Halloween is next week. It was never a thing when I was growing up in Sydney, but now it definitely is becoming a big thing here. You can tell because the $2 shops are full of pumpkin-shaped buckets, wizard dress-up kits, bags of spiders and webs – and the price of the humble straw broom has tripled. Last year, I went trick-or-treating with some of my nieces, in the streets around their neighbourhood. It was a great community set up and people really got into it – of course, I was there just for supervisory purposes and to enforce good manners…but I did manage to sneak a jelly rat and a sugared skull or two into my pocket. Some of the residents were delighted to come out and meet the kids and admire their costumes – others must have felt compelled to join in, as they just left buckets of lollies at the very perimeter of their property, presumably so they could barricade themselves inside and not be interrupted by the neighbourhood goblins.
I’m not sure if we’re going again this year, but I really feel like I should make up for the lifetime of trick-or-treating that I’ve missed. I need to find a costume though – the danger of turning up without one is that the kids will say, “Oh, you came as a witch – good one”. And it would take a lot of sugary treats to get over that…
Jack the pumpkin (2011)Milly the dog wasn’t keen on wearing her costume.A monster arrived straight from tae kwon do (hence the outfit and un-monsterlike shoulder bag).Witches and devils on the hunt. For lollies, not souls.Some neighbours went to a huge effort. At least, I don’t think these guys are here all year.
Happy Halloween, one and all. And please feel free to share any pics or tales of your Halloween festivities!
Today was a strange day in Sydney. It started out all grey and cold and rainy, but then the clouds cleared and out came the summer-strength sun. Crazy.
Most Mondays, I pick up some of my nieces from school – we pal around, have a nice afternoon tea, talk about our day, do homework (theirs, not mine) and help to make the family’s dinner. It’s one of the highlights of my week and I’m super lucky to have this time with them – while they’re still young enough to think that I’m relatively cool.
Anyways, these last few Mondays we’ve been on a mission. 7-Eleven is having a 13 week Slurpee promotion leading into summer. We’ve taken this as a 13 week challenge – there’s a different flavour of Slurpee each week. We missed the first week (Sour Watermelon) and last week, the machine was busted (Strawberry Citron, so nobody was too upset) and today was Vanilla Cola. Good times. I asked the man if he could let us in on the secret of next week’s flavour, but he said that he’d have to look it up on the system…and then turned away and smiled vaguely into the middle distance…
The Slurpee BaristaEven a cold, rainy day doesn’t stop us. Just pull your school jumper sleeves into Slurpee holders.Afternoon tea. All natural colours and flavours…
I guess I’ve been trying to simplify my life. Jumping off the corporate treadmill (or, at least, jumping on the side of the treadmill pretty regularly, so I don’t get sucked down the back of the machine, catching my shoe and falling flat on my face); trying to ditch the stuff I don’t need in my home (granted, living in an apartment adds a little pressure there); trying to eat all of the food that I buy (and not let it turn into a science experiment at the bottom of the fridge); trying to steer clear of so many things that I don’t really need when I’m shopping (yep, I’m looking at you, shiny kitchen appliances and cook books). Stuff like that.
Keep it simple – a great goal, but easier said than done. That’s why I like this list of prompts, which I saw on Facebook without any credit to the person who put it together, so unfortunately I’m unable to thank them. I think it’s a really good reminder – especially if there’s a busy weekend ahead, or you’re putting off something that you need to sort out, or you forget that other people don’t have a telepathic line to your mind. Maybe it really can be this simple? I reckon it’s worth a shot!
I’m always amazed by how quickly the market can respond to trends. Not the stock market, but the market for clothing and accessories that are quickly produced and often sold cheaply to take advantage of something that’s very now. And since now can be so fleeting – yesterday’s “Team Aniston” t-shirt is tomorrow’s rag for dusting – I am in awe of people and companies who can produce trend-based products, getting in and out of the market before people move onto the next big thing.
And the current ‘big thing’ seems to be that South Korean rapper/dancer/jockey PSY and his song Gangnam Style. The song was released in July this year and it seems to be spreading around the world. And, like a fluffy koala that bites you, or a delicious apple with a worm in it, this song seems cute and innocent at first, but progresses quickly to SUPER ANNOYING on the richter scale. Yes, that is a measure on the richter scale.
I knew it had gone too far when I saw Australia’s Today show this morning – they crossed to a school playground full of little kids dancing around to Gangnam Style. On the face of it, I say good on them for dancing – getting away from their ipods and high sugar cereals and torturing passengers on public buses. But there’s something kinda creepy about 6 year olds shouting along to the song, “HEEEEY, SEX-Y LAY-DEEEEE” and making strange moves that must be mimicking the video clip. Still, I think most of the other words are in Korean, so I guess they can’t be blamed for going with what they know. Although I do like that one of the kids at my niece’s school has changed those words to, “Heeeey, steak and gra-vy”. Much more age appropriate, sonny.
Anyways, if you want to impress your friends and family with your very own Gangnam style, check out these finds from etsy – I couldn’t believe the range of options. But you’d better get in quick, as there’s probably an obscure rapper/dancer/jockey from a tiny village in Botswana putting the finishing touches on his latest dance hit and getting ready to launch it to the world…
Only $9.99 for this Gangnam Style bow tie from TessaROXX.I feel like there is a giant “Keep Calm” factory out there somewhere, cranking the handle day & night to produce more “Keep Calm And…” products. This one is from appleholic.For a trendy baby. Not sure what the deal is with the pearls though, but whatevs. This is from Sassy Kat Boutique.
And I just found this shop – Impressive Steps. You can customise flip flops with your own message, so that you can leave a trail of advertising, or messages of love, or just plain nonsense across the beach.
Taking it to the beach. Gangnam Style. From iStep.
And if you have no idea what this Gangnam Style is all about, here’s the You Tube clip that started all the madness. And fuelled an industry producing heaps of stuff with a very short shelf life. Which is surely another topic for another day…
Here at EverydaySparks, we love finger puppets. And these Italian designed finger folk take it to the next level – just incredible! Especially love the Dalai Lama and Ronald McDonald. Who’s your fave?
Recognize any of these fingerprints? Well you should thanks to the elusive Italian artist known only as Dito Von Tease.
Dito has embarked on a project called Ditology that features eerily familiar portraits of celebrities on the ordinary human finger. The faces produced on each solo finger range from the well-known public personality (Steve Jobs) and political figure (Che Guevara) to the fictional icon (Mr. T) and religious guru (Dalai Lama). There is no person that is off limits in this lighthearted, comical series. Every “person” in the presented portraits is intricately adorned, costumed, and given an appropriate backdrop.
In addition to the ongoing project’s humorous nature, the artist behind the work adds another level of playfulness through his entirely appropriate chosen name “Dito” that translates as “finger” in Italian, which would also mean that Ditology translates as Fingerology. What’s perhaps most ironic in all of this is…
everydaysparks 