Poppalina

The Game

When in Rome, and all that.

It goes like this:

The method:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name

1. Shula's 347: Special Sauce, 2. donut, 3. Public Conveniences, 4. matches., 5. liam neeson, 6. I love coffee, especially Monday morning..., 7. I SK8 NY, 8. Vanilla and orange pudding, 9. one with the sea, 10. the quiet everyday miracles, 11. Patient, 12. Scarf bobbles - detail Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

And the result is a rather fractured-looking mosaic.

Which is about right.

Via Nic, Suse, Stomper and Janet.

This is....

This week's theme (via Three Buttons) is:

This is what makes me laugh out loud.

Off you go, then.

Show us your funny.

ps. Have I ever mentioned just HOW MUCH I love Eddie Izzard?

Go Ahead, Make my Day

Forgive me for ignoring the nominations I received for this. I did appreciate them, but it also makes me embarrassed, so I prefer to pretend that it didn't happen. Well, hey, it works for me.

However, under intense pressure from Alison, I have been persuaded to respond, if only because it would be a pleasure to show you some of my favourite bloggers. And, since the wrath of an architect is probably something best avoided, I hereby present

10 Bloggers Who Make My Day.

Top of my list would have to be Jude, of Spirit Cloth. Is it possible to love someone you've never met? With this woman in my life, I would have to say, yes. The inspiration and validation I get, not only from her work but also from the way she gives her imagination permission to wander, means more to me than I can describe. It's a bit like finding out that you're not an orphan, after all.

Friederike! is a flamboyant blue sheep who lives in Germany. She has our hearts. We have hers. She's another one I consider to be family. Her mate Sandra's pretty lovely, too. I plan to eat a mountain of food with her in Amsterdam, one day.

The lovely Suse, of Pea Soup, was one of the first people I ever encountered in blogland. She does whimsical things with double-pointed needles and lives in a place I still call home. If you're curious to know what life is like on the inside of a Steiner family, this is where you go. Guaranteed polyester-free.

Stomper, of Stompergirl, my friend the tapdancer. She wears purple. She has outrageously beautiful children. She has great legs and nothing to fear from being photographed in her underwear. Light on the housework, and heavy on the funny, my day noticeably improves when I see that she's posted.

Leah, of Hyena in Petticoats, the bad-mouthed, beer-pulling, nong-making, graveyard-living, mini minor-driving Angel from Adelaide. She's just plain dangerous in an op shop, and is mighty fun to smoke and drink tea with. I wish we lived closer. DAMN, she has good teacups.

Lucy of Nourish Me. Lucy has an approach to food that I consider magicaI. Clean, organic, non-violent, sattvic. I wish I could do this. I cannot. So I look at Lucy's blog, instead, and sigh a lot.

Speaking of sighs, those who know me well are already aware that I left my heart in India, and when the pain hits critical, I go visit Arch at Rang: The Colours of Life, and look at life her way for awhile. Works every time. What an eye that woman has.

The elegant Joke, of Same Thing, But Different, is a font of sartorial advice, combox repartee, excellent wine, and great food. The man cooks like a motherfucker, and possesses the kind of wit that Oscar Wilde might have aspired to, had he resided in Florida at the turn of the millenium, and hung out at Disneyworld. As I understand it, Joke looks exactly like the guy in this drawing:

which should give you some idea of just how suave he really is.

I no longer need to attend cultural functions of any kind, because I have the ladies at Handmadelife to do it all for me. For reviews, updates, reports, advice, and how to's, these girls are the Martha Stewarts of Melbourne. If it hasn't been covered by HML, chances are it hasn't happened.

And finally, Alison, of 6.5 stitches, who just nominated me, but I don't see any rule book saying that I can't handball it straight back to her. Queen of the Minimal, Empress of Negative Space, a Symphony in Supreme Quality, Alison's gift for knowing, not only what's needed in both an aesthetic and functional space, but more importantly what's not, makes her the undisputed Queen of Australian Craft. Imitated by many but equalled by none, she brings elegance, honesty and integrity to everything she touches.

And so concludes the Make My Day List. There are many others, of course. One of the reasons I resisted this meme was because I knew I'd have to leave people out. Which is really annoying, and no reflection on them at all.

So why are you still sitting here? Click yo' ass on those links, fool!

The Name Meme

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)
Raja Storm

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Espresso Royale

3. YOUR "FLY Guy/Girl" NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name)
Sham

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Black Wolf

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Mary Carlton

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first)
S Onsh

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put "The")
The Pink Whisky Neat.

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)
Robert Anon

9. STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy)
Gucci Caramello

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother's & father's middle names )
Anne Carradic

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)
Moron Montreal

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)
Anzac Lily

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”)
Mango Tightie

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree),
Crumpet Gumtree

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour")
The Generically Creative Electrical Storm Tour.

Thanks to Little Acorn for hipping me to this.

I tag Bec and Leah.

ps. There will be a Flashback Friday. Soon. Any minute now.

Lumpy as Roman Hash

Bec's only been back online for 5 minutes, and already she's leading me up the Garden Path.

Her latest mischief?

The Anagram Generator. It's all her fault.

My full name, punched in, yielded these choice morsels:

Ha Ha! SOS! Manly rump!

Play so human harms

Has a humpy normal.

Oh man! Sharp asylum.

Ya! Harsh lumps moan.

Yum! Shh! Amoral span.

Aha! Many lush romps.

Oh my! Harm nasal pus.

No! Alas! Humpy harms.

May up slash on harm.

Man lousy, harsh map.

and so on and so forth.

Darling Bec, how ever did I occupy myself in your absence?

7 Random Facts Meme

I resisted the call to do this, as I've already done the 6 Weird Things Meme, but with Tag #3, I humbly concede.

1. I was born with hip dysplasia (congenital dislocation of the hips), like my mother. I spent the first few months of my life in a brace, with my knees up somewhere around my ears. It seemed to do the trick, and you wouldn't know, if I hadn't told you.

2. I am unusually flexible. This makes me look groovy in yoga classes, but also makes me prone to injury, because I am, alas, more flexible than smart.

3. I can't sit normally in a chair for more than about 3 minutes. My feet come up, and tuck under, or cross, without me even realising it. I've been tossed out of restaurants for this, with all attempts to explain my affliction falling on deaf ears. I'm much more comfortable on a cushion on the floor. I believe that chairs were invented by someone who secretly wanted to torture people. In this regard, the Arabs and the Indians totally have it together.

4. I am a shithead in the mornings, and can only respond monosyllabically until after the second cup of coffee.

5. I actually love mornings. I wish I was a morning person. I am not.

6. I have a phobia about being late. One of the few things that can really throw me into a tizz is to be running late, and I will drive like a lunatic to make up the time, usually arriving far too early. There is a reason for this, but I will tell you another time.

7. I'm not much of a one for cats. I like dogs. And they have to be big dogs. I feel much the same way about small dogs as I do cats. Medium size dogs are cool, I've nothing against them, but big dogs, they send me. My own dog, predictably, is enormous.

I tag Stephanie, and Kirsty.

6 Weird Things

Tagged by Kate...

I don't sleep much at night.

I have enormous trouble remembering people's names. Even people I really like. I'm obliged to use the terms darling and mate a lot. I have no trouble at all remembering the names of dogs, however. Maybe because I like dogs more than I like people.

I have an embarrassing tendency to acquire the accents of people I am in company with. People think I am being pretentious, or worse, taking the piss, but I honestly can't help it.

I see things. People, mostly. People who aren't really there. They don't talk to me or interact in any way. They just go about their business, often over and over again, and I can see them, usually in my peripheral vision. If I look at them directly, they mostly disappear. This has been happening all my life.

When alone, I have a tendency to live so completely in my head that I lose all awareness of the Real World. A day can go by and I won't be able to tell you anything about it. I have been known to fall down stairs because I have forgotten that I was walking down them, and stepped straight out into space.

I am an empath. I often feel the emotions of other people, as if they were my own. This is much more problematic than it sounds. I spend a lot of time trying to work out which emotions are mine, and which are coming from outside. Parties can be overwhelming.

I'm reluctant to tag, but if you're so inclined, do the meme. It's quite enlightening. I'm even weirder than I thought....

48 Things You Couldn't Care Less About

1. FIRST NAME?
Shula. Don't ask.

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
No. Not unless you count Martin Wyndham-Reed. It took me nearly 30 years to even find the name somewhere. They never saw a 'Shula' through the Romper Room mirror, let me assure you.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?
About 200 years ago. Except for last Monday watching the dementia documentary on 4 corners. I cried like a total girl.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
I used to. But then I acquired a raging thyroid condition. Now a handwriting expert would have me committed.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT?
This one:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tombland/19846529/in/set-72057594048503032/

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Absolutely. As long as we didn't live together.

7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?
I used to, but someone read it, so I burned it. Now I blog.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
I had them out, but knowing me, they probably grew back.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Probably, just to see if it would cure my vertigo. I'd be the one who had the freak bungee-jumping accident. And survived.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL?
Anything with more than 50 per cent sugar and in a high state of refinement. And my Mum's homemade sugar-free biodynamic toasted museli, that I am yet to replicate.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Only if I have to.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
Fuck. Yes. But sometimes I wish I wasn't.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR?
New Zealand Hokey Pokey. Charmaine's Maple Walnut. Really good vanilla.

14. SHOE SIZE?
Large enough to not bother with regular shoe stores. Feetwise, I am German. And Israeli. And Irish. (You can tell a lot about a person's heritage from their feet).

15. RED OR PINK?
Fool. This is Melbourne. Ask me what shade of black I prefer.

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My eyes. They're ruined.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST

The Man of my Dreams. After that, everyone I've ever lost, every day.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Yes. But only if they tell the truth.

19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS, SHIRT AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
What colour is the second question. The first question should be what are they made from.

20. LAST THING YOU ATE?
A birthday banquet that was 3 days in the making.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Tonchi MacIntosh's demos. I want to be his backup singer when I grow up, so I'm learning his songs.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE?
The colour of a eucalyptus leaf.

23. FAVOURITE SMELL?
The smell of my friend Sherridan's Kenzo perfume when she throws her arms around me. Makes me consider jumping the fence. Fresh limes. Ginger. Daphne. Orange Blossom.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Someone on the other side of the world. Never ceases to amaze me, that.

25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO?
The sound of their voice.

26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON YOU STOLE THIS FROM?
Very much. Nice voice.

27. FAVOURITE DRINK?
Right now; Jameson's Irish Whiskey. Straight, no ice. Never ice.

Tomorrow morning; coffee.

28. FAVOURITE SPORT?
Sorry? (yawn)

Unless it's World Cup Soccer. Then I turn into a lunatic. It's a mystery.Thank God it only happens every four years.

29. EYE COLOUR?

Does it matter? (see #16)

30. HAT SIZE?
What?

31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
No, but if I did, they'd be green, violet and blue, in that order.

32. FAVOURITE FOOD?
Anything baked. Or roasted. Or that somebody else cooked.

33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Scary movies, with happy endings.

35. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Autumn. Especially in Melbourne.

36. HUGS OR KISSES?
I'm partial to the Contintental Kiss, but only if it's done without the word dahling preceding it.

And I'll happily hug anything even remotely resembling a bear.

37. FAVOURITE DESSERT?
My mother's Christmas pudding. Cloth. Suet. Brandy. Hung, for ages. Refried, in butter, with castor sugar. I understand it was, quite precisely, my grandfather's favourite also.

38. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
The Brave. The Honest.

39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
The Faint of Heart. And I have no use for them.

40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?
The Mahabharata. Kishari Mohan Ganguli's unabridged, 4 volume, original translation. Every night for the last 3 years.

I dare you.

41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
What Suse said.

42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV?
Bluffmaster. And.....(cue Maxwell Smart).....loving it.

43. FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
The sound of the Australian Bush after a good soak. If that doesn't make your heart sing, then how Godless are you?

44. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES?
Let's see now , Paul McCartney.... or Keith Richards?  Pompous Fart with man boobs and a clueless attitude to women, or Skull King who can open all my chakras with just one chord? Maxwell's Silver Hammer.... or Gimme Shelter?

After all these years, I can't believe people still ask that question.

45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME?
The middle of the Middle East.

46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT?
I can make drunken Irishmen weep. The occasional Scotsman, even.

47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
In one of the realms of Hell, the Buddhists tell me, and I'm inclined to believe them.

48. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?

The very private..... SUSE!!!!