Let Them Eat Chookas!

Chookas! :: Loftus // DreamCanvas // No flashHere’s some trivia on Australian theatre for you: instead of saying ‘break a leg’ to wish a performer good luck, we say ‘Chookas!’ Apparently it refers to days of yore when it was considered the performers would dine well if there was a full house in the theatre for the evening’s performance – dining on chooks (Aussie slang for chicken) rather than plain bread. It is not a very elegant expression however, it must be said.

In a new tradition established only last Friday night, if there were not enough theatre staff on hand that day to sign the congratulatory card for the Opening Night of a performance, the nearest designer is called upon to fill the gap with a drawing. With moments to spare and only an unforgiving pen to hand what does said designer hastily doodle-do? Why a chook of course. 

A Catalogue of Cute

Cute guys and cute cats. How could you go wrong on such a premise? A friend of mine posted this on Facebook yesterday. At first I thought this was a bit wrong – was it sexist or something? Was it so wrong it was actually right? But the more I scrolled down on this neverending Tumblr (don’t you love it how they do that?) the more I began to giggle. This was actually very funny.

Just imagine searching for matching images every day. I’d be howling with laughter. What a job, but someone’s gotta take the fall for the rest of us.

I could have posted more hilarious pairs, but it’s not my blog. Des Hommes et des Chatons – check it out. I’m even going to add it to my blogroll. Heck, bookmark it and come back often whenever you need a fix of cute … cats. Or whatever.

Lest We Forget

In the Forecourt of The Shrine :: Tinto 1848 // Float // No flashIn honour of the brave souls who sacrificed all for their countries and their fellow man, lest we forget:

The Dancers

All day beneath the hurtling shells
Before my burning eyes
Hover the dainty demoiselles—
The peacock dragonflies.

Unceasingly they dart and glance
Above the stagnant stream—
And I am fighting here in France
As in a senseless dream.

A dream of shattering black shells
That hurtle overhead,
And dainty dancing demoiselles
Above the dreamless dead.

Wilfrid Wilson Gibson

A poem of the First World War, from Men Who March Away, edited by I.M Parsons (Heinemann Educational Books, 1987)

Anzac Day, 2013

A Guardian of The Shrine :: Tinto 1848 // Float // No flash

So Not A Clinging Vine

My Romantic Adventures #56, June 1955I was quite delighted to come home tonight and for a nice change instead of bills in my letterbox, I found a billet from a friend. I stood in the driveway and laughed aloud as I read it: There’s nothing to discuss! What you need for a wife is a clinging vine - - so you’d better look elsewhere!

Sapphire was in Sydney for a flying visit and thought of me when she saw these vintage postcards. “There were so many to choose from”, she said, “including swamp monsters holding damsels in distress!” Delightful indeed.

Inter-Universe Beauty Wrap-Up

Meet Miss Inter-Universe of 4082, Louella Brite!The Inter-Universe Beauty Pageant of 4082 (hosted by Earth) is over! The judges (I, and three of my female cousins) have tallied the votes (my childhood first, second and third place school sports ribbons were used to distribute the votes), and apart from one green ribbon which seems to have gone astray, here are the results:

Miss Lorna was the over all winner, with two blue ribbons, and two red. She was one of the very last I drew, and I remember putting a great deal of effort into her hair, makeup and costume.

To my disgust (then as now) Miss Comet is First Runnerup – long blond Rapunzel hair, big dress and diamonds plastered over her … how predictable. She received two blue ribbons and one red. None of those were from me.

Second Runnerup Miss Venus received one red and one green ribbon, and Miss Saturn and Miss Uranus tied for equal fourth with each receiving one green.

 

It’s good to see that even in that day and age green-skinned people aren’t discriminated against …

Now that I see them all side-by-side it’s interesting to discover there is a preponderance of yellow and green tones amongst the winners, excepting the shrimpy Miss Saturn. It’s good to see that even in that day and age green-skinned people aren’t discriminated against also – there are two greenies in the winning circle.

Well folks, I guess that about wraps it up. See you all at the pageant on the rainforest planet Lorna next year!

View the full Galaxy Gallery here.