Resume Regular programming........

.....Over on my tumblr: http://skullsandfairyfloss.tumblr.com/


Have decided I am totally blog dyslexic and I like the layout and ease of posting over on tumblr.  Come check me out 'o small band of blog followers

xoxoxox

Well Hello There...

I've been gone a while. I still kind of forget that I have a blog and then i also worry that there is nothing that interesting in my life to blog about. Whoops. I did start a tumblr a few weeks ago - which in turn reminded me I DO have a blog and have been neglecting it. My tumblr if you are interested is www.skullsandfairyfloss.tumblr.com

Over the xmas break I completely cleared out my spare room and turned it into a rad dressing room - I will upload pics in my next post (I left my camera in the car on the weekend.Doh.). I have been trying to think of new tattoo ideas - inspired by repeated viewings of L.A Ink and the Rites of Passage Tattoo Festival which is going to be on in Melbourne next weekend.
Here is a picture of my very first tattoo which I had done last year by the very talented Ally Riley of Dangerzone Tattoo:I'm leaning towards my new design to be of a carousel horse on my shoulder blade. i didn't realise how difficult it would be to find a decent reference of a carousel horse on Google. Grr..

So I guess my new years resolution is to NOT FORGET I have a blog and try and update more regularly. Also remember I DO have a camera - and try and take photos of more things! Ha!

My First Blog Award!

Wooo! The lovely Rach over at Fifties Fever (http://fifties-fever.blogspot.com) gave me my very first blog award. Which I must admit made me squee a little bit!

The rules of the tag are:

1. Post who gave you this award
2. State 10 things you like
3. Give this award to 10 other bloggers and notify them with a comment

Will have to think about who to give the award to - but I will do Part 2 now!!!

So here goes - :

#1 Pole Dancing

I discovered pole dancing in 2007 when I went to a friends hens party at Pole Divas. I love it so much that I immediately took up classes at a school that was only 5 minutes from my house - Pole Princess in Kew. It's a challenge, and coming from someone with no dance experience and someone who HATED to exercise I have stuck at it and moved from level one up to level 5! I think the best parts are the sense of acheivement you get when you master a really difficult move and the gorgeous friends I have made along the way! I have also had the opportunity to compete in a few comps and showcases run though the studio. Here are some snaps from these:

This was my doubles comp in April of this year with one of my girlfriends (I'm the one on the bottom!)


Here is another one from the same comp - I'm the one on the right!! I highly recommend anyone who is curious to give pole dancing a go - it is amazing!

#2 Horror Movies

I absolutely cannot live without horror films. Even if they are crappy I love them. So many people I know don't enjoy seeing them (my fiancee for example) so yo will often see me in the cinema all alone watching the latest. Normally I don't mind doing this - but after a preview screening of Paranromal Activity.....let's just say the walk back to the car turned into a fast sprint in the dark. I can't actually say what my gave horror film is because I love them all! Even the crappy teen slasher movies - although I have a special place in my heart for The Evil Dead trilogy - Ash is my personal hero!




#3 Adam

I bet he is going to be all up in my shizz for listing him after pole dancing and horror movies but it's in no particular order - honest! Adam and I have been together for nearly ten years. He is the complete opposite of me but we fit together quite well - and I can't imagine life without him.


We don't always look this weird - we were at a costume party. I was Doctor Who and Adam was Gomez Adams - but after many beers I'm not sure where the footy and the cowboy hat came from (hence the disturbed look).

#4 My Mum

I honestly don't know what i would do without my Mum. She is the most brilliant person in the world. She is always supportive and ready to give me a slap upside the head if I am being an idiot (which is most of the time). She lives in Cairns now and I miss her alot however I do get to see her at least two or three times a year. Here we are at my PhD graduation:





#5 Macabre/Paranormal/Generally creepy things

I must admit if something is a little creepy/moody/strange or scarey I am proably one of the first people to like it. Guess it came from a large portion of my teenage years being spent as a moody goth. I love haunted houses, graveyards, old churches, true crime, horror stories/movies anything black. Even though i am a scientist I am scared of Ouija boards and tarot cards.



#6 Pinup art.

Who doesn't love a good pinup girl? I know I do. From the cheesecake to the fetish, to the Suicide Girls and Burlesque beauties I love them all. I have begun collecting pinup art/photography books - and just love looking at all the brilliant photos. As Adam is a bit of a photographer himself I am roping him into taking photos of me - when I get the vintage hair and makeup sorted. He is pretty talented - here is a photo he took of me a few months ago - with the concept all his:


#7 Pigs

I know strange right? I love pigs. Piglets are adorable and even the great big messy hogs I love as well. Who can resist a little piglet?


Oh Em Gee I think I just died from an overdose of cuteness.

#8 Music

Wherever I am I generally have my ipod jammed in my hears at an earsplitting decibel volume level. Yes unfortunately I am one of THOSE people on the tram who probably drives you insane. I don't have any real preference for the type of music I like - an example: If I put my iPod on shuffle you would be just as likely to hear Dean Martin, Taylor Swift, Beethoven, Motley Crue, The Cure, Joy Division and Rob Zombie in the one hour. If it moves me or makes me feel like dancing - it's on there.


#9 Books

I love reading. I mean really looooove reading. There is nothing better tha the feeling of a new book in your hands waiting to be read and there is nothing sadder than finishing a book and saying goodbye to all the characters that you have grown to love. I strongly tried to resist the eBook revolution when it arrived - why would you want to read a book on a COMPUTER when you would miss out on the smell and the feel of a paper book??? However i have been won over with my new KOBO reader - it's pretty light and carries hundreds of books which is pretty awesome when you read as much as I do. I am forever getting caught on the tram with no book to read having just finished the one I was reading 10 minutes into my trip! If I ever get a house I want a library room just like this:





#10 Momento Mori Art

Memento mori is a latin phrase which translates to "Remember your mortality", or "Remember you must die", "Remember you will die." It is a genre of art and artistic creations that may vary widely from one another however their general purpose is to remind people of their mortality. I am most interested in the Momento Mori that is associated with the mexican day of the dead festival or "Día de los Muertos". It is a celebration honouring the souls of the dead - involving offerings of food and toys and much celebration. The sugar skull is the most recognised symbol of this day and represents mortality, change and also the remembrance of thse who have passed. The artist Sylvia Ji does amazing paintings using the idea of the sugar skull :

we will sell our shadow to those who stand within it

While browsing the fabulous Haute Macabre blog yesterday I found information on Marilyn Manson's directorial debut:


I admit I gave a very un-goth-like squee of excitement when I saw the above poster. I have always thought that Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There were seriously twisted stories. Even though I loved them they scared the stuffing out of me! People may disagree with me but I thing that Manson's vision would tie in the feelings I get when I read these books!

The synopsis from the Manson-wiki:

Victorian England.

A haunted writer in an isolated castle is tormented by sleepless nights and visions of a girl named Alice, following the death of his father in 1869. He finds himself becoming a symptom of his own invention. “Now all my nightmares know my name.”

He is Lewis Carroll. Terrified of what waits for him each night.

Eeeep.

Says the man himself:

"I want to take the children's story that we all know, and discover the horrifying roots that grow beneath every one of its childish metaphors. The characters may be absurd and wrapped in puzzles, but, the author himself is the story that I find painfully close to me. Lewis Carroll is far more complex than the world's narrow perception of him as a quiet deacon, a mathematician and a loner, simply obsessed with photographing young girls. He was possibly one of the most divided souls living in his own hell that the world has overlooked."


According to IMDB the release date is only listed as 2010.

I for one can't wait.

I'm Looking Forward to Joining You, Finally

Jump into my nightmare - the water is warm.

the heart has reasons that reason does not understand

The heart is the most magical organ in the body - it works tirelessly our entire lives to pump blood around our body - keeping us alive.

I am endlessly facinated by the heart.

As a scientist my cuurent field of research is to understand how disease can affect the heart adversely so I understand the biomechanics and the physiology of this amazing organ. It is quite literally a complex structure of cardiac muscle that is programmed to pulse 24 hours a day - for as long as we are alive. What I find so interesting - is that it is also attributed as the source of our emotions :

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.” Albert Einstein


I have a point. I am getting to it!

*Insert charity plug here*

One of the AMS (advanced medical science) students in my lab is undertaking the NY marathon in November. She was awarded a place on the starting line through The National Heart Foundation (NHF). She needs to raise $10,000 for the NHF which will go to fund life saving research. She has a website that you can visit if you are interested:

http://sophiesrunforhearts.org

She's a pretty amazing chick....check it out if you would like to help!

xoxoxox

"Every experiment proves something. If it doesn't prove what you wanted it to prove, it proves something else. "

Duuuuude. Research can be hella boring sometimes. Instead of reading about macrophages infiltrating adipose tissue I have decided to present to you ten of my most beloved TV and movie scientists.

There are many more than this and they are in no particular order.......

#1
Dr. Temperance Brennan - BONES
Type of Science: Forensic Anthropology
Best Quote: "I don't know what that means."



I love Bones. She is awesome - even though she for shizz wears a tailored lab coat that she actually looks awesome in - unlike actual scientists. Her logic and dry wit kill me every time.

#2
Dexter Morgan - DEXTER
Type of Science: Blood Splatter Analysis and freelance serial killer
Best Quote: "Normal people are so hostile."



Come ON. Who doesnt love a lab geek who is totally smoking hot? Because believe me - that doesn't happen regularly in my line of work. And he kills bad dudes for shits and giggles. Love.

#3
Vince Masouka - DEXTER
Type of Science: Forensic Science
Best Quote: 'That's not opinion - That's science. And science is one cold nasty bitch with a 14 inch strap on"



I don't think I even have to say why I love Vince, considering the above quote. He rules. Dude gets it.

#4
Dr. Spencer Reed - CRIMINAL MINDS
Type of Science: Forensic Profiling
Best Quote: "You should see what comes up when you type "death" into a search engine. "


Um. I love this guy. He is like nerd nirvana. Kinda gangly, sweater vest, nerd goggles. I think this is awesome. I'm sick - I need help.

#5
Dr. Mohinder Shuresh - HEROES
Type of Science: Genetics
Best Quote:"Man is a narcissistic species by nature. We have colonized the four corners of our tiny planet. But we are not the pinnacle of so-called evolution. That honor belongs to the lowly cockroach. Capable of living for months without food. Remaining alive headless for weeks at a time. Resistant to radiation. If God has indeed created Himself in His own image, then I submit to you that God is a cockroach. They say that man uses only a tenth of his brain power. Another percent, and we might actually be worthy of God's image. Unless, of course, that day has already arrived. The Human Genome Project has discovered that tiny variations in man's genetic code are taking place at increasingly rapid rates. Teleportation, levitation, tissue re-generation. Is this outside the realm of possibility? Or is man entering a new gateway to evolution? Is he finally standing at the threshold to true human potential?"


Man it is SUCH a shame that Heroes suck the big one. The first few episodes I really loved Mohinder. He was using genetics to ask some pretty gnarly questions. Then he jumped the shark and got all weird. And then I stoppped watching. Sorry Dr. Shuresh.

#6
Dr. Horrible - DR.HORRIBLE'S SING ALONG BLOG
Type of Science: World domination Science
Best Quote: "Freeze Ray. Stops time. Tell your friends."


Has the best evil laugh eveeeerrrr. And a PhD in Horribleness. So there's that.

#7.
Dr. Who - DR. WHO
Type of Science: Time travel
Best Quote: "Aw, I wanted to be ginger! I've never been ginger! And you, Rose Tyler! Fat lot of good you were! You gave up on me! Ooh, that's rude. Is that the sort of man I am now? Am I rude? Rude and not ginger."



Predictable yet necessary. That is all.

#8
Dr.Herbert West - REANIMATOR
Type of Science: Re-animation!
Best Quote: "The central nervous system is still intact... may still prove to be useful, more useful than he'd be otherwise. "



If you haven't seen Reanimator - do yourself a favor and do so. ASAP. Like Frankenstein but totes more twisted.

#9
Dr. Egon Spengler - GHOSTBUSTERS
Type of Science: Ghostbusting/Physics
Best Quote: "Sorry, Venkman, I'm terrified beyond the capacity for rational thought. "



Busting ghosts would be a rad job. Egon is nerdy AND awesome.

#10
Dr. Stanley Goodspeed - THE ROCK
Type of Science: Biological weapons expert
Best Quote: "Well, I'm one of those fortunate people who like my job, sir. Got my first chemistry set when I was seven, blew my eyebrows off, we never saw the cat again, been into it ever since."




Back before Nic Cage was a card carrying FREAK. I loved this character - and I always thought my job would have to be just as exciting....uhhh future me? Where the frick were you then huh...would have appreciated the heads up.