Perth Fashion Festival 2012

A few weeks back we went to some events for Perth Fashion Festival. When I say "we" I mean Jessi from Jessi in Wonderland and I. I had a very important job, I was umbrella holder and general dogsbody. The weather here has been so changeable, that it can be sunny one minute and raining the next. But since it is spring, PFF have been showcasing swimsuits and summer gear. So if it was a little chilly for us, trying to take some photos for Jessi's blog, then we took a minute to feel bad for the models who were probably freezing, but still kept their gorgeous smiles intact. 

One event we attended was the live photo shoot. You can read about it here.

My umbrella holding skills came into play, as there were intermittent showers the whole time. 

Another event we attended was the Fashionably Loud parade. This was a unique experience of both live band San Cisco and live fashion parade of Zara Bryson's gear. I'm loving the gorgeous colourful kaftans on display this year, as well as the new lime we are seeing everywhere. You can read more here and here.

I'm totally crushing on this gorgeous model, who Jessi & I ran into while buying our coffee. Later found out she was picked as one of the models to watch in the future. 

Picture: Astrid Volzke/The West Australian

We also attended an appearance by Ricki-Lee, where she talked about fashion trends, and her own style tips. She was so lovely to the little kids, and to everyone even though it must be a long night for her, she signed everyone's CD's. 

Photo by Jessi Thorpe

Lastly, we attended a Glam Zone at one of the shopping centres, so we could try out Vixen Eyeliner Strips for free. Very Cute. 

Cat Thursday - Halloween Style

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.  

I can't believe that October is nearly finished. I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment, so one thing at a time I guess and I will get there. I have lots to blog about, but not very much time. So I'll just plod along. Hope the year is going well for you. 

 Heidi Klum

 Emma Watson as Hermione (with a Polyjuice Potion hiccup).

Kim Kardashian

Cat Thursday - Dr Who

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.  

Check out Dr Who Tumblr

See how this make-up was done. 

The Perth Royal Show 2012 in Pictures

The Perth Royal Show
All images belong to me. Remember to link with love.

Cat Thursday - Hello Kitty Sugar Skull

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.

This amazing Mexican Sugar Skull inspired by Hello Kitty was done by Rachael Campbell 

who also owns the gorgeous Glitter & Gloss parties for kids.  

She does wonderful face painting and tummy painting for pregnant ladies as well. 

Model is Jessi in Wonderland.

Photographer is Sheridan Dinsdale. 

Please don't use without permissions from these ladies, thanks. 

Guest Post by Troythulu - Review of Carl Sagan's The Varieties of Scientific Experience: a personal view of the search for God.

The Varieties of Scientific Experience: a personal view of the search for God


By Carl Sagan


First, I’d like to thank Kate for hosting this post on her site, and for her kindness in letting me choose a book of this nature to review. It’s a delicate subject for most of us, believers and non-believers alike, and I would not be doing this review of the book it’s about were this book not of the highest taste on the subject matter.


Here goes…

I've recently reread this, a collection taken from the 1985 Gifford Lectures in Scotland, of a series of talks given by Dr. Sagan on his views on the relationship of science and religion, and edited from the original audio transcripts by Ann Druyan.


It’s a touchy subject, I’m sure, but that’s precisely because it’s a very important one that we should give much thought to regardless of what it is we believe.


The first chapter, Nature and Wonder, discusses our early attempts to understand the universe, that humility is not incompatible with such attempts, from our most ancient traditions to the dawn of the scientific age, with pictures used to bring the point home on what we've found out.


My favorite part of this talk is the mention of a 1750 book by Thomas Wright of Durham, An Original Theory or New Hypothesis of the Universe, and the images used in it then to show the scale of the solar system relative to the cosmos, some of these are included in this book.


Chapter 2, The Retreat from Copernicus, is about the history of scientific discovery, and of our natural tendency to project ourselves, especially onto nature. Sagan discusses a version of an argument, the Anthropic Principle, offering a few of his own thoughts on it as an astronomer and astrophysicist.

One thing that strikes me about Carl is that not only is he always good for a quote, there also didn't ever seem to be a dogmatic bone in his body. While giving his own views, he notes them as such, and never insists that others adopt them as truths.


It’s one of the reasons why it’s so enjoyable to read and listen to him.


The 3rd talk in the series, The Organic Universe, is about the science of life, what we've learned, the nature of the molecules that make up our bodies, and the implications this has on and the importance of the quest for life on other worlds.


Lecture four, Extraterrestrial Intelligence, deals with the implications of contacting intelligent life existing elsewhere in the universe. Here is discussed, among other examples, the concept of life on Mars, from its early days to the present (as of 1985), and some of the science involved in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), with a discussion of the now famous Drake Equation that relates to it.


Chapter 5, Extraterrestrial Folklore, is about the connections between belief and the idea of contact between humans and extraterrestrial beings, particularly in the popular idea of UFOs, and the importance of being careful in not to too quickly convincing ourselves of something when we want to believe and the stakes are high, as they often very much are.


The 6th talk, I must preface this by saying that it’s very tastefully done, is The God Hypothesis, and it discusses many different concepts of what we may mean when we (And by we, I mean people all over the world of every creed) say God, throughout history, with the most prevalent arguments for the existence of such dealt with here, and Sagan’s thoughts on these as a scientist and thinker.


The seventh chapter, The Religious Experience, also very respectful, and using good science deals with our own personal experiences of the Infinite. I’m struck by how Sagan can deal with such a touchy subject so personally but so matter-of-factly too.


Lecture 8, Crimes Against Creation, are Carl’s views about the nature of change over history and prehistory and why we must be able to deal wisely with change in our dealings with each other and the environment which we depend on to survive.


The last talk, chapter 9, The Search, begins with a quote by Leo Tolstoy, “Without knowing what I am and why I am here, life is impossible.” (Anna Karenina), and offers Sagan’s thoughts on our origins and identity as human beings, and our place in the universe, with the final paragraph beginning, “I think if we ever reach the point that we think we thoroughly understand who we are and where we came from, we will have failed.” Sobering words indeed.


Finally, there’s a section of the question and answer sessions given after each talk, and I think this part is especially interesting as Sagan directly engages the audience, clarifies and qualifies his points made in each talk, and fills in a gap here and there in his own knowledge.


There are in the footnotes those scientific findings made after the lectures, as complete as can be in updates given the limitations of space and the publishing date of the book.


Regarding his own views, Dr. Sagan comes across as being open and likeable, and in his relating of science, those as well as firm but fair.


I give this book two thumbs up for its clarity and readability, and it is an example of the mellow, scholarly, and clear speaking and writing style of a pioneering popularizer of science.

Cat Thursday Guest Post - Pocket Purrer

Welcome to the weekly meme that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite LOL cat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats! Enjoy! This fun meme is hosted by The True Book Addict. Go over to her site to join in the fun.  

"It's a lonely life as an Engineer. Most of the time you spend with just you and your machines. Sure your work mates stop through every now and then to get more ammo, or tend to their wounds. However none stay for too long. But a little kitten can cheer up this soft spoken Texan quite fast."

I play a game called Team Fortress 2. It's based around team based combat, in which each member of your team must fill a certain role to either try and reach a goal, or prevent the opposing team from reaching theirs. This is my Engineer and his pets. The kitten is still only a few weeks old but I've grown quite fond of her fast. Happy Cat Thursday! :)

~Starchaser

Leon Stumble's Book of Stupid Fairytales

A few weeks back, we had a little road trip and my sister played this audio book for us called Leon Stumble's Book of Stupid Fairytales by Doug Macleod. It's very funny and I had a good laugh. There's a lot of appeal for boys and my nephew was having a good giggle at some of the absurd retelling.  Leon Stumble is a wannabe writer and he gives his boring stories to Una Spooner to read and asks her to publish them. After all the rejection letters, Leon Stumble submits some fairytales, but changes them slightly. In Leon’s stories, Cinderolla is a robot girl on wheels, and Little Reg Riding Hood is a boy called Reg who designs and makes his own clothes. They are  very silly stories and they will have you in fits of laughter. Leon's girlfriend Cassie (who is secretly a witch) adds a little magic and Leon may just get his stories published after all. 

The Publisher's notes said: 

Doug got the idea for the book after seeing a misprint in a genuine book of fairytales. Instead of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, the title appeared on one page as ‘Jack and the Branstalk’. It occurred to him that by changing just one tiny bit of a title, you could come up with an idea for a very different story altogether.

 This book is recommend for 6-9 year olds. 
They need some background in the original stories to get the humour. 

In the print version, the illustrations are by Craig Smith.

SATC Giveaway Winner!!

The winner of Jessi in Wonderland & Books, Crafts & Pretty Things Sex & the City Giveaway has been drawn! Thankyou to everyone who entered, and to all my lovely new followers gained.

The winner has been contacted and their prize will be sent this week.