth, who passed away last October. Ken had spent many years away from the art scene, devoting all his time to his ailing wife.


His return to the spotlight of the art world is bittersweet, but a triumph of spirit and devotion; the industrial interior has been converted into purpose-built rooms, including an exquisite ballroom that hosted a banquet in memory of Elisabeth. Other rooms host kinetic and multimedia installations, but perhaps the most touching of installations is Ken's tribute to his wifes incredible musical talents, with dozens of miniature grand pianos suspended from the ceiling.

To honour her life,
and to honour the gifts that she had,
that she gave to me
and she gave to other people.

- Ken Unsworth

I simply can't imagine a more beautiful tribute. It reminds me of the breathtaking work of Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger, but with a sense of both love and loss (not to mention a hefty team of structural engineers who worked behind the scenes to turn Ken's vision into reality!)

The exhibition will remain open for the rest of June. Admission is free, and ferries depart regularly from Circular Quay to Cockatoo Island. The Turbine Shed on the lower island and is open daily 10am - 5pm.

GG Goes To...

Did I say Happy Monday yet? HAPPY MONDAY! I'm still Ms. CrankyPants, but nevertheless I'm happy to bring you the latest winner of the prestigious...

On offer this time around is one of the gorgeous prints from delightful Etsy store Moonflowers Photography! Thank you to the many people who took on the tricky task of trying to choose just one favourite, I really don't know how you did it! I'm fairly sure I hearted almost every beautiful print I came across!

But unfortunately there can be only one winner, and me being the indecisive type, I rely on my friend Random.org. So after a little number crunching, the lucky winner of one Moonflowers Photography print is...

#5 - LCLITHEROW!

Congratulations Lucy! One of Rachel's beautiful prints is all yours! You'll receive an email shortly to confirm your win.

Thank you again to everyone for entering, and super mega thank you to Rachel for sharing her beautiful photography with us.

Giveaway Goodness will be taking a little holiday for a few weeks, but when it returns it will be a monthly event. That way everyone gets plenty of time to enter, in addition to being able to score extra entries by subscribing/following this blog and by Tweeting about the Giveaway too!

In the meantime however, both my computer and I are going to spend a little time trying to get back to 100%. That will of course still include sharing bits and pieces of inspiration with you here during the week, and hopefully, slowly but surely catching up on all the wonderful emails, comments and awards/tags I have yet to attend to! Thank you again for your patience, and I hope you're all having a marvellous Monday!