Peep inside my (current) playlist

I have a varied taste in music. One look at my iPod has things from lounge, indie, to metal, and electronica. I go through phases with "fadding" on bands. I won't have heard something of theirs for ages then I hear it and fall in love with it all over again. Peep inside my playlist, this is what's rockin my socks at the moment.

As is the case with most things, in no particular order:

The Whitlams

I was at my step-brother and his girlfriend's place in Forrest the other week (funnily enough, that place is in the forest) and The Whitlams were playing on the computer. I hadn't heard their stuff in years (see above intro) and I just had this massive flashback of memories of them. It was all Triple J, Perry Sandhills and political/teen angst all rolled into one.

This song below in particular has always been a favourite, their songs were always so personal, singing about someone with a gambling addiction might not seem deep but it was honest.

Angus and Julia Stone

Another Australian act, this duo blows my mind with its simple lyrics - it's really pretty music, the fact that they are brother and sister makes it easier as then I have no problem wanting to marry Angus :) The first song I heard of theirs was actually Paper Aeroplane, but this song below is my current favourite. Love love love it.

Sia

Yep, definitely flying the Aussie flag here. Sia is awesome, she's been around for ages but her songs are again fun, beautiful, and she's a pretty cool person - doing things her own way that appeals to me. I'm putting two songs down for her, this first one is my feel good track at the moment, while the second is the last song I listen to before going to bed.

The clip for this is amazing too:

John Butler Trio

This is one of the few songs of his I like, I can appreciate he is a self-made act (they produce all their own music) another Triple J alumni. Also a good clip.

Basement Birds

Definitely an Aus-centric post. These guys are like one of those "supergroups" a mecca of great Australian music. From www.basementbirds.com.au : "They can't decide if they're more like The Travelling Wilburys, The Highwaymen or The Three Tenors, but one thing is sure - they're none of those. They're Basement Birds, a unique teaming of four of Australia's premier singer/songwriters within the one group. Think Kevin Mitchell (Jebediah), Josh Pyke, Kav Temperley (Eskimo Joe) and Steve Parkin. Brilliance. I describe their music as the sunny afternoon with a book kind.

The Presets

Hah, that threw you! This group is AWESOME. Electronica, their twitter says "tearing dance music a new asshole" and by golly is it. They're a duo of classically trained musicians who met at the conservatorium and said screw classical, let's do this shit. This track is one of my favourite of favourites, and always ends up being my ringtone on my phone.

Art vs Science

Another awesome group, in the middle of recording an album, get your hands on Flippers and Parlez Vous Francais? But this one, their latest offering is nothing short of fan-fucken-tastic. Makes me want a magic fountain.

Things about me

In no particular order:

1. I worked it out the other day, I have just over a year left to go on my uni degree - I call it my hobby - it will have taken me 7 years in total. It's a Bachelor of Arts (Psychology Major). I want to become a forensic psychologist.

2. If you don't know what a forensic psychologist is, or think it's got something to do with CSI, google it.

3. I google nearly everything. That or Wikipedia.

4. I'm 27 years old, but I've been told a lot lately I look like I'm 21. Don't know if that's a good or bad thing.

5. Up until a few months ago I had a boyfriend. We broke up but are still friends, today would have been our 7 year anniversary. I regret none of the time we had together, even the bad bits but don't think I could ever tell him that.

6. I used to be a journalist, then I worked in local government, now I work with homeless people.

7. I want to travel more - I went to Italy for 3 weeks when I was 17.

8. I made a promise to myself I wouldn't have kids before I was 30.

9. My taste in music is pretty varied, you can't pigeon-hole me.

10. I love to read, I went off books for a while and was listening to audiobooks, now I'm back into paper. There's something satisfying about having a bookshelf full of books.

11. Sometimes ads on TV make me cry.

12. I can be incredibly sarcastic, rude, and say inappropriate things - almost never intentionally. I like to think I'm just intolerant of bullshit.

13. I take after my dad a lot. We've been through a lot of shit with his first wife (my birth mother) and that taught us to stick together, now he's married again with two step-kids and are lucky to have gotten the family we were supposed to have the second time round.

14. I have a sister, she's 21 this year and has two kids under 5. I haven't spoken to her in a while.

15. I don't drink beer, I had a bad experience with mixing beer after a lot of wine, it involved me passing out in my own vomit under a table for 4 hours. So me and beer are bad friends.

16. I have eczema, people look at it like it's a contagious deadly disease but really, it's not. Google it.

17. I have awesome friends, a lot I don't see often now but the fact we can pick up after however long like it was only 5 minutes makes them true friends I reckon.

18. I love where I live, I used to live in the desert near a river, now I'm 3 streets back from the ocean. My step-brother lives in the forest and works in a lighthouse on the edge of Australia. The contrasts in this country will never cease to amaze me.

19. I love scary rides and rollercoasters, but one day I went up to the top of my step-brother's lighthouse (not his literally, his work) and the wind was blowing a gale, I swear I felt like I was going to get blown off and into the ocean. That was not cool.

20. I have a dog. He's a staffordshire bull terrier, his name is Diesel and he is my life. I'm undecided on kids, Diesel is my baby substitute.

Profound

Last night I had a conversation with someone - I'm not sure if it was interesting, or revealing, or shocking - I don't even know if I could talk to anyone about it in person. I'm not sure how I feel about it - but it was bizarre.

It was with one of the performers on the Blues Train - we were at this house in Point Lonsdale, maybe it was the alcohol or the pot talking - in her spare time she's a psychic. This in itself I am undecided upon, I am a psychology student in my spare time and beliefs in pseudo-psychology like that sits oddly with me, though I don't think I can deny the existence of an awareness of the other in some people.

Anyway. We were talking about connections, she'd seen one between two people we were hanging out with that night and she got to talking about me. She told me that I was a good person, she could see it in my eyes, my smile and my heart.

At this point, I have to admit that I entered the "smile and nod" phase. It was late, I was tired, and to be frank, what she was saying was making me feel uncomfortable. I don't know why, I don't like compliments maybe? It makes me feel awkward.

Then she says that she sees that I am like "a dog with a bone". I worry at things, there are things that I have carried for years, things that people seem to think I can brush off, but I haven't done so. She says to me "you don't have to worry about it anymore".

Oh God. I have this realisation. It's true, the shit, the childhood, the failed relationship, this year - she gets it. Is  it that obvious? Is it one of those things they talk about in pseudo-psychology that generic statements ring true with a certain percentage of people, like horoscopes?

I don't know. It's been bugging me. Do I take it seriously, or do I write it off? What am I even supposed to do with that sort of information?

The day I met an Olive Python - Birregurra Festival 2010

Olive Python
Liasis olivaceus

Description
As one of Australia’s largest snakes, the Olive Python can grow up to four metres in length and weigh up to a massive 25 kgs. Its colour ranges from a dull olive green to chocolate brown, with a pale belly. Olive Pythons have a high scale count, making them appear smoother than other snakes. All pythons are non-venomous but should still be treated with caution.

Habitat
Home for these reptiles is the northern fringe of Australia, from the Pilbara in Western Australia, through to the Northern Territory and parts of Queensland. The live in rocky crevices, deep gorges, hollow logs and burrows under rocks.

Diet
Like other pythons, the animal has infra-red heat pits along its lips that it uses to detect warm-blooded prey. Olive Pythons dine on mammals, including rock wallabies and fruit bats, various reptiles and birds. When hunting, they strike their target with their strong jaws and then coil their bodies around their victim, constricting it until suffocation occurs. Pythons will then eat the entire animal, head first, and are capable of swallowing meals that are several times bigger than their own bodies. After such massive feasts, a potential problem is that the temperature has to be sufficiently warm for digestion to occur properly, otherwise the meal may decompose in the python’s stomach, slowly poisoning it. Pythons only need to eat a few times a year.


Behaviour
Pythons are heavily built, muscular and slow-moving. They are generally nocturnal, but can be active during the day.


Reproduction
Breeding season is June and July, and males travel long distances in search of a partner. Clutches of 15-25 eggs are laid in November. These eggs hatch after approximately 50 days and the young measure 50 cms in length.

Lifespan
Pythons live for between 10-20 years.

Threats & Conservation Status
Like all snakes, Olive Pythons are protected in Australia. Although not listed as endangered, the subspecies Pilbara Olive Python is listed as vulnerable. Unfortunately, many Olive Pythons are mistaken for the highly venomous King Brown Snake and are often killed.

More Amazing Facts
- Although pythons are non-venomous, they all have sharp, backward-pointing teeth.
- Olive Pythons can detect temperature changes of less than 1/30th of a degree Celsius.
- In the sun, their olive green scales reflect the light at different angles, causing a rainbow sheen, known as “iridescence”.

Thanks to http://www.outbackwildliferescue.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70:olive-python-&catid=43:reptiles&Itemid=67
for the info :)

I meant," said Ipslore bitterly, "what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?"
Death thought about it.
"Cats," he said eventually. "Cats are nice."

Terry Pratchett, Sourcery

Bellarine Blooms

Taken at Collendina (Old Ocean Grove) on the way down to the beach . . . lovely - feels like spring (actually with today's weather it felt more like summer!) I think our native flowers here in Australia are just beautiful. Some of these might be weeds, I don't watch Gardening Australia so can't be sure but they're still pretty to look at.

Simpsons storyboarded by Banksy