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Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts

Monday, May 10, 2010

















This is an airbrushed photograph for a Ralph Lauren campaign. The woman in the photograph is not really that skinny, as you can see in the contrasting photograph. The ad campaign apparently needed airbrushing because the model "wasn't skinny enough".

Airbrushing is a scary thing. It can create a bust, reduce a curvy bottom, get rid of a slightly protruding stomach or erase cellulite. Not only that, it can erase acne, crows feet, skin imperfections, remove freckles and shape eyebrows.

I'll tell you, finding out all this made my eyebrows raise a tad.

But, that's not all, it can also re-shape jawlines, add cheekbones, whiten teeth and the white of the eye, change nose shape, sculpt hair, slim the waistline and remove splotches, jowls, under eye bags and raise eyebrow height.
















After these "before" pictures were accidentally released untouched, there were gasps and disdain towards Kim Kardashian for what appeared to be... CELLULITE!!

Aaargh!!!!

Call out the National Guard!!!

Go to code red!!!

In response, Kim Kardashian said "So I have a little cellulite. What curvy girl doesn't?"

















Nowadays, people often see a picture in a magazine and take it on face value. Photographs are not what they appear, and are becoming more extravagantly airbrushed as time goes on.












For example, Faith Hill is a naturally beautiful woman. Why do they feel the need to give her the Barbie treatment?

So many times I have heard other women say "oh, I wish I looked like that" when they see a picture of a celebrity in a magazine.












Perhaps they don't realise that these celebrities don't exactly look like that either.

With professional hair, makeup teams, wardrobe consultants, skin technicians, personal trainers, professional photographers and the magic of airbrushing (or some might say, Photoshopping), you would probably look pretty amazing too.

This is not an exercise in cutting tall poppies down to earth. Actors, models, you name it, they have natural beauty and their own uniqueness.

The purpose of this article is actually the reverse - for ordinary women and men to realise that they don't have to be perfect to be attractive. Our expectations of how people should look have reached new heights.

Stars get cellulite, acne, bad hair days and baggy eye days just like everyone else. It's just that we can't see it under all the airbrushing. Some celebrities probably look at their own publicity photos and say "why can't I look like that" when they have just crawled out of bed in the morning.




















The debate about airbrushing has caused such a furore that French Elle Magazine has opted to grace their cover with stars without makeup and no airbrushing as a backlash against this worrying trend.

The women featured are shown as who they are.

Sans airbrush.

Perhaps one day we will be kind to ourselves and enjoy being who we are. Without expectations.
















Recommended reading:


The Beauty Myth
Succulent Wild Woman







Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Just when I thought I'd seen it all, this comes along:

Doga (Dog Yoga)





















A.K.A. "Dog Yoga" or "Ruff Yoga". I saw this book in the newsagent today and lost it.

1. I hope they don't want the dog to read it. I have enough trouble getting them to say "woof"

2. Getting a dog to "sit", "stay" and "don't chew the furniture" can take years in dog training school. The mind boggles at a dog trying to learn "Salute to the Sun" in a short period of time.

3. Dogs would be good at the "Downward Dog Pose", I'll give them that.

4. Is the yoga actually taught by dogs? If so, THEN I'm impressed.

5. Possible dog poses to try:

"Digging the roses out of the garden" pose

"Smell another dog's behind" pose

"Go mad at the doorbell" pose

"Bark at nothing in particular for 30 minutes" exercise

The strange and rather challenging "Leg humping" pose

"Tap dance across tiles and slide into a bicycle and a bunch of toys" pose


According to the author, dogs are already born yoga masters. Well, good. Perhaps they can teach me. The book is, of course a little tongue in cheek (or tongue flapping out the car window, depending on your species) and combines humour and yoga and er... well, dogs.

Apparently dogs have a natural "tranquility" - yeah. Tell that to the mailman.


Yes, dogs can do a lot of things, but can they do this?





















Hmm. I don't think so.

"Dogs are natural yoga masters" eh?

Well... some humans can naturally do yoga. At least I think that's what this guy is doing.

















Perhaps we can just leave yoga to the humans and let dogs just be... er... dogs.
























Thursday, September 25, 2008

If you are anything like me, you probably have a multitude of books lying around. It may be that there are some that are taking up valuable shelf room.

There are a number of options, various places you can Sell TextBooks both in the real world and online. If you are looking to sell your books quickly and at a guaranteed price, you may want to check out SellBackYourBook.com

It works like this:

You enter the ISBN number of up to 20 books in the box and click "price books"















You will then see a list of books and the prices offered. If you are happy with the prices, you can reserve the price and sell your books. I think one of the advantages of a site such as this is the immediacy of the offers. If I were to sell by other means I may be waiting a week to find out if someone is remotely interested in the books I have to offer. For example, there may be a rush on "The Secret" and the demand for crime and thriller books is down. The only way to find out is to check for yourself. I was surprised at some of the books that were and weren't in demand. For example, the latest Harry Potter book was not in demand. Neither was War and Peace or The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Strange. However the latest book about Sarah Palin (titled "Sarah") is in demand, so is "Change We Can Believe In - Barack Obama". The demand appears to change from time to time, as various books wane in popularity and then come back in vogue.

This post brought to you by Sell Back Your Book

Thursday, May 29, 2008

The way this happened was like something out of another Stephen King book - "Needful Things", or perhaps "Rose Madder"

It was as if the book chose her.

I was walking past an op-shop when something big and white caught my eye. In the days preceding this I had wanted to find a Stephen King book to read, as I had finished "The Dead Zone" in under four days. I first read "Insomnia" ages ago and it was one of my favourites. It has been enough time that I have forgotten the details of the book although I do remember some of the story.

The book peered out at me from the front window of the op-shop. It seemed to be whispering "Buy me. Buy me." I found that I couldn't walk past the shop, even though I was in a hurry.

So I did the only thing I could do, I walked inside. The shop smelt of dust and mothballs. I asked the man "how much for the Stephen King book in the window?" He escorted me to the display and pointed at a bronze cup.

"This one?"

I was perplexed. I was sure I said 'book', what was he playing at?

Then he pointed at a set of handkerchiefs.

"This one?"

"No, this one." I put my hand on the book.

He tapped his hand on a set of glassware.

"This?"

"No, this." I kept showing him the book but it was like he couldn't see it. I thought perhaps his eyesight wasn't good.

"This one?" he put his hand on a stuffed toy.

Either that or he was having a lend of me.

"This one." I tapped the huge, hardback white book in the window for the last time. He finally got it.

"How much is it?" I asked, knowing full well I would pay whatever he said just to get out of there.

"Three dollars."

"I'll take it."

The book is amazing, very compelling and fast paced.

The irony is the title: Insomnia. When I read it last night I fell asleep immediately!








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Monday, May 05, 2008

For the last couple of months I have been deciding what to read next. I had a hankering for Stephen King - my favourite book of his would have to be "Rose Madder" but I wanted something else. I was thinking I would like "The Dead Zone". I know the basic outline of the story and I have seen a few episodes of the television programme recently. Then I forgot about it and lo and behold - I was out walking today and passed a newsagent. At the front of the newsagent was a table with secondhand books on sale.

And what should I find almost immediately staring back at me:





















Ooo! Spooky! It was like it was saying "buy me!" "buy me!"

And the price was $5.99 - hehehehe!!

Perhaps this is "the secret" at work....

(spooky music out)




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Monday, November 12, 2007

As you know, I am a big fan of Patricia Cornwell. In fact I generally like books that involve mystery, death, intrigue and dark themes. That doesn't mean that I am unbreakable when it comes to Romance Novels. I have actually read some romance novels in my life, just not as many as books about forensics and serial killers. That aside, a good romance novel can be like chocolate without all the calories. A bit of escapism sitting alone on the beach, in a park, or in a cafe wistfully wondering about that someone special. I have encountered some people who are addicted to romance novels. Like I said, I am not one of these individuals but I remember seeing bookshelves lined with these titles at one of my relatives' place. I also remember sneaking a look at one of these books - I think it might have been written by Susan Meier, and (as kids always do) I found the rude part straight away. I think it was on page 112 or something. I remember chuckling and thinking how funny it was. I suppose when you are a kid you think a lot of things are funny that adults enjoy. It certainly can be nice to escape into a fictional world for a while, even if it is kind of unrealistic and fluffy, but it's all harmless fun.



Friday, July 13, 2007



















I bought these three Patricia Cornwell novels on Ebay for $6.00

That's right! $6.00!

That means $2 each if my maths serves me correctly!

I had to buy these again as I lent the three novels as an Omnibus to a friend. Rather than ask for it back, I thought I'd just buy a new lot. Good karma or what?

Soon, I shall have them all....my...young...apprentice....

Thursday, May 10, 2007

It's happened again. Can't think of a damn thing to write. I haven't bought too many things recently, but I have lost of bunch of stuff. When my hand knocked the glass of water off a table the other week, I lost 2 of my favourite books.

The casualties:



*Sigh!*
*Double Sigh!*
F#@&

I miss this book terribly. I used to refer to it almost daily. Now it's gone. It was one of my favourite books. Sadly, the pages were stuck together when I finally discovered the damage. And it had begun to get mouldy. And it smelt. Can you believe it?



Well. I ask you. I had only read this one once or twice and it gets mangled when I'm halfway through reading it. Hmmphf.

I mean, really. Couldn't my copy of Dean Koontz "Midnight" been waterlogged? Or perhaps that Womens Weekly cook book? But noooooooooooooooooooo. It had to be my yoga book and my Patricia Cornwell book. Oy veh.

To cheer myself up I bought "The Last Precinct" on Ebay for $10.95, which included $4.50 of postage, which is reasonable. So far it's the best one yet.



I think the most outstanding books so far in the Kay Scarpetta series are:
  • Postmortem - Wait for the scary bit. You'll know.

  • The Body Farm - Scary $h!t when you find out what's really happening

  • Point of Origin - Yikes!! That's all I need to say. Emotionally draining and freakish. But whatever you do, don't read this one before the other ones.

  • From Potter's Field - It's dark, exciting, I like it.

  • Cause of Death - Spooky

  • The Last Precinct (even though I haven't even finished reading it)
Clearly, I love all the Kay Scarpetta books but the ones I have just described have that extra special "something". That's what I think anyway. Feel free to comment on your favourite ones, or am I the only Patricia Cornwell / Kay Scarpetta fan in the world?

P.S. I haven't read "Trace" or "Predator" as yet.

Thursday, May 03, 2007

My collection of Patricia Cornwell novels is growing. Fly my pretties!! Heheehehheheeheh!
Sooon I shall have THEM ALL!!! Whahahahahah!



















I managed to snag it for $2.00 plus $5.10 postage & handling. This is when Ebay works for you!

Verdict - Success!

Unnatural Exposure is the latest to add to my slightly disturbing and definitely obsessive collection of Dr Kay Scarpetta books. If you ask me, anyone who doesn't like these books doesn't like fiction or can't read. Or both. Or perhaps they are squeamish. I'm not. But I'm a Scorpio. Death and dismemberment don't bother me, as long as it's fictional - book or movie. I'm not a psychopath though. Really. Wouahahahahahahah!!!

Actually, Unnatural Exposure scared the living crap out of me. I may never sleep again.

Okay, here's my collection as it stands today (In order of publication - I revel in my nerddom!):

Postmortem by Patricia Cornwell - Yes
Body of Evidence by Patricia Cornwell - Yes
All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell (August 1992) - Yes
Cruel & Unusual by Patricia Cornwell (December 1993) - Yes
The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell - Yes
From Potter's Field by Patricia Cornwell - Yes
Cause of Death by Patricia Cornwell - Yes
Unnatural Exposure by Patricia Cornwell - Yes
Point of Origin by Patricia Cornwell - Yes
Black Notice by Patricia Cornwell - Yes
The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell (October 2000)
Blow Fly by Patricia Cornwell (October 2003) ?
Trace by Patricia Cornwell (September 2004)
Predator, was released on October 25, 2005

Not far to go now. I put a question mark after Blow Fly because somehow, mysteriously that one got soaked in an unknown liquid from an unknown source. Oooooh, scary. I probably knocked a glass over in the middle of the night. Had to dry the damn thing with a hairdryer. Worst thing was that I was in the middle of reading it. Next thing I know the pages are stuck together. I will prevail. * Sniff*!

Thursday, August 24, 2006



These were all bargains. Retailing at $30 new in shops, $40 for hardback, I managed to snap these up from $2.00 to $6.00 - often the postage was more expensive than the book!!

VERDICT - SUCCESS!!

Here is the list of the Patricia Cornwell Kay Scarpetta Books (in order of publication):

Postmortem
Body of Evidence
All That Remains (August 1992)
Cruel & Unusual (December 1993)
The Body Farm
From Potter's Field
Cause of Death
Unnatural Exposure
Point of Origin
Black Notice
The Last Precinct (October 2000)
Blow Fly (October 2003)
Trace (September 2004)
Predator, was released on October 25, 2005

They will be mine. Oh yes, they will be mine.



Wednesday, July 19, 2006

I love books. I love reading books. I can't buy them fast enough and I will go through a few books in a week. And of course, I love buying books.

These can be great to buy online in shops or auctions. In the auctions, you can get a lot of bargains if you buy a few at a time from the same seller. Most sellers are happy to combine postage for more than one item.

The only thing to remember is to carefully read the item description and ask all the questions you need.

Things to ask:

Are there any markings, writing or missing pages in the book?

If not, you should be alright. Read the item description carefully because there is nothing worse than asking a question when it has already been spelled out in the description page.

Happy shopping!!