My Garden

So, allegedly, it's winter now in NZ.

But no, it's still so warm that I'm able to keep doing my writing on the back deck outside. And I'm not even wearing a jacket.. In fact, if I sit in the sun much longer, I might be in danger of getting a tan. The 'kids' (Bob and Dylan) are out frolicking on the lawn and playing with each other.

I could get used to winters like this!

I don't care about the delayed ski-season... gimme my sunshine!

Hello readers,

While I've been busy behind the scenes weaving things creatively that won't be in the public eye for some time yet (probably not for years), work still continues on my writing. And I'm fine with that, I'm in no hurry, the long game is played as things are devised and put into place.

But sometimes, something so cool emerges that it cannot possibly be kept under wraps for such an exteded period of time.

An artist has very kindly begun making illustrations for a novel I'm collaborating on with someone else. He drew this one sketch - and it is a sketch, there will be a finished piece - of one character from the first half of the book, and he completely knocked it out of the park. I'm giddy. So here you go. More will be revealed in time, but for now enjoy the picture!

If there's one thing I know, it's that New Zealanders love their coffee.

Everyone from the bricklayer to the lawyer not only enjoys their daily espresso, but also demands the very best. That's why the cafe scene here is so competitive, and why throughout the country you'll find Barista competitions where skills with espresso are put to the test. In spite of being a Barista for five and a half years, I've previously resisted entering the competitive Barista scene for my own reasons, but that changed on Thursday last week when I entered my first competition, seeking the title of best Barista in the region.

And I won.

I was actually sincerely surprised by this result; the standard of the competitors were high and I could chastise myself for mistakes made. But winning these competitions come with a fair amount of kudos, and the local newspaper interviewed me for the edition which came out today. You can read that article here, though you can consider me displeased with the accompanying photo, WAY too much flash which did neither my visage nor the drink any favors. The headline itself gives me reason to have a wry smile though, as does the quote; I should have known the reporter would latch on to such a thing. If I have to get a reputation for being a 'Horse', I can think of worse nicknames to have.

And to dispel that horrible picture, there's always this one from the competition itself:



I was up against 12 other Baristas on the day; the procedure is that under the judge's scrutiny, you set up the machine and then prepare eight drinks; two espresso, two cappucino, two latte, and two signature drinks. My signature drink was called the Aria, which is Italian for 'air', and as hinted at (but not fully realized) in the article there was a definite thought process behind its creation. Foremost I knew I wanted to steer clear of artificial flavors, so the vanilla cream was created by infusing a whole vanilla bean with cream for 24 hours in the refrigerator. Secondly, the espresso flavor had to be the star, so it was always going to be something small, no kind of coffee 'milkshake' like most of the other competitors seemed to be drawn to. The last element was knowing I wanted to do something impressive in front of the judges - and knowledge of molecular gastronomy was going to take me there. So that's the coffee foam - extracting the espresso, I added it to a mixture of milk and lecithin, a substance that allows for emulsification of a liquid, so that when you blend it the bubbles stay together without collapsing, but still capturing the flavor. Hence the 'foam'. The Aria is then constructed by first putting a little honey into the bottom of the vessel, adding pressure-whipped vanilla cream, pouring over a shot of double espresso, then the coffee foam spooned on top, and finally just a light sprinkle of chocolate. The resulting drink is a kind of powerful coffee hit, but also a sensory experience with the light textures of the cream and foam. I'm proud of it, and I know it enabled me to win out over the field.

So that's me competing as a Barista. The road from here will take me towards entering in the national WBC Barista championships in early 2012, which is a step up in difficulty. There's another regional competition between now and then I shall hope to enter and repeat the success. After that? Taking on the world would be nice in the international finals, but one step at a time!

I seem to be drawn towards competing in things beginning with 'B'. After Barista-ing and Bodybuilding, what could be next? Botany, perhaps...

Just one week to go until the new series of Doctor Who begins. I love Matt Smith, and I love Mr. Moffat's take on the show, so I think for me it's going to be one of the best seasons ever. He's promised us more complicated storylines, more darkness. Sign me up! I wish I had a Dr. Who advent calendar that started at the beginning of April, because I have literally been counting down the days like it's Christmas. Sad, I know.

In related Whoness news, a mystery benefactor has sent me a rather nice Doctor Who t-shirt; please step forwards whoever you are and announce yourself, so that I may thank you properly.

I had meant to make this post several days ago when it might have been more relevant. It was going to be a long, rambling indictment of the internet and pop music in general, but just to get my thoughts out I think I can do the same in rather less words.

It's about Rebecca Black; some of you, many of you will see this over-exposed name and groan. The fortunate few not familiar should only need to know that this singer, and her video, went viral around the world last week for being 'the worst song of all time'.

Worst song of all time? Fuck that. Where the hell were all these people when the Black Eyed Peas released their last single? And the one before? Are you seriously trying to tell me these lyrics are any worse than "Tonight's gonna be a good night" repeated eleventy hundred times. Oh she uses Auto-tune? WHO DOESN'T in pop music these days?

I loathe shit pop music as much as the next person who's ever been near a radio tuned to the top-40, but the whole thing about picking on a kid, just 13 years old and starting to pursue her dream (even if backed by parents with money) makes my flesh crawl. People don't really think the song is that bad - not with the amount of success thrown in the direction of equally talentless stooges. They're just jumping on a bandwagon. Monkey see, monkey do.

So you know what? I genuinely like Rebecca Black. She actually has a somewhat unique voice; anyone that can make 'Friday' sound like "Fried Eggs" has something going on. Rebecca, you go girl. I hope you get the last laugh when you release your first album.

Sincerely, Charles.

P.S. If you've never had the pleasure (unlikely):

I hereby bring the following video to the attention of the_gneech:



That is all. But there shall be more thoughts on music tomorrow...

Hello patient readers,

An unusually long post from me this evening; well, not unusual for the sort of thing I normally write, but more because I seem to seldom bother writing at all. I really ought to change that; I always looked on my LJ as a way to keep track of my life. Now the years begin to slip by unremarked... how poor my future self will be with memories of this time unless I write!

But I have good reason to break the silence today, because late last month I had an exceptional week. A week with invisiblewolf (aka Spiritwolf) no less, and his charming partner Derrick (who has no online presence for you to stalk, so the only way of getting to him is through Spirit. And I kind of think that's how he likes it ;-) ). I think I packed more into that week than I did for most of 2010.

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I was planning on making an update very shortly about how things are going in NZ, as well as answering some emails friends sent me last week, but suffice to say today's natural disaster warrants an earlier statement; I'm fine, and so's my family and invisiblewolf and partner. We're very far away from the quake. In fact, we've been away all day on a winery tour and have only just gotten Internet access.

Be talking to more of you soon. *hugs*

Day One: Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now.
Day Two: Nine things about yourself.
Day Three: Eight ways to win your heart.
Day Four: Seven things that cross your mind a lot.
Day Five: Six things you wish you’d never done.
Day Six: Five people who mean a lot (in no order whatsoever)
Day Seven: Four turn offs.
Day Eight: Three turn ons.
Day Nine: Two smileys that describe your life right now.
Day Ten: One confession.

When I was a young teenager, I once passed off a piece of fiction someone else wrote as my own for a creative writing assignment; I wove my own narrative around it, but a good chunk of it belonged to another piece of pulp sci-fi. Considering the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the piece in the aftermath, part of me resolved to become my own master of the craft, so I would experience the same reaction but to my own words. If I could contact my old teacher and reveal to him my deception, I would, but I think he would be pleased nonetheless at the writer I've become.

So endeth the meme.

Day One: Ten things you want to say to ten different people right now.
Day Two: Nine things about yourself.
Day Three: Eight ways to win your heart.
Day Four: Seven things that cross your mind a lot.
Day Five: Six things you wish you’d never done.
Day Six: Five people who mean a lot (in no order whatsoever)
Day Seven: Four turn offs.
Day Eight: Three turn ons.
Day Nine: Two smileys that describe your life right now.
Day Ten: One confession.

This meme starts out so well, but ends kinda... silly. But if I must... *readies himself*

*washes hands*