How To Bake: LemonEntry Style

1. Find a recipe. Think about how amazing this cake is gonna look. This cake is going to be the motherfuckin king of confectionery. At this moment, the cake is at it's most delicious.
2. Poke through the cupboards and discover we have no [fill in here]. Sigh, make cup of tea and flip through recipe-book. Look on the internet. Spill tea on recipe book. Mop up with aloe tissues.
3. Get shouted at by mother- she needs to make dinner and you're in the way. Shout back that it's all her fault there's no [fill in here]
4. Feed cat.
5. Look listlessly at only recipe one can make with available ingredients. Most disappointing cake ever.
6. Spill flour on Everything. Cat runs away.
7. Realise haven't turned on oven. Turn on slightly too hot.
8. Put cake in, wash up. Argument with mother over whether one has to dry up as well as well as wash.
9. Go on Facebook. Tell everyone on the internet how awesome your cake-making skillz are.
10. Realise cake is burning.
11. Think about scraping off burnt bits whilst assembling icing.
12. Icing hides all. No one will ever know. *cackle* Also sprinkles.
13. Serve to family and friends.
14. When taking off shirt later, finally notice flour tide-mark beneath boob-shelf.

Battle Smurfs

Having recently watched Avatar, I think I can safely say it is an excellent example of how story telling can make or break a movie. Let's face it, it's not an original movie. It's basically Pocahontas but with more UV lighting and better special effects. It's not particularly subtle (Unobtainium, anyone?) and the characters have a tick-the-box feel to them. (Gruff-yet-caring-mother-figure, spunky wrench-wench, wise elders, amoral-jerk-golf-playing CEO, beautiful-yet-untamed heroine, who goes from hating to loving the strong silent hero...) The plot-line is nothing new- Pocahontas, Dancing With Wolves and Princess Mononoke are hurled into space with a pot of neon paint and some Lego for company.

Having said that, the movie made over 2 billion US dollars, ran at the cinema (to my mind) for an obscenely long time, and won so many awards, James Cameron's mantle-piece snapped in half. (FACT) This is for one very good reason. The film is visually stunning. From the gentle lighting of Pandora to the more stark setting of the local army base, your breath is taken away by the painstaking detail and glorious settings. James Cameron, as evidenced by his other films (Titanic, Alien and Terminator, to name a few) has a flair for the visual dramatic which is rarely surpassed. His hyper-real camera style gives an otherwise uninspired story an unforgettable quality that keeps the viewer coming back for more, even when limited by ancient and fuzzy television. It is a sign of a good movie that, even when the sound is off, people still stop to look at the screen. The human world and Na'vi world are made equally spectacular in their own ways. The mechanical nature of the human world is emphasised with HUGE TANKS and metal men, while the Na'vi sleep in hammocks made of leaves.

Avatar also heralds an new stage in cinematic history. With video piracy and technological innovations (I recently had a go with 3D tele. Very cool) making it easier for people to flag the cinema, it's becoming more difficult for film-makers to get people in the cinema. While 3D technology is off to a wibbly start (remember that time when everything had a 3D release?) it is clear that it is the way that people are going to be brought into the cinema from now on. Cinema is a matter of spectacle, and making sure that people are getting something that they cannot get in their own home, and it is true that while Avatar is stunning on the small screen, it is easier to take in on a big screen, as at times the detail can be over-looked or missed completely. While a HD plasma tele with Bluray DVD can make you feel like you're looking through a window into the action, only cinema, with it's faint smell of popcorn and slightly unwashed person can give you the level of ideal level of immersion.

So Avatar. It's a good thing, and definitely worth your time.

Eminently Employable

Hi there!

More recently I have been busy with university- I am in my final semester of a degree in English and Classics, which has been really interesting! I really think that my presentation style, especially when it comes to discussion and essays has improved over the past few years because of this. I've even had an opportunity to do an editing project- we are transcribing war letters to be published online, which is very cool. It's fascinating, we're using XML as a mark-up language. I have a bunch of friends who like to programme, so it's pretty neat to have something else in common with them!

Something I love about university is the opportunity it's given me to socialise- I've been pretty active outside of university hours. I did Reefer Madness with the Musical Society earlier this year. I worked back-stage and it was the best and most exhausting time! We had a really small crew, so everyone relied on everyone else to get the props off and on stage in time. I've also been involved in Saga Inc., the uni gaming group, to the extent that this year I was voted Publications Officer, which involved writing a once-a-term print publication called Out Of Character. I really like doing it, it's great. I am responsible for distribution of the magazine as well as promoting club events, including Buckets Of Dice, which is the major gaming convention in the South Island, although we get people from as far-away as Sydney!

One of the things that I have found invaluable through all of this is the internet. Through my editing project, I have been researching online media, specifically the impact of the internet on scholarly editing. I think it's really great how our world is changing in this technological age, so the project has been a great way to watch this. The emphasis in the project has been making the internet something to be used rather than to be used by, and we have been trying to follow this up by using the university forums to discuss work. The internet has also been sterling in helping me keep in touch with my uni groups and collegues. For example, Facebook is useful to talk to class-mates about assignments, with the added bonus that other class-mates can chime in with opinions. I also like the immediacy of Facebook- I can post asking about an event, be it location, time, or dress-code, and have an answer within minutes. It also has allowed me to keep in touch with friends and relatives overseas. While I might not be able to blog as much as I would like, I can update my Facebook status in moments, as well as post interesting links for like-minded people- I found some of my favourite websites through Facebook. I also keep up with things like books and movies- I found Neil Gaiman's blog and e-mailed Tamora Pierce- and got a reply! =D

Having said that, my favourite way to write is with a fountain-pen, and I love a good book- usually sci-fi and fantasy, but I also enjoy classics like Thackeray, and Dickens. I like to experiment with baking, and occasionally try my hand at gardening, although results are varied!

If you were to select me for this role, I think that I would bring a fresh eye to your blog, as well as an accessible style. I love to craft and bake, and I have an opinion on everything! I hope that I would be able to inspire parents to take up their own craft or baking projects with their children, as well as encouraging a lively commentary- I like to spark off discussion, as you never know what you might learn! I like children too, and enjoy spending time with my friend's children. I used to be a leader at Rainbows, which is the Guide group for girls aged 5-7, and we did some excellent stuff, from making Mother's Day's cards to massive games of hide-and-seek, utilising the whole meeting place, and I hope to take it up again some day. I also pride myself on always doing what I say I'll do, and that in my entire time at university, I have never once missed a deadline. I also take responsibility for my own actions, and always see things through to the end, and do the best job I can.

I look forward to hearing from you in the future. My phone number is 0273917263 and I can be reached from about twelve noon (before that I am in lectures) =)