Category Archives: inspiration
Meet Liz Skitch: Comedic Gem and All-round Rockstar Human Being
I wouldn’t be about to even embark on this mad adventure were it not for many, MANY different people helping me along the way, not the least of which is this wonderful wacky woman before you, Ms Liz Skitch.
Post-car crash, while I’d been easing my way back onto the stage, Liz really is the one who got me not just back on the comedy horse, but through her generosity, back on a horse that was even bigger, greater and friendlier than the one I’d started with. For Lizzie was the one who urged me to attend – and then hooked it up so that I was invited to perform a few guest spots at – last year’s one and only Adelaide Fringe Festival.
Without her, I wouldn’t have gone. I wouldn’t have been introduced to Sheridan Stewart, the dynamo of awesome who runs Titters (where I’m thrilled to be performing all Fringe this year as well). I also wouldn’t have discovered the fabulous Cabaret Fringe Festival, where Liz urged me to put my show on, in a run that wound up being the Aussie launch of the rough version of “An Unexpected Variety Show”, gave me some lovely reviews and a bit of press to get the ball a-rolling. Indeed, Liz was even the one who encouraged me to think about myself as being part of the cabaret world. I am indebted to her.
I just find this woman incredibly inspiring: I truly hope that I can be like her, to be wide open to sharing opportunities, offering encouragement and finding joy in helping to lift other people up, rather than the alternative (which I have certainly been privy to in my short career) of holding all your cards close to your chest in the fear that one person’s opportunity means one less for you.
Liz, you are a most rocking lady and whatever happens from here I am so grateful for your open, joyous heart and for being a true performing friend. I wouldn’t be here without you!
Huzzah for the generous rockstars in this life. The world would suck buttocks without you.
x
Our artsy attempt at a Family Purpose Statement
This vision you see before you is the result of a family bonding event gone this past weekend.
Let me start by being honest: things can get pretty nuts around here. I know this is true of pretty much every family household I know, so I’m certainly not pleading special circumstances, but just with the added factor of Mummy dearest to-ing and fro-ing all over the countryside for performances and such, well yes…I’m pleading special circumstances.
And with more performances coming up this year than ever before in our family’s history, I’ve recently realised more than ever how much we are in dire need of some help in:
a) making our time together really, REALLY TRULY count; and
b) getting more organised in terms of practicalities. (Oh dear HEAVENS when we can finally afford professional help with that I will consider that my moment of having “made it”. You have it in writing.)
So, I headed for the first place any approaching-overwhelm mother would in such circumstances: an all-you-can-drink buffet a helpful e-book. After seeing it plugged on another blog, I opted in for this one: One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler.
Thus far, I’ve checked off a couple of these projects, much to my delight (hello morning routine! Menu planning! IS THERE NOTHING I CANNOT CONQUER?!) and last night, the five of us gathered together to nut out one of these tasks as a family: crafting our Family Purpose Statement. A little cheesy? Sure. But those of you who know me well know how I love to embrace the dairy in life.
We each contributed ideas to the kind of family we want to be, even littlest (whose contribution of a Buzz Lightyear quote: “I come in peace!” was included on the grounds that:
a) we wanted everybody in the family to be a part of the statement; and
b) once we adapted it to “we”, it actually is rather cool indeed. WE COME IN PEACE, YO!
Then today, we set about emblazoning it in gold. Only that didn’t work out, so we opted for the next best thing: a mixed media collage.
It now has prime position in our kitchen. And I kinda love it. Now I finally have something to stare dreamily at when I find my happy place.
Note: I have already uttered the phrase today (that’s right, on DAY ZERO):
“Where does it say “hit each other!” on the family purpose statement? WHERE?!?!?!”
I am not proud.
And yet…I am.
A Peek Inside My Office If You Dare…
Where the magic happens. (If by "magic" you mean "endless facebooking."
I’d love to tell you that the reason I’m sharing this little tour of my home office is because I was simply inspired to do so by its sheer beauty, its gorgeousness and its wondrous ability to lift me up where I belong…but the truth is, I finally pulled my finger out today and shovelled about a gazillion bits of un-filed paper into other unknown crevices in an attempt to make it look at least semi-decent. And as Fiona O’Loughlin herself says, “there’s no point to doing anything without an audience”! So the moment I had mopped my brow from such complete and utter cleaning-exhaustion, I put finger to i-phone and documented the shizz out of it.
Because if I’m totally honest, heaven knows when or indeed if it will ever look this way again.
A few bits and pieces I'm reading right now.
I swear I didn’t line these up specifically to show you; they are quite truly what are on my desk at the mo. I’m about halfway through “Dear Fatty” which I’m enjoying very much and connecting with in more ways than one (see my previous post on this here).
My PRECIOUS.
This is my prize and joy (yes, that’s right, I said PRIZE!) I ripped the original poster off a pole in Saskatchewan, Canada, where I had spent the entire day driving across the state 7 months pregnant, with two small children in the back of the car, just to seize my once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the man himself live. When he walked out onstage, I almost wept. What a masterclass in comedy that was. I should write an entire post just on that gig. Note to self: add to to-do list.
The clutter corner! At least it's colourful.
My philosophy on interior design? If it’s gonna be messy, at least make it a mess of pretty things.
My magnetic noticeboard. I'm just proud that after months of having it sit on my floor, I finally pulled my finger out to hang it!
I originally bought this from Ikea thinking I would stack it with to-do lists (one of which is actually up there; if you look closely you’ll see my daughter has thoughtfully ticked off every time and then written DONE down the bottom, despite me having not even read through the thing since it was put up), but instead it’s just become a bit of a rotating arty board, filled with magnets from my travels, photos and works of awesome from my kidlets.
And I love it umpteen times more than even the most inspired to-do list in the world.
2012 Mission: Dance Every Day For A Year
I have challenged myself this year in a very spontaneous fashion (meaning that the resolution gave birth the moment I actually sprang into action doing it on January 1st) to dance EVERY SINGLE DAY in 2012.
It doesn’t matter if it’s one song or one entire night.
But I am gonna dance, damn it.
Why?
Today I even jumped onto iTunes (thanks to my wonderful hubby who gifted me with a nice juicy voucher for Christmas) and downloaded some of my favourite ever dance tracks, the majority of which involve some element of 80′s cheese.
I am armed.
I am dangerous.
I am DANCE.
2012 Goals and other Shiny Things
Goals.
Yes, I know, I know, carrying on from my last post about the year that’s been, clearly I have absolutely NO lightbulbs going off at all as to how to go about lowering my ambitions. I know all about the ‘why’, but it doesn’t translate into any tangible changes.
As I watched Eddie Izzard’s “Believe” doco again the other day, this time with my sister, it really struck me how even though he came to the realisation that his ridiculous over-achieving compulsion was directly related to his early childhood trauma of his mother’s death, evidently, just knowing it is not enough to actually change it. For instance, since that doco was made I believe he’s run something like two billion marathons, day after day, all in the name of charity.
Point is, understanding the why of your behaviour, doesn’t automatically equal changing your behaviour.
You may hereafter refer to me as Doctor Phyllis.
Anyhoo, being the change-impaired ball of compulsive “doing things” that I am, I have made my usual list of year goals, however this year I am doing so with the help of Accompl.sh.
I’m not sure if it will help me any. I tend to jump on the newest and latest exciting bandwagon all the time, only to get a little distracted by the next bright and shiny thing that comes my way. But heck, why not?
Oh look! Something shiny!
More Pip and Pop. Are you not helpless in its wonder-grips?
Links of the Week: (Or, “WHAT? You mean there’s more to Cyberspace than ME?!”)
The hubbster and I.
How to even begin to communicate the whirlwind of things inspiring me of late. It’s so crazy, my head is full of so many plans, ideas, possibilities, adventures, lists and logistics, I’m literally having trouble getting to sleep. EVER.
Anyhoo…I shall possibly wax lyrical about some of the following during the coming weeks, but for now I just wanted to share some of the bits and bobs that are rocking my socks, leg warmers and other bits of 80′s clothing of late:
Charlie Kaufman, the screenwriter behind such beautiful films as “Adaptation” (one of my all-time favourites), gave this rather mind-blowing speech recently at a BAFTA screenwriter’s lecture. So much to say on this…
Note: I already shared the above on my official Facebook page, but it’s just too good not to smear it around the internet like jam on a pancake.
Apparently Michelle Williams nearly quit acting.
Oh dear heavens, do watch this video. I wanna see the movie!
Oh how I dream of travelling around in a fried up Kombi. And having a man in India handing me a Vegemite sandwich. (If you got that, we are officially friends.)
A piece by Seth Godin on being the best, that I’ve been reflecting on a lot since I first read it. I particularly dig this:
What we can become the best at is being an idiosyncratic exception to the standard. Joshua Bell is often mentioned (when violinists are mentioned at all) not because he is technically better than every other violinst, but because of his charisma and willingness to cross categories. He’s the best in the world at being Josh Bell, not the best in the world at playing the violin.
The ever-wonderful Rachel Hills on Britney and the pain of being pretty. I remember reading that Britney did 1000 sit-ups a day too. I don’t care how freaking fantastic I look, nothing’s getting me over the 100 a day mark. Oh, fine, alright…at this point nothing’s getting me past 1 a day.
Gala Darling goes to one of NYC’s Creative Mornings: aaaaagggghhh! My coolness barometer just exploded. I want one! Can I make it happen in Caboolture? Hmmm….
The Musical Equivalent of a Writers’ Group
My sister Ang is a musician (an AMAZING singer) and as of the past couple of years, a fellow mama. These days we make an effort to hang out at least once a week with our little bubs in tow, hers being a little more little than mine.
This week, however, we did something we should have done eons ago.
Upon spying a library book hanging out at my piano – as our household library books tend to do, for some reason – called “1000 Songwriting Ideas”, Ang picked it up and started reading out some of the prompts. Between managing toddler meltdowns, baby feeds and dirty dishes, we proceeded to brainstorm, laugh and come up with ideas for songs we could each develop from there. Specifically, we put PEN TO PAPER…and came up with the idea of the musical equivalent to a writers’ group. That is to say, each week when we meet up, we need to set ourselves a goal to achieve for the following week, and present it to each other, to keep each other accountable, at the following “meeting.”
My beautiful sista.
I’m so excited about this, as Ang really is one of my muses in this life. I have spent the better portion of my years trying to make her laugh, you see. She gets me. She is my ideal audience member. So to know that each week I’ve got her to entertain, is a great carrot to haul me off my butt and towards my goal of coming up with a stream of new comedy songs in time for Woodford Folk Fest in December.
Plus…I write much better stuff when I actually have an audience to perform it immediately to. I’m a ham like that. So lazy in rehearsals. I really need to have somebody there to entertain, even if it’s just in a workshop setting, even if it’s just ONE person, like in our writers’ group, I need that part of the equation to motivate me.
So here’s to more sisterly time with the added bonus of some creative stuff a-happening as a by-product.
As well as cute photos of our respective little’uns hanging out.
My Ella with Ang's Bonnie. Awwwwwww!
On Finding Your Life Values
Have you read this post by Sarah Wilson? I add her blog posts to my “faves” list so often that I might as well go ahead and automatically star her entire blog. Anyhoo, this one particularly got me inspired. Specifically this bit:
“Conjure a moment where life felt great, where you were in your sweet spot.” For me it was a random moment during a solo mountain bike trip in the Blue Mountains. Sweaty, my bike shorts sagging in the chamois gusset, I’d lain down in a hot patch of gravel overlooking a valley. I can’t think of a moment where I felt more enriched. Harris got me to reflect on what mattered and what personal qualities I possessed in that moment. I was up high, away from the busy-ness of the city; I had perspective and wasn’t “sucked in”. I was dusty and boldly being myself. In an impassioned babble I outlined succinctly what my values were:
authenticity, boldness.
Naturally I thought about my own moment: on a snowboarding date with Tim in Canada, one particularly amazing moment I recall with clarity is sitting on my snowboard, on the top of the mountain, just savouring the incredible sight of a gloriously snow-capped mountain right in front of me and soaking in the silence all around.
What surprised me about this choice of moment was realising that the feelings it evoked in me were not at all related to “achievement,” which, had I been asked, I probably would have said was one of my core driving forces in this life.
But no, that moment on that mountain had nothing to do with it. Rather, the feelings it brought out were more like: Adventure. Beauty. And just…really living. i.e. being an active participant in life.
Nothing to do with success at all.
This was quite a revelation to me.
As was the reminder, yet again, of just how damn much I am doomed to forever miss Canada.
Links of the Week (or “You mean there’s more to cyberspace than ME?!”)
Dustin Hoffman and Lawrence Olivier. I believe the correct term is "Fyeah." (Image courtesy of howtobearetronaut.com)
I’ve been making some headway on nutting out the bones of this sitcom. FINALLY! I’ll quite likely be procrastinating in ways that are deceptively helpful, such as these cool links to screenwriting blogs.
The kids are begging me to get organised for Halloween (a hangover from our Canadian life). Am trying to muster up the energy for it, which, if I do, may involve these cool tidbits, namely cos they’re printable and the less effort and more finger-pressing-on-keyboard-to-look-successful, the better.
This blog post SOOOOOOO makes me wanna go to England!!! Note: this is quite possibly due to the focus on cupcakes.
I am so loving “How To Be A Retronaut.” They feature the most amazing stuff, not the least of which is He-man Hipsters. See it. Believe it. Dig.
This is one of the most inspiring things I’ve read lately.
And finally, I am a SUCKER for famous people hanging out. This gallery is beyond rock’n'RAWL!
The first Comic Mummy DIY: Cape Up Your Batman!
Your materials.
I do love me a good DIY. Oh, if I had a penny for every DIY I’ve ever read (and never actually completed) I would have me enough pennies to think about making a damn fine penny-mosaic.
As such, I thought it high time I brought a little DIY magic onboard club Comic Mummy. This one’s a little bit of awesome I cracked out the other day, when Mister 7 approached me with the manners of a Deportment School graduate* (*may be code for whingeing) and asked whether I, his darling and extremely crafty mummy, might be able to conjure up a cape of sorts for his Batman figurine.
Child. Say no more.
The results were, I believe you could say, STUNNING.
And being the selfless crafty-mistress that I am, I couldn’t keep such resourcefulness to myself. So here it is. Instructions on how to achieve such lofty heights of brilliance yourself.
You will need:
- 1 Batman figurine (or insert your figurine of choice.)
- 1 Cape (either robbed from another figurine or bought. Or, if you are really desperate, just cut off a bit of tea-towel.)
- Stickytape.
HOW TO MAKE YOUR CAPED BATMAN:
Step 1: Take above-mentioned materials.
Step 2: Tape that mo-fo.
And voila!
Note: there is an optional Step 3, should cape tear off, which it occasionally* (*might mean regularly) will. In this case:
Step 3: return to Step 1.
If Step 3 recurs, then go to Step 4.
Step 4: hit your head against a wall. Then go to step 5.
Step 5: write a blog post.
