Upcoming Events...

Bleach* Festival | Gold Coast, Gold Coast MC

22 Feb to 3 Mar 2013 Free Entry

Unleashing an artistic tidal wave that will engulf the Gold Coast, Bleach* Festival will return from 22nd Feb - 3rd March 2013.

Long renowned as the global home of surf culture, the Gold Coast was the logical birthplace for Bleach*. The festival embraces the beach heritage of the Southern Gold Coast, re-imagining it in the form of a contemporary arts celebration.

With a global reach estimated in the millions and showcasing the work of more than 168 visual and performing artists in its opening year, Bleach* Festival 2013 will again celebrate surf & beach culture with a series of indoor and outdoor pop up music & arts events and installations.

Visit their website for further information.

Clancestry | South Brisbane, Brisbane Area

1 to 3 Mar 2013 Free Entry

Clancestry features performances by high profile artists alongside new and emerging artists in a program that includes free and ticketed events. Opening at dusk on Friday, audiences will share in a traditional Welcome to Country presented on a sand circle on South Bank's Cultural Forecourt and a performance bringing together artists from across the program to be directed by guest curator Rhoda Roberts. On Saturday, the legendary Black Arm Band will perform in QPAC's Concert Hall.

The free weekend program includes contemporary and traditional performances as well as workshops, discussions, ceremony, and visual arts.

Through the presentation of a dynamic and distinctive group of art makers and knowledge keepers, Clancestry welcomes audiences of all cultures to celebrate in understanding who we are and how we belong.

Visit their website for more information.

BRISBANE POWERHOUSE AND BRISBANETIMES.COM.AU PRESENTS

BRISBANE COMEDY FESTIVAL

TUE 26 FEB - SUN 24 MAR 2013

DATE: 26 Feb 2013 - 24 Mar 2013
VENUE: Brisbane Powerhouse
119 Lamington Street
New Farm
QLD 4005
W: www.brisbanepowerhouse.org

Check out the Brisbane Powerhouse website to get the full details or details of other fun events.

Brazil Film Festival

DATE: 27 Feb 2013 - 3 Mar 2013

Brazil Film Festival brings to Brisbane the images, sounds, scents and flavors of Brazil through cinema.

In its 4th edition, Brazil Film Festival will be presenting ten of the best and most awarded Brazilian film productions.

With cinema, the Festival also attracts a wide range of cultural and artistic expressions, including music, dance, fine arts and culinary.

Come and immerse yourself in the full sensuous experience that is Brazil!

VENUE: Schonell Cinema & Live Theatre
Bld 22/Lvl 3 Union Complex
Union Road
University of Queensland
St Lucia
QLD 4072
W: 4th.brazilfilmfestival.com.au

Brisbane Welcomes International Students

 (BWIS)

DATE: 2 Mar 2013

EVENT TIMES

Saturday

11:00am

On the 2 March 2013, King George Square in the City centre will come alive as Brisbane welcomes over 7,000 students from around world!

Invitations are open to all students – local and international – to attend the city’s biggest welcome event, Brisbane Welcomes International Students (BWIS).

Check out their website for further information including registration details.



If you visit any of these events or others not mentioned here - including international events - I would love to hear from you.

Enjoy!



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Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter!

 This is a great movie.  Unfortunately I missed it at the cinemas.

Based on the 2010 novel by Seth Grahame-Smith it was adapted to screen by Smith and Simon Kinberg.

Directed by Timur Bekmambetov and produced by Tim Burton I expected it to be something different but great at the same time.  It far exceeded my expectations.  I may be biased because I am a lover of Vampire books and movies, but this movie is far better than some other Vampire movies recently seen.

Obviously, the story is about the 16th President of the United States; however in a light in which he has never been portrayed before.  None other than a Vampire Hunter!

I have to give credit to the author for even coming up with this unique and ingenious idea!

The story is about Abraham Lincoln, played by Benjamin Walker, and his early years and how he came to be a Vampire Hunter.  When he was a young boy, he worked as a rail splitter and was caught in an altercation with a man who was trying to hurt his best friend Will, played by Anthony Mackie, who happened to be a free African American.  His father stood up for them both which resulted in the loss of his job and eventually the death of his mother, by none other than the Vampires themselves.

From this point onwards Abraham's only goal in life was to avenge his mother's death.  Nine years later, following the death of his father, and while extremely drunk one night and hunting the man who killed his mother, he encounters Henry, played by Dominic Cooper.

Henry saves Abraham and teaches him to be a Vampire Hunter.

Henry also teaches Abraham that he cannot have friends or family in this life.  Abraham however disagrees and pursues a career as a lawyer, falls in love with Mary Todd, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead and eventually becomes the 16th President of the US.

There are some awesome action sequences during this movie, while at the same time there is a great storyline and it's not just about fighting and violence but there is a moral behind the man and the story as well.

I love this alternative story of the legend behind the man, husband and president, Abraham Lincoln.

I give this movie a 10 out of 10.

The book can be purchase from the Book Depository - follow this link.


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Movie Review - Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Directed by Tommy Wirkola, it is based on the well known Grimm fairy-tale by the same name.  With stars such as Jeremy Renner as Hansel and Gemma Arterton as Gretel, one would think that it is sure to be a hit.

This version of Hansel & Gretel follows the original story to a point, where Hansel & Gretel are taken by their father into the forest and left there to die.  After a while they become hungry and start wondering, until they come upon a cottage deep in the woods made entirely of candy.

Their hunger overcomes them and they start eating the house until the door opens and a very mean looking witch hauls them inside.  Gretel is put to work on the oven, fanning the flames to make them hotter, while Hansel is locked in a cage and being fed copious amounts of candy to fatten him up to be the main course.  When its time for the witch's dinner, the kids fight back and push the witch into the oven until she is dead.  This is as far as the similarities go.

At this point the story jumps until Hansel & Gretel are older and are well known witch hunters.

Here the story starts to get a little predictable.  The good guys (Hansel & Gretel) are searching for the bad guys (evil witches).  Blah, blah, blah....

Needless to say, Hansel falls in love with a good witch, who helps them defeat the bad witches.  Following a major battle with the evil witches, the true story of why their father abandoned them in the forest comes to light.  Sorry no spoiler!

While the story was predictable and at times unbelievable, especially the weapons portrayed throughout the movie.  Not that I was around in the 15th century, but I found it hard to believe the advanced weaponry used to defeat the witches.

Nevertheless, the movie was enjoyable; however as I saw it in 3D it was very fast paced and somewhat hard to keep up with.

I would re-watch this movie in 2D but only to see if it was more palatable in this format.

The most surprising act was that of Famke Janssen as Muriel, the head of the evil witches.  For those of you who don't know who she is, she is best known for her role as Jean Grey in the X-Men movies.  I thought she played the role of the evil witch with great poise and believability.

I give this movie a 6 out of 10.

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Success!!!

I don't normally post personal information here, but I'm soooo over the moon that I just have to share!

Without giving away too much information and to give a brief background, here is a brief re-cap:

I'm currently undertaking further study at a post-graduate level at University and due to some emotional upheaval at work my studies have suffered.  Because of this upheaval I requested deferment of my end of semester exam.  The deferred exam was scheduled at the end of January this year and because of my emotional state I was really disorganised and did not do much prep work or study towards it....

Needless to say, I was scared shitless that I would have to repeat this unit of study and I dreaded the knowledge that I would have to study 3 units in Semester 2.

The results were posted online today and to my surprise, I didn't do as well as I usually do, but nevertheless I still passed.  I received a grade of 4, where the highest grade achievable is a 7.  It's not as good as I usually get but it is a pass!!!!

Happy all around.   I won't be manic in Semester 2 because I won't have to study 3 subjects but just my usual 2.  Woo Hoo!

I'm sooo happy - I could shout it from the rooftops.



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Upcoming Events!

Chinchilla Melon Festival
14 - 17 February 2013

Known as the ‘Melon Capital’ of Australia, Chinchilla produces a quarter of Australia’s melons and celebrates the fact biennially in February. Join with the locals for some hilarious fun and festivities as events, such as melon skiing, melon iron man, melon bungee, melon bullseye, pip spitting and melon tossing, get into full throw.

There’s back-to-back entertainment for the whole family with markets, a street parade, arts and crafts, a poets' breakfast, luncheons, free concerts, and loads more over the week.  So pull on some old clothes and take to the streets of Chinchilla, that are awash with melon mayhem. But be warned: you might end up in a very sticky situation!

Some of the excitement to look forward to includes:

• The ever-popular Melon Skiing;
• Melon Dash for Cash;
• Melon Bungee;
• Melon Bullseye;
• Melon Ball Games;
• Chariot Race;
• Melon Ironman;
• Pip Spitting Competition;
• Street stalls and a Parade
• Art & Craft Competition;
• The FREE Family Concert.

---

Chinchilla is a 3.5 hour drive from Brisbane City.  Why not make a weekend of it - accommodation is available for all tastes and budgets.

Visit the website for further information.

Australia Day II Celebrations - Burrum Heads Bowls Club
Burrum Heads, Burrum Coast

16 February 2013

The Burrum Heads Bowls Club invite you to come along and celebrate Australia Day II. All are welcome to join in the activities including an Aussie barbecue, novelty lawn bowls activities, thong throwing competition, sack rack, cockroach race and an award for the best Australia Day novelty hat.

Trevor Judge will be performing from 3.30 p.m. on the veranda.

Burrum Heads Bowls Club

Address:
189 Burrum Heads Road
Burrum Heads, Burrum Coast
Queensland Australia 4659

Australian Sand Sculpting Championships

Australian Sand Sculpting Championships, Gold Coast, 15 February 2013 – 24 February 2013

Presented by Streets Ice Cream

We invite you to witness Australia's best sand sculptors in action as they compete in the 2nd annual Australian Sand Sculpting Championships.

Surfers Paradise Beach will be transformed into a golden gallery of the curious and the beautiful during The Australian Sand Sculpting Championships, an annual event in Surfers Paradise.

Over the first Friday, Saturday & Sunday of competition, 9 professional sculptors will mould & carve over 70 tonnes of sand into fantastic, crowd pleasing works of art, as they deliver their interpretation of this years 'Sand Safari' theme.

See Surfers Paradise as never before, as lions, elephants, zebra and hippos take shape along the iconic Foreshore.

Play your part in the competition, with children's activities throughout the week, including sand sculpting workshops, sand art and sand bottle making.

And don't miss the main attraction; a 60 tonne collaborative work between all sculptors, and the centerpiece of the Championships.

The 2013 Australian Sand Sculpting Championships will take place from Friday 15 to Sunday 24 February on the Surfers Paradise Beach.

Mt Morgan Kayak Adventure Day

Mt Morgan Kayak Adventure Day, Mount Morgan, 17 February 2013

Located 2km from the centre of town - when coming from north turn left off the main (Burnett) highway (prior to Carmody Bridge) and follow along the Dee River.

Kayaks both adults and kids, BBQ, entertainment, snow cones and fairy floss.

Tickets available from Mt Morgan News at 45 Morgan Street, Mount Morgan, QLD.

For more information please email: mtmorgannews@bigpond.com

Tickets: Kayak Hire.
$25:00 plus $2:50 booking fee.
Adult Kayak 1 Hr Hire, $25:00 plus b/f
Kids Kayak 1 Hr Hire, $20:00 plus b/f

Check out the website for more information.

Brisbane Coin, Banknote and Stamp Fair

Brisbane Coin, Banknote and Stamp Fair, Brisbane, 17 February 2013

The next show Brisbane Coin Fair will be held on February 17th 2013 at The Colossus Reception Centre, South Brisbane. Open to the public from 9.00am to 3.00pm.

Admission $2 per adult. Children accompanied by an adult are free.

The show is an excellent opportunity to meet the dealers and update your collection with a bargain or two as well as network with other collectors.

Local and interstate dealers buying and selling.

Please note the changed venue.

For further information visit our website or email admin@brisbanecoinfairs or phone 073216 8711.

Go forth and enjoy!

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Active Fun!

I've been looking at getting out and about with my son in the Brisbane area.  Since our holiday to Maroochydore last year, I've taken a liking to Kayaking.  Below are a list of fun adventure activities suitable for both adults and kids (all in the South East Qld area):

Kayaking on the Brisbane River with "riverlife" - check out their website for a wide range of fun and adventurous activities available.

I found the prices reasonable and family friendly.

Another option is to travel up to the Sunshine Coast for a 2 hour guided Noosa River Kayak/sailing tour.

This tour is suitable for children as young as 6.  For further information, check out the BCL - Brisbane City Life - website.  Prices start from $60 for adults.

For something a little less water logged, how about a game of Laser Skirmish?

$37 gets you 2 hours of laser shooting in either Mount Cotton, Mt Crosby or Tamborine.  This experience is an ideal venue for birthday parties or group functions.

Visit their website for further details.

What about this for an adventure?  Zorbing!  It looks a bit silly to me and I'm sure you wouldn't want to be experiencing any directional problems when undertaking this activity; however for those people who are into the weird and wonderful take a look this!

It looks fun, but I'm a little bit undecided.  Wouldn't you be extremely dizzy and disoriented when you got down the bottom?

The cost of this fun looking activity is very reasonable and 2 kids can experience it from as little as $40.  An adult and a child cost around $60.

If anybody reading this blog has tried it before please post us your experience in the comments.





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Valentine's Day

14 February - Valentine's Day

Background

Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries worldwide. The origins of Valentine's Day stem from the story of St Valentine, a Roman priest who was martyred on or around February 14 in the year 270 CE. Valentine’s Day has become increasingly popular in Australia over the years, particularly during the late 20th century, and it continues to be observed among many Australians today.

Unfortunately, the not so romantic story is that this very same Roman priest was executed by being beaten, stoned and decapitated.  For the real story go to CBN.com.

On a brighter note to celebrate the message of LOVE here are a few suggestions:

Jude’s Beetroot Chocolate Cake

Coconut Lover Panna Cotta

To get the above recipes visit the Best Home Chef website.

Strawberry love heart sponge cakes

Sweetheart jam drops

To get these recipes go to taste.com.au.

Raspberry Red Velvet Cupcakes

Recipe by Kathyrn Sutton

Rose and Berry Hearts

Recipe by Kate Bracks

Rosy Mamasita

Signature dish from Amigos Lygon Street

The above recipes can be found on the Lifestyle Food website.

If you have your own special Valentine's Day treat, please post it here.

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More birthday picnic ideas

I was surfing the net looking for Valentine's day/birthday party inspiration, and this is what I found!

Cake pops

These cake pops are balls of cake mixed with icing and covered in a hard chocolate shell. They are great for parties and cute when you want something a little bit fancy.

Ingredients:

• 1 box chocolate cake, prepared ( I used Betty Crocker Devils food cake)
• 1 container Betty Crocker creamy deluxe frosting, chocolate
• 1 bag (375g) white chocolate melts
• Sprinkles of your choice
• Lollypop sticks

Method:

Cut the prepared cake in half and crumble by rubbing the two halves together.

Pour in the creamy deluxe frosting and mix using a spoon.

Line a baking tray with baking paper and form the balls by rolling a tablespoon of the cake mix in your hands for your cake pops.

Put the tray in the freezer for 20 minutes.

To melt the chocolate, put a saucepan of water 1/3 full on the stove. Bring to the boil and melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over the water, ensuring that the water is not touching the bottom of the bowl. Turn off the heat but leave the bowl sitting over the hot water.

Remove the cake balls from the freezer ten at a time and push the lollypop stick about 1cm into the ball. Dip them into the chocolate and cover with sprinkles.

Remove the next ten cake balls and repeat until completed.

Notes

• These are so sweet that you will only need one or two per person. 
• I purchased the lollypop sticks and a pieces of styrofoam from Spotlight to create a stand. I just covered this in foil so I could use it again at a later date.
• You can change the flavour of frosting or the type of cake you use for something different.
• I leave the chocolate sitting over the hot water to keep it liquid. It dries and sets quite quickly.
• I originally saw these made using Wiltons candy melts for a coating but they are quite expensive and hard to source. 
• These pops are covered in Dollarsweets Fairy Dust (pink) and Jurassic Bitz (blue/green) which I purchased from the supermarket.
• This recipe was created by Jennifer Cheung for Kidspot, Australia's best recipe finder.

Santa brought me a cake pop machine - this may be just the time to test it out!  I'll post pictures if they are worthy :-)

Mini hotdogs

Preheat oven to 220°C. Place frankfurters in a saucepan of water, simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile place rolls on a tr

Serving Size:

6

Special Info:

Egg free, Nut free

Ingredients:

• 6 bake-at-home mini rolls
• 6 skinless cocktail frankfurters
• ½ cup grated cheese
• tomato sauce, to serve

Method:

Preheat oven to 220°C.

Place frankfurters in a saucepan of water, simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile place rolls on a tray and bake in the oven for 5 minutes until starting to turn golden brown.

Split rolls in half, fill with some cheese and push in a frankfurter.

Repeat with remaining rolls and dogs.

Serve on a large plate with tomato sauce.

Notes:

• I think cocktail frankfurters in general are foul and disgusting, but the kids seem to like them …
• This makes a nice change from serving them in a bowl in the centre of the table (in a pool of cold water!)
• Recipe created by Melissa Hughes for Kidspot.

Nutella fairy bread

This Nutella fairy bread is a real hit at kid's parties. It is easy to make and great for any occasion where there are hungry children.

Ingredients:

• 6 slices of bread of your choice
• 1/2 cup Nutella
• 100's and 1000's

Method:

Spread each slice of bread generously with Nutella.

Press slices face down into 100's and 1000's.

Slice into triangles.

Notes

• You can use sharp cookie cutters to create shapes with this fairy bread.
• This recipe was created by Jennifer Cheung for Kidspot, Australia's best recipe finder.

What does anyone think of this cake?  Too immature for a 40th birthday?

Choc ripple castle birthday cake

Get birthday cake ideas, kids birthday cake recipes and cake decorating tips in Kidspot's kids cakes section.

Ingredients:

• 3 pkts Choc Ripple biscuits
• 3 x 600ml thickened cream
• 3 tsp castor sugar
• 3 tsp vanilla essence

Turrets

• 4 waffle cones, trimmed with scissors to sit flat
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp rose food colouring

Frosting

• 90g butter
• 1 cup icing sugar mixture
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

Add castor sugar and vanilla essence to cream and whip until stiff. Scoop a generous dollop of the cream onto a large serving plate to create a base for the biscuits.

 

Using the cream as ‘glue’, sandwich the biscuits together and lie so they are stacked on their side (they should look as they do when you open a packet of biscuits except with a generous dollop of cream between each biscuit.) Build three rows of 12 biscuits each so that you have created a square of biscuits and cream when you have finished.

Carefully smooth the lot with a palette knife or flat blade and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Build the turrets by sandwiching four biscuits together with the cream and stacking them on each corner of the refrigerated ‘cake’. Refrigerate overnight.

Recoat with more cream if the cake shows cracks.

To make the icing, beat butter until creamy and pale. Add vanilla essence and then sifted icing sugar mixture.

Use a few drops of milk to thin the icing if it becomes too thick.

Add a few drops of rose food colouring after you have used the butter cream frosting to cover the turrets for piping on the doors and windows.

Tint the coconut with rose food colouring. Cover cones in the icing and roll in tinted coconut.

 

Push wooden skewers through the turrets into the cake base to help stabilise and balance towers. Tint remainder of icing in with rose food colouring. Use a piping bag to pipe icing on for windows and doors. Add flags on tooth picks. 

Notes:

• No doubt, you will have noticed that there is no actual cake involved in this ‘cake’! So this recipe is perfect for anyone who isn’t much of a baker!
• Once you build the basic castle structure, you could go really wild with the decorations – think of this castle as merely the starting point for your biggest birthday cake dreams.
• It is important to refrigerate the cake where indicated as this will firm up the cream and allow you to build on it without everything collapsing.
• This recipe was created by Jennifer Cheung for Kidspot, Australia’s best recipe finder.

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