Martina
Forum Replies Created
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Just as a matter of interest, how come we were able to do two 40 minute sessions back to back? Were they both free?
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Regret I can’t make it this time either, but next week should be ok!
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Just came across this and yes what a wonderful idea. I have been attending virtual meetings of the photography group that I belong to in Thailand courtesy of Zoom, a very new thing for me. The world shrinks appreciably when you can have people signing in from UK, USA, Europe, Thailand and me in Australia. The first meeting went very well but a lot of people couldn’t sign in for the second one, just after an update by Zoom (!!), but let’s hope we can keep on top of the technology. I would be happy to join in but unfortunately the presence of a family member makes it impossible for this Friday at least.
The idea of making it a regular thing post-COVID appeals as well, simply as it can reach a much wider audience. It would, for example, be nice to take part when I manage to get back to Thailand.
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Hello Brenda. You may attract more interest if you post some of your photos here. As you know they need to be reduced to less than 200 kb. If you are using Windows, go to the main menu and scroll down to Windows Accessories and open Paint. Open your photo file and select Resize in tool bar at the top (near the left of the screen). You can experiment how much you need to reduce the images but I usually start with 20% and then if that is not enough press CTRL-Z and start again, say with 15%. I don’t know if Apple have anything similar. Don’t forget to save the file with a different name, or in another folder, if you want to keep the original intact.
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Indeed, Caroline, I have just installed the Mk13.1 software in my crystal ball and the picture is remarkably clearer. I just hope it doesn’t become prone to overheating in the current climate.
And Liz, I agree with you entirely. We introverts have got it made! I have been able to be a girl every evening since we arrived back from overseas – without fear of guests coming to stay, visiting family or having to go to somebody’s place for a social gathering of some sort. Even the neighbours won’t come near us! It’s heaven for me.
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Sometimes I break my isolation by wandering around the local environs and taking photos of the native wildlife. I took this photo of two Rainbow Lorikeets sitting in a tree; I think one is saying: “Don’t worry my dear; I won’t let those nasty humans infect you with carona virus!”
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My Mk13 Crystal Ball says that we will be in a good position by October for TransActshon to take place, provided they don’t let any new cases into the country. :cheer: Mind you, it’s a while since I had it serviced. 😆
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I am not writing books but I am reading them! 14 days under house arrest after returning from Thailand via Singapore finds me doing all those things I had been postponing until a rainy day, and now it’s raining – big time!
Just finished Eddie Izzard’s autobiography “Believe me” which is definitely not literature, although I identified with many parts of it and felt it was worth reading to the end. As we know, Eddie is a transgender person and often appeared on stage in tranny guise. The only thing in his book that (for me anyway) grates is his constant references to his “sexuality” being “transgender”. As I understand it, sexuality is how we relate to others in a sexual way; in other words, we are attracted to people of the opposite sex, the same sex, or are rather confused about the whole thing. Perhaps we should encourage Eddie to join TG Radio, so he can read this.
My next book is “The Future of Capitalism” by Paul Collier; it is rather heavy going but has some excellent points, including how we drifted away from social democracy and pragmatism to embrace populism and discredited right wing and left wing ideologies with all their dire consequences. Not a page turner, but I will persevere.
Of course, being trapped in one’s house for 14 days, did mean we discovered the joys and horrors of on-line shopping. Woolies were great in every respect and we have had two deliveries so far and are well stocked, other than with toilet paper. What does it say about people whose top priority in life is toilet paper? They must walk around with their heads stuck up their own arses! Really! On the liquid front, we had no white wine, other than one bottle of bubbly, but did have 72 bottles of aging red wine in a wine cooler, some of which are no longer aging. I ordered two dozen wines to be delivered from Dan Murphy’s but only one box turned up. Now, more that two weeks since my order, I am still battling with Dan Murphy’s to locate and deliver them. It’s a dry argument.
In the meantime, Cheers! -
Yes, Emma, I too have watched Casablanca umpteen times and loved it every time. I think that puts us in the Incurable Romantics basket, or perhaps some other basket which I won’t mention!
PS I think you meant Peter Lorre; perhaps your spell checker needs a kick in the bollocks! -
So interesting Emma. Many of the female actors (us old people sometimes call them actresses even if it is politically up some people’s noses) I watched were definitely heart throbs of mine.
1. Eva Marie Saint may have been the first, starring in Hitchcock’s “North by North West” (1959). This platinum blonde blew me away; I wanted to marry this woman!
2. Jackie Weaver wearing miniskirts in some Australian TV series in the 60’s was awesome. I wanted to marry this woman!
3. Julie Christie appeared in one of her first roles in a British TV series called “A for Andromeda” and I was hooked. I am not sure what the show was about; I just wanted to see her in it and I wanted to marry this woman!
4. Kathleen Turner whom I loved in her films in the 80’s with that Douglas guy: Romancing the Stone, War of the Roses, Jewel of the Nile. I wanted to marry this woman, but by then I was already taken (sigh).Other actresses that I admired, but did not propose to, included:
5. Lauren Bacall in those lovely films with hubby Humphrey.
6. Ingrid Bergman in “Casablanca” (Bacall did the narration but only later became romantically linked to Bogart.)
7. Grace Kelly in “High Noon”
8. Katharine Hepburn in “The African Queen” with the ubiquitous Mr Bogart.
9. Brigitte Bardot. I never saw her in a film but she was damn sexy!
10.Cate Blanchett who I first saw in “Elizabeth” and subsequently in many other great films, and which is the name of my hairdresser.
There may be others, but those are my Top Ten. A special mention goes to Joanna Lumley whom I admire immensely especially as she has great legs and is not afraid to show them! -
Quite frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn! My height is slightly below the old 6 feet but in my heels, usually 3 to 4 inches, I do tower over people, especially in Thailand (land of the little people) where I live, but it has never bothered me one jot. In my earlier days, I even wore platforms with 6 in. heels! I worry about the sound of my voice and my overall appearance but it never occurs to me that people might take any notice of my height. My advice is to find a place to sit down if you feel people around you seem to be standing in a hole. Just remember that some of the world’s super-models are over 6 ft and they look positively fantastic is a nice pair of high heels.
So, gift or curse? Neither in my case. I couldn’t care less.
(On the off-topic thingy, the USA had a Metrication Board and some US states were already changing road signs to metric values. In retrospect, Australia jumped on the metric band wagon too early; the USA was saved by the introduction of computers which could do instant conversions, so the need to standardize on the metric system became redundant and the US abandoned its plans to change systems. Personally, I prefer the Imperial system whose units I think are far more practical and useful, but then perhaps I am just an old fuddy-duddy.)
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You are totally safe Emma. Only the good die young.
I visit my GP every 6 months, have a blood test and she, a lovely Ukrainian lady, tells me there is nothing to worry about. My heart has been checked thoroughly and is considered to be in good shape for my age. I have sensitive skin, so another destination is the local skin cancer clinic from which I emerge covered in small boils that the doctor creates by spraying liquid nitrogen onto my “pre-cancers” to cauterize them. So far, so good but …….
Statistically, about 40% of all heart attacks happen to people who are fit, have had regular check-ups and have never displayed any symptoms whatsoever. Autopsies also show that many people have had heart attacks previously of which they were quite unaware and therefore nothing was reported. So no one is exempt. (There is a very useful chapter on this in BiIl Bryson’s book “The Human Body – a Guide for Occupants”)
My point is that keeping fit, being squeaky clean and saintly in everything you do, and visiting your GP regularly is a guarantee of NOTHING! Your best guide is your own bodily signs; react to them when they don’t seem right.
So my dear Emma, you are on the right track. Enjoy life to the full, have fun and don’t walk home alone at night xxx.
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A “gift” is simply something that is given. The Trojan Horse was purported to be a “gift from the gods” but it turned out to be the means to destroy a city. How often have you been given a gift that you don’t want or don’t like and throw it in the bin or pass it on to someone you don’t like! The Thais are expert at gift-wrapping and do it so beautifully, but in their culture the recipient must not open it in front of the giver because they don’t want to see your face drop, or feign false delight, when you see what it is.
What we are given may turn out to be a blessing or a curse, but it is still a gift.
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I think we are getting into the area of people who have the glass-half-full or glass-half-empty depending on their past histories and current circumstances. What works for me may not work for someone else; we are all so different. (Margaret Mead: “Just remember that you are totally unique – just like everyone else!”) One factor is to what extent we can share our “gift”; after all, what’s the point of having a gift if you are not permitted to show it off to others, especially those close to you. In the replies, thus far, it seems to me that people who do see it as a gift are in the position of being able to share that gift with others who may even offer their encouragement (rather than directed damnation) along the way. That has been my personal experience and has taken me, over a long period, from a time of secrecy, fear and guilt to one of great happiness and enjoyment of life. I am sorry that others may feel differently for whatever reason but as I said we are all different, and we need to respect that; science tells us that there has never been two people on the planet with exactly the same DNA, such is life.
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Caroline, it IS a gift, a very wonderful gift. I have always been thankful for my life-changing journey. When I look back and think of who I was and what I have become, I am grateful, so grateful to be where I am now. Most importantly, I am happy with who I am, and isn’t that really the ultimate thing?