Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Nev Skin has vinyl skins for almost anything skin-o-able: mobiles, tablets, Ereaders, laptops, notebooks, Ipods, and Gaming consoles. If your laptop is not there, they have universal skins that will fit most of them; you just need to tell them the exact size, and they will trim it for you; or you can get the Universal size and you trim it yourself on arrival, whatever you prefer. They have a good selection of images, from local and international artists, and you can choose from matte o glossy finish; I always prefer matte because the skin is less affected by glare, you appreciate the artwork better, and you won't notice your fingertips on it. Nev Skin prints on demand, so your skin is freshly printed for you, and the colours vibrant and strong.
The website is very cool to browse around by design, meaning by the specific gadget you have, or just by artist. All images are zoomable, although the zoom is limited in size. The website is very informative about shipping methods and prices, approximate time of delivery, customisation of large-size skins, and on how to apply the skins on to your gadgets. Major credit cards and PayPal are accepted for payment, check-out is no-fuss, and you'll get an email as soon as your order goes through. Once your order is shipped, your will receive another email with a tracking link. Nev Skin uses Australia Post for shipping, and you can select registered or non-registered mail. They charge you just 1 cent for shipping within Australia for most skins, except for laptops over 14" and the PS3 slim and 360s consoles, or if your order is over 500 grams.
Customer service has been very friendly, prompt and informative all the way up by a lovely lady called Joanne.
Nev Skin has identical or very similar prices, dollar up or down, as the ones you find elsewhere online. The prices range from 15 to 30 bucks, depending on your gadget, with a surcharge of 4 bucks for oversized laptop skins.
Regarding the skin I got, it differs little from the image you see on the website. As the zoom on the image is small, I was expecting an image with colours a bit more pastel, and also a less detailed and cleaner image (as the photo below). The skin I got is gorgeous, but the colours are strong and vibrant, and the image much more detailed, which is great with me; however, it might not be the case with other people.
> They need to improve their zoom to get a better quality and much bigger images of the skins, so you know what you are ordering regarding colours and details of the picture/drawing. Other websites with whom they share artwork and artists do just that. Why Nev Skin doesn't?
> They could easily improve the volume of artwork on offer and add Australian local artists, which would make the site la creme de la creme in a market that, despite aiming customisation, has very similar images elsewhere.
> They should have, as other similar websites have, a "make your own" skin. You upload your own photo or personal artwork to the site and make your own skin, using online tools. Then, they print it and send it to you. That is what call, real customisation!
MIND
As Nev Skin prints your skin after you order it, your skin can take up to a week to be posted. Mine took six natural days (four working days) to be posted, plus the seven days to get from Queensland to Western Australia.
***
I know many sites like Nev Skin on the Internet, the majority of them overseas. Other Australian sites have a bigger selection of artwork, but their artwork is less artistic. Prices are similar elsewhere, so I always prefer buying from an Australian company, especially if, as Nev Skin, they have a good customer service and a good quality product.
Monday, 20 May 2013
Intimacy is not a book about physical intimacy, but a book about emotional intimacy. The book is structured, basically, in chapters that discuss those elements that prevent you from becoming truly intimate with somebody else (the habit of reaction, being stuck on security, shadow-boxing, and being attached to false values), and those that will help you to become intimate (learn to relate without having a relationship, be true to yourself, listen to and accept yourself, trust yourself, learn to be vulnerable, be "selfish", learn the language of silence, and meditate), plus an introduction on what Intimacy is and is not, and a final section devoted to Q&A.
The language of the book is very simple and easy to understand, with a constant use of parables and metaphors. Osho was a lecturer and teacher after all, and his writing is a direct reflection of that. On the other hand, he is not a native English, so his English is straight forward and simple, and not the usual cryptic philosophical dry jargon that can drive you nuts.
Intimacy is full of wisdom, good advice and food for thought, which will resonate with you whether you are in a relationship or not, looking for one or not, you are a very social person or a reserved one. Intimacy will especially speak to you if you aren't a traditional person in the way you approach society, family, religion, gender roles and the world in general, but you need of help to clear your mind in
periods of emotional distress or confusion, and when you need a wise adviser who is not at hand, or the advice you get doesn't provide you with any answers.
A few things I would like to criticise about Intimacy, which, however, do not rest value to a book that is stupendous:
> Osho seems to be carried out by his own discourse, and he becomes repetitive and loopy in many occasions. The book would have needed of a good editor to weed out its unnecessary wordiness and to clean up typos and misspellings.
> Osho equals self-love with selfishness. Although some of his arguments are terrific and this equation is not straightforward, it is a dangerous association. I wonder whether the use of the word selfish/ness is the result of a linguistic calque from an Hindu word with a different meaning. Still, the identification doesn't work for me. I agree that self-love is a catalyst of change, that you cannot give that you don't have, and that you have to give voluntarily without restrictions. Put your mask first and then help others then (as they say on the safety instructions on a plane) is one thing. And put your mask and help others if you want or feel like it, is a very different one. Being selfish and self-centred, even if it is not in a narcissist way, is a bit unnatural, to me. Sharing is impossible if one is self-centred and selfish.
> Osho's criticism of self-improvement and goal setting. Be content with the present, simple be, do not think about the future and how to change it, do not waste your time on anything that is not this very moment, you are perfect and do not need of any improvement. Be happy being. I believe that living the present and being present are wonderful things, and also that setting goals to be socially praised or get fame is a senseless thing to do. I also believe that setting goals and self-improvement are necessary, and a way of getting rid of the limitations and conditioning that our time, society, family, gender or past negative experiences put on our shoulders. I also believe that self-improvement is done for our own sake, not for the public. My own life experience contradicts Osho's teachings in this regard. If I had accepted the limitations that my family's social class, level of education and gender expectations had on me, I would have never become an individual, and I would have never become me - the "I" I am now, the "I" so many people said that I would never become or was. If I had a time machine, I would go back in time and fight harder my present to achieve more things for my own sake, set more goals. Self-improvement, the way I understand it, is not a way of correcting an imperfect self; it is a way of making the perfect self you have shining through a heavy cast of stinky crap that we we all carry on our shoulders.
A few things I would like to criticise about Intimacy, which, however, do not rest value to a book that is stupendous:
> Osho seems to be carried out by his own discourse, and he becomes repetitive and loopy in many occasions. The book would have needed of a good editor to weed out its unnecessary wordiness and to clean up typos and misspellings.
> Osho equals self-love with selfishness. Although some of his arguments are terrific and this equation is not straightforward, it is a dangerous association. I wonder whether the use of the word selfish/ness is the result of a linguistic calque from an Hindu word with a different meaning. Still, the identification doesn't work for me. I agree that self-love is a catalyst of change, that you cannot give that you don't have, and that you have to give voluntarily without restrictions. Put your mask first and then help others then (as they say on the safety instructions on a plane) is one thing. And put your mask and help others if you want or feel like it, is a very different one. Being selfish and self-centred, even if it is not in a narcissist way, is a bit unnatural, to me. Sharing is impossible if one is self-centred and selfish.
> Osho's criticism of self-improvement and goal setting. Be content with the present, simple be, do not think about the future and how to change it, do not waste your time on anything that is not this very moment, you are perfect and do not need of any improvement. Be happy being. I believe that living the present and being present are wonderful things, and also that setting goals to be socially praised or get fame is a senseless thing to do. I also believe that setting goals and self-improvement are necessary, and a way of getting rid of the limitations and conditioning that our time, society, family, gender or past negative experiences put on our shoulders. I also believe that self-improvement is done for our own sake, not for the public. My own life experience contradicts Osho's teachings in this regard. If I had accepted the limitations that my family's social class, level of education and gender expectations had on me, I would have never become an individual, and I would have never become me - the "I" I am now, the "I" so many people said that I would never become or was. If I had a time machine, I would go back in time and fight harder my present to achieve more things for my own sake, set more goals. Self-improvement, the way I understand it, is not a way of correcting an imperfect self; it is a way of making the perfect self you have shining through a heavy cast of stinky crap that we we all carry on our shoulders.
Intimacy is a book that speaks to me at so many levels that I felt that Osho had written it thinking specifically about me. I don't agree with everything Osho says, and I had to separate the chaff from the grain, let in certain things and keep a critical approach to others while reading it. However, I found comfort in Osho's words of wisdom and I was in a continuous state of wow while reading it.
I would not recommend this book, or any of Osho's, to anybody who is very traditional in values and way of living, or anybody who is a very religious person (meaning, very attached to a certain church or religion with fixed views on God and the spirit). You've been warned. If you do, and become offended, you are the only one to blame.
Saturday, 18 May 2013
Port Macquarie, New South Wales 2444
Phone (02) 6581 4833
Hours:
Mon - Sat: 10:00 - 04:30
World Par-Tea is an Australian owned and operated business settled in Port Macquairy Qld, that started as a humble tea market stand in NSW in 2004 and has been selling online, retail and wholesale, since 2007. Many shops in Australia distribute their products, but the only two shops doing so in WA are in Geraldton and Mandurah, so I ordered a few things from their online shop.
WPT has an amazing variety of teas and tisanes: Black, Green, Oolong, Yellow, Blossom, White, and Rooibos teas; Organic Herbal and Aryuvedic Tisanes; Natural Fruit Infusions, Australian and Fair Trade Teas, both plain and blends. They have more than 180 tea varieties! They also have a huge range of beautiful tea ware (canisters, cups, pots, tea sets, infusion tools, and what's not) for sale.
Their website is very pleasing to the eye, simply organised, easy to browse and shop from, and has a great section devoted to brewing tips. You can check out as a registered customer or as a guest, and select standard or express shipping, the later a bit more expensive but traceable. They accept major credit cards and PayPal as payment. Shipping costs are weight-based, but up to a maximum of 15 bucks; this is great, especially if buying tea crockery, which tends to be heavy, and you might end paying a lot if the shipping costs weren't capped.
After placing your order, you will receive a receipt email and a confirmation order. They shipped immediately, and my parcel took a natural week, exactly, to get from QLD to Perth. Everything was safely packed and in perfect order.
- Organic herbal tisanes and Aryuvedic blends. They have a great variety of plain or blend herbal tisanes, some of them difficult to find elsewhere. I especially recommend the Australian Lemon Myrtle tea, which is fantastic in scent, flavour and on your stomach. However, their list of herbal teas is huge and you will certainly find those herbs that you like.
- Variety of prices.
- They have different packaging sizes, from the 10 grs sampler (not all varieties, though) to the 250 grs (not all). If you are a fan of any of their products, you can save by ordering a big package. If you want to try something new, just pay for a sample.
- The sell their teas in bags or tins, the latter being more expensive for the same quantity of product. I buy the packets, which are made of foil and plastic, resealable, and they are great.
- Their tea ware is way less expensive than T2's, and in many cases way better in quality and prettier, at least for the average items.
- They have a small selection of tea and high-tea related books.
Customer service is diligent, and they reply to any query you might have - fast.
1/ The FAQ area is useless, as it all about tea - the product. They could put that info elsewhere, and introduce here practical information for online shoppers, like:
- Ways of shipping.
- Price of shipping
- International shipping?
- Average delivery period.
- Return policies.
3/ Some of the photos do not zoom in, that is, you get the same small image you have pre-zooming.
***
WPT is a terrific shop for tea lovers, organic herbs nerds, and explorers of the world of infusions, no matter you are just are buying for your own use and household, or a business owner looking for a specific unique blend for your business. They have a huge variety of tea-related products, good prices, a diligent customer service, and fast and safe shipping procedures. A great online shop with great products I am in love with!
Friday, 17 May 2013
ASOS is an international online retailer shop settled in the UK that sells a great range of men and female fashion, beauty and jewellery products at great prices. Young people, from 16 to 34 y.o.a. are their preferred target. They cater for all sizes, from petite to oversized. In a way, ASOS is a "very fashionable right now" sort of shop, although they also sell items from well-known designers like Calvin Klein, Stella McCartney, Dita Von Teese, Ralph Lauren, and Armani Exchange among others. They even have a marketplace area to buy/sell pre-owned, second hand and vintage clothing.
Although usually ASOS is not my cup of tea, this is a great place to shop from, and I especially like their lingerie and hosiery areas. I bought a couple of fancy tights, which are ridiculously expensive in Australia, for a very good price.
ASOS offers free shipping to Australia on all standard orders, no matter how much (or how little) you spend. This is great, always, especially if you just fancy little cheap things, which you would not buy if you had to add a shipping fee.
ASOS' website is very easy to browse, very simple and clean to the eye, still very well organised and extremely informative. They even have a corner devoted to fashion trends. The photos are zoomable, their refining search system fantastic, and Australian sizing and prices are shown all the time as the ASOS Australia online site is where you are automatically directed if you live in Australia.
Major credit/debit cards and PayPal are accepted for payment, but you will need to register before checking out. ASOS stands out, to me, for the great service and diligence with which they fulfil your orders. I placed my order on a Sunday, and the parcel was posted that very day! This is the first time that an online shop does that, and I buy online a lot. Confirmation order and tracking link were provided a immediately, and the tracking link was updated and emailed to me once the parcel was handed over to Australia Post. My parcel (normal standard shipping) took less than a week to reach my place in Western Australia from the UK. That is... how to put it?... wow! That is what usually takes parcels from the Eastern States to reach WA.
I will definitely order from them again.
SilverBeauty Is a family home-based business settled in NSW that commercialises a few lines of Natural, organic and Arjuvedic beauty and body products (men, women, and babies) that are fabulous in quality but low and mid-priced: Reniu (Fiji), Shahnaz Hussain (India), and DesertPea Australian Native Skin Care (Australia).
RENIU is what brought me to them. Reniu's body and hair products are produced in Fiji and use as a base organic virgin coconut oil that is then infused with natural fragrances of Tiare, Frangipani, Watermelon, Pineapple, White Gingerlily, Passion Flower, Star Fruit and Coconut. David Jones used to sell Reniu, until they decided to discontinue the line to the dismal of a large group of devotees, me among them. Reniu smells of what they package says it is, and the scents are fresh, natural and noticeable; if you don't like any of these scents, the brand might not be for you. If you like them, you'll be in heaven. Still, the coconut scent is wonderful, and the most subtle and neutral of the lot. The pineapple and watermelon scents are great for shampoo/conditioner and natural soaps and if you want to use the products on children. I have used all their products in the past, and my number one, without a doubt, is their coconut sugar body scrub, which is fantastic and leaves your skin like the one of a newly-born baby. The whole range of products is great.
SHAHNAZ HUSSAIN'S herbal Arjuvedic cosmetics are renowned in India. Her cosmetics creams are emollient, very rich, well priced (for Westerners, at least) and luxuriously packaged. However, their rose scent is markedly pungent, not my liking, and can put off anybody with a delicate nose. If you decide to try them, use them as night creams, as the scent won't bother you as much.
I have never tried the Aussie brand.
SHOPPING ONLINE from SilverBeauty is very easy, and you can check-out as a guest or as a registered customer, and pay using your credit/debit card or PayPal. Even if you check out as a guest, SilverBeauty will open an account for you and let you know, just in case you decide to use it; it comes handy for checking your order status and having a wish list.
An order confirmation email is sent right after you make your purchase. They dispatch your order very fast using Australia Post as a carrier, and you will get your parcel in four or five working days. They claim an average of 72 hours, and this was the case with my order.
The shipping and handling fees are quite low, but they are not clearly stated in the website, and you will find them while checking out. Ordering a bunch of products instead of individual ones always pays off, always. You can return your order and get a refund if you send them within seven days and the products are unopened.
SiverBeauty's customer service is very friendly and prompt to reply any query. I always have queries!
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
> The welcome page in the website should be revamped, so it looks more professional and appealing.
> They should include more details about shipping and handling in the Shipping area. It does not cost much explaining ways of shipping, costs of shipping, and that sort of thing.
> They should make sure that once orders are dispatched, customers receive an email confirming that this is the case, and also that "your order" status is updated in Your Account area.
> Their privacy policy sounds a bit dodgy.
MIND
/ They only sell to Australia. If you live in Australia, this is kinda of great :)
/ The body oil and body scrub by Reniu have a high concentration in coconut oil, natural one. This means that in winter the product tends to solidify and in winter is liquid. A bit of a bother, but you know this is how natural oils naturally react to temperature changes, and you buy the products because they are natural, right?
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
The price of an average bottle of these exclusive perfumes is so high that you do not want to buy anything you haven't tried a few times. It is difficult not to love perfume samples, especially when each of us have a specific reaction to and relation with the perfumes we wear, and fashion has little to say about the ph of your skin and how a perfume smells, precisely, on you. On the other hand, samples are great to test perfumes you have never tried, to build up a perfume wardrobe (to use in different seasons, events, mood states, outfits, and so on), to use them while travelling, or carry them in your handbag to spray on any time.The TPS's sample program allows you to do any of those things. I love the fact that you can get sophisticated products within a budget. That sounds like heaven to me.
You have different shopping options and all of the samples are shipped worldwide for free:
1/ Five scents of your selection from their whole range for $20.00. They use decanters to fill in mini-vials (no spray), which come with handwritten labels.
The TPS staff are very kind, and they always add an extra free sample to your purchase and attach a Thank You card. The staff are also very nice and promptly reply to any of your queries by email.
The TPS's website is SSL protected, so you can shop without any worry. You can save your personal details in Your Account, and the system will automatically fill-in the check-out forms next time you shop. Shopping from there is truly hassle free.
Colours and style are nice, but the navigation lacks functionality at times due to the structuring of the site; moreover, some of the photos have been badly inserted, stretched beyond their size capability, and some of the icons need a transparent or black base to match the site's background.
The site does not have a logout button. A logout link does exist, but it is a faint grey line, not even underlined, written at the bottom of Your Account area, barely distinguishable per se. You can also see a blue underlined logout link while you are checking out, but you are checking-out, therefore processing your payment, why would you want to sign out from there? Helloooo web designers!
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
= They need to make their website more customer friendly. Simplicity is a great virtue, but good organisation and good design are also good ones. Creating an specific logout button or clearly visible logout link in all private areas, inserting icons properly, and removing photos that aren't clean and good are simple tasks that will improve the site enormously and are easy to implement.
= They should create separate areas devoted to women and female perfumes, perfumes by categories (floral, marine, citrus, oriental, and so on), and create an area devoted to things that aren't strictly perfumes, like perfumed candles for example.
THEIR REWARD SYSTEM
They have a points rewards system. You get one point for each dollar spent, and you can exchange 10 points for 1 dollar discount at your next checkout. You can redeem all or some of your points from "Your Account" area. Do mind - the points are allocated to any purchase in which you are not redeeming points. If you spend, say, 100 dollars, and use a reward point discount on that purchase, you do not earn any points on it instead of the 100 points you could have earned if you had not claimed any of your points. Therefore, use your points wisely!
MIND
> You need to register to order. No shopping as a guest allowed.
> No Paypal available as way of payment.
> No tracking link is provided after dispatch of samples. You can get one on full bottles depending on the shipping method you select.
> Do not order with a hurry, because your parcel takes a while to get to Australia. Dispatch, according to the site, takes 24 hours. My experience has been of nearly 48 hours every time. Add to this the about fortnight you need to get your parcel.
> You might not like some of the perfumes you receive in the pre-packed lots. But you know this beforehand and you are a risk taker, right?
***
The Perfume Shoppe, despite the little flaws of its website, provides male and female perfume lovers with a great customer service and awesome fragrances delivered at your doorstep. This is especially important in Perth WA, where getting perfume samples is difficult, and finding samples of exclusive perfumes is like a miracle. Imagine if you live in a little town or in rural Australia. You can get 5/6 vials for 20-25 bucks and brands that you cannot get in Australia at all. A bit pricey for samples, but they are worth the price. And everybody is going to be asking you about your perfume. Let us smell divine for the sake of our own un-royal noses.
Miller Road
Perth Airport Western Australia 6105
131 538 (+61 3 9347 0091)
Hours:
24/7
Jet Star Australia, despite being a low-cost carrier, does a great job without being cheap in service. They travel all over Australia, and to a good number of Asian countries, plus New Zealand and the USA (just Honolulu). I have never used them for International flights, just for domestic ones within Australia.
Their website is easy to navigate, allows you to book a flight and manager it afterwards with great easiness.
Prices are super-cheap if you book flights without check-in luggage, just hand luggage. In general, even if you have check-in luggage, pricing is very good. Prices go up, also, depending on hours of departure, the most inconvenient being the cheapest. But you expect this to be the case, no?
The planes are as comfortable -or uncomfortable- as any other plane you take if you fly economy class. Yes, a tin of sardines, not good for tall people, medium people or small people. Still, OK. My experience has always been excellent regarding punctuality within Australia. It might sound superficial, but I love the crew uniforms and the mix of colours that the airline uses; I think they give a serious but trendy image of the company.
The crew are efficient and very helpful at organising the on-board luggage in the cabin, which can be tricky, because everybody seems to bring fully packed mini-not-that-mini hand luggage. Me included!
You need to pay for your meals and drinks on board. However, Jetstar flight meals are tasteless, tiny and overpriced; nothing you would want to spend your money on, unless you buy chips or nibbles. However, you can eat before boarding and/or taking a sandwich, cookies, nibbles and (not smelly, please!) food with you. If you are flying domestic, don't waste your money on their food.
My main complaint about Jetstar would be that the crew is matter of fact, a bit pushy at times, and not that smiley. They do a great job, but a bit of more friendliness wouldn't hurt anybody. A final thing that annoys me a bit is the fact that, at least in Perth WA, we usually get to/from the plane from/to the airport through the tarmac, up/down steep stairs, luggage in hand, instead of using one of those covered jet bridges that make a whole of difference.
Jetstar Australia is a great low-cost carrier that does what one could expect from them. I'd rather flight with Jetstar than with Virgin because, for similar or identical prices, you get better service and a more caring and efficient crew. That is my experience.
Monday, 6 May 2013
It is difficult to explain why certain music, musical tones and compositions touch you instead of others, why some lyrics speak to you despite them not being very explicit, unrelated to what is happening in your life or not an expression of who you are. Despite this being the case, The Lone Gunman does it for me.
The Long Gunman is -as the cover of the Album hints- an austere introspective, melancholic, and intimate album. A sense of awkward aloneness, regretful loneliness, and lack of love pervade the album's lyrics. Still, the sadness is not dramatic or self-inflicting, not even ego-centred, just a subtle uneasy lament. The Lone Gunman is calming but not blah, sad but not depressing. The album in general, and its sound in particular, has aged well, and I find it more modern than some modern bands thriving on vintage revival that have little creativity and artistic honesty.
The sixteen tracks of the Album are divided in those purely instrumental (tracks no. 1, 2, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16) and those with lyrics (nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 15). My favourite instrumental tracks are Echelon and Wet Work. I love, amongst the lyric ones, The Mystery, Live Today Again, and Just Might Run.
The Lone Gunman is a perfect album to use as a background chill-out music if you want. However, this is also a wondrous album that deserves being listened with attention because most of the tracks have multi-layered rhythms, a mixture of tempos, all the pieces are harmoniously linked, and there is a delightful oscillation between experimental, folk, and rock sounds.
The Lone Gunman flows in an organic way. The ensemble is enveloping. I call enveloping to that feeling you get when listening to music that puts you in the centre of an imaginary bubble that floats in space inside of which only you are allowed. You might float inside your own bubble when listening to this album.
Sunday, 5 May 2013
The Bhagavad Gita - one of the Hindu sacred texts- is in my must-read list. You can get a cheap translation of the Gita (Kindle version for $0.99) at Amazon. Reading a spiritual text of the complexity of the Gita, as any other religious text, is always a burden on my shoulders. Sorry for the honesty. When I stumbled upon this book, I thought the cover was cheap and unappealing, naive in a way, but the title was appealing enough to download it, especially because it was, again, 0.99 cents.
I usually browse many of the "cheapies" or "freebies" I download for my Kindle searching for passages or chapters of interest, to quickly move on to more substantial readings. To my surprise, this book got me glued from beginning to end.
Vishwanath is a former business consultant turned into New Age guru, something that would have made me run away from this book a priori. Ignorance is sometimes blissful. Thus, I was able to read the book without any prejudice, with intellectual curiosity and the detachment that any religious or spiritual book requires from me. This is not an academic exegesis of the Gita, done by a Gita expert or spiritual master (you should check Yogananda's edition for that), but a simple unpretentious book that uses the Gita in a practical way to extract practical advice to improve your life in general, no matter your religion or lack of it. In a way, is also a teacher's book to explain in simple words Hindu spiritual beliefs to non-Hindu people.
Vishwanath is able to speak about very complex spiritual things using a very simple language. The book is full of metaphors and simple parables that will get you to understand some of the principles taught by the Gita or some obscure sayings by Krishna. You will learn about the nature of God, the age of the Universe, the Hindu heavens and reincarnation, why Hindu people need of many Gods and Godesses, and the spiritual principles that inspire Yoga among many other things. Some of the practical items of advice will help to bring peace to your mind (if you need of any), give you food for thought, and provide you with some amazing meditation exercises. I especially like the one about the Ocean, which I do sometimes and it is truly amazing.
It happens rarely, but, sometimes, a one-dollar investment produces a good revenue.
A very entertaining and thoughtful book.
Saturday, 4 May 2013
The Liebster (favourite in German) is more of a way to get to know bloggers than it is an award. The one rule is that the nominated bloggers must have less than 200 followers. This is very much the case with my blog. I have a few followers, but they do not follow me officially, they watch in silence, which is fine with me. Hello voyeuristic stranger!
Here are a few things about this "bloggeree".
11 Random Facts About Me
1 - Teo Degas is an alias I have been using for years for anything that is not professional. I wanted an alias that wast Artsy but close enough to the phonetics of my real name. Voilà!
2- I have a tendency to buy things I don't need without worrying about the price, but I tend to delay buying those I do need and I worry about the price.
3- I am a geek. I have always found easy using and teaching myself computers and software. Still, I have difficulties with simple electric things. Ha!
4- I love, with capitals, original unique jewellery, beautiful china tea cups and tea pots, artistic Tarot decks, shoes, handbags, and anything that it is well designed, artistic, delicate and colourful.
5- I have tried, unsuccessfully, to teach myself Swahili, Finnish, Arabic, and Japanese, but I still speak several languages.
6- I am a mediocre cook because I don't enjoy cooking. That it is my excuse!
7- I try to improve myself every single day, so I can be a refined soul when I die at the age of 93.
8- My favourite colour is red, but I tend to buy and wear anything purple, orange, blue and black.
9- When I was a child, I wanted to be an Astronaut.
10- I cannot live without my laptop. This is my window to the world, my work tool, my communication tool, my artistic tool, my reading tool, my writing tool, an extension of me little robot.
11- I was a coffeeholic until five-six weeks ago. After a nasty long stomach infection, I have switched to tea, and I have discovered that my addiction was mostly a psychological hook. I have killed the "oholic" in me, but now I am obsessed with T2 teas. Oh Dear!
Questions Asked by Cafecouture
What did you eat today?
For breakfast I had a milk Monk Pear tea, a mini-bowl of peaches with skim natural yoghurt, and a toast with cream cheese and bacon.
For lunch I had a glorious meal at Must: lamb rump dish, truffle and a coffee.
For dinner I have had half a cake slice I bought yesterday and two cups of tea.
Oh Jeez, I should keep a food diary. Perhaps... not.
Cappuccino, Long Mac or Espresso?
Long Mac.
Your favourite thing to do on the weekend?
Eating out, shopping, reading, watching movies, blogging and anything that is chores free.
Where do you want to go on your next holiday?
South Korea. Hopefully North Korea doesn't start a war!
What inspires you?
Amazing human beings.
Talented people.
Eye-opening books that make me grow as a person and expand my view of the world.
The Arts.
What is your favourite blog/website?'
- I contribute and enjoy reviews platforms like Urbaspoon, Yelp and Tripadvisor.
- I like randomly browsing Tumblr or Flickr for illustration and digital Art posts and artists.
- I cannot live without IMDb and Amazon.
A memorable event in your life?
Oh, so many! I will share three.
- Being born was memorable. Not that was aware of at that very moment :D!
- Publishing my first academic book.
- My first trip overseas, to Rome, alone, to study Italian, poor and with a big suitcase. I was robbed on the metro in my first hours there. I was lucky enough that the Police caught the guy at the exit with all my money. My second day in Rome was spent in Court, where the guy was taken, just in case my declaration was necessary. The rest of my stay was great!
Favourite movie?
I have a huge list of favourite movies and I can't choose one.The last two ones I loved were Django Unchained and Mr Nobody (the later on DVD).
What do you buy online and where from?
OMG (Online My Guilt) I buy online a lot: handbags, cosmetics, books, jewellery and anything in between. Some of the sites I buy from are Nordstrom, Revolve Clothing, OzCosmetics, StrawberryNet, Boticca, Etsy, the Book Depository and Amazon. I do buy regularly from Coles, Officeworks and Undiewarehouse, too. Oh, I buy from so many places online that it is embarrassing, or perhaps exciting.
Do you love Winter or Summer?
Winter!
What camera or phone do you use to snap pictures?
A touristy cheap compact Coolpix Nikon. You can buy one for about 60 dollars. I have it on automatic settings and I use it mostly for super-fast snaps in restaurants/cafés.
Monday, 29 April 2013
(08) 9328 7442
Website
Hours:
Mon - Sun: 07:00-17:00
L'amore per la vita dolce" -Love for the sweet life- is the motto of this family operated Italian patisserie, gelateria and café located at the bottom end of Angove St's café strip.
THE GOOD
+ Their selection of sweets and cakes is impressive with a mix of Australian traditional favourites, authentic Italian sweets, and European seasonal desserts. Their cabinet is a heaven for dessert-o-holics, and it is difficult to choose just one thing. Their macaroons are amongst the most popular item. They have wonderfully pre-packaged macaroons and cupcakes for Mother's Day, and other seasonal festivities, the last one I bought, a gorgeous china tea cup and saucer with a cupcake.
+ Portions are decently sized.
+ Food and coffee are better than in some of the cafés around.
+ They have very good quality cutlery and strong decent paper napkins. Little details make a difference.
+ Most of the staff are attentive, polite, friendly, and eager to serve.
+ Service is relatively fast.
+ No hype here. This is a family friendly place, with patrons from all ages (although mostly +30y.o.).
+ They have plenty of newspapers for customers.
+ Their cooling system for their alfresco area is super-cool (literally!) with a aspersion system that sprinkles cold air above the seating area. That is soooooo appropriate for Perth scorching summer!
+ They cater for functions, design your wedding or birthday cake, and sell ice-cream tarts.
- Their sweets are really tiny in size and a bit pricey. Some of them are really nice, but others are just average and not worth the price.
- Their lamb chunks can be very dry and hard, and difficult to cut with a normal knife.
- Although they have air-con inside, the place can be humid and hot in +30-degrees days.
- I have found isolated examples of staff rudeness and unfriendliness. It is a pity, because one person can ruin the reputation of the whole place. I have also found a sort of lack of organisation in the service at times.
- Service can be disorganised at times.
- The place is always crowded, and it can be tricky finding a place to seat during weekends.
= Provide sharp knives when serving steak or dishes with thick pieces of meat. It makes a whole difference!
= This is just a personal wish. I do not like elongated plates for my food, They limit the movement of my hand and moving the food around. On the other hand, how to put it? a round plate improves presentation and comes prettier in the photo...
= I think service need to be a more systematic. In the sense that one person takes care of one thing, so you don't have three people asking your if you have been served or three people not paying attention to you. One person at the cash, one person serving coffee, a person serving sweets, a waiter serving food on the tables, that sort of structuring of the service.
TIP
- Go for the baked eggs, macaroons, and coffee and you won't be disappointed.
- Seat outside in hot days. It sounds like a joke, but it will be cooler than inside!
- If you have a birthday or seasonal event and want a sweet gift for somebody walk in and check their special packed items for Mother's Day, Valentines, and other seasonal festivities.
Tuesday, 16 April 2013
18001 Granada
Spain
Ph. 958 271 598
Website in English
El Botánico, as it is usually called by locals, is an icon in the Granada food panorama. This café-bar-restaurant opened 13 years ago, and is still as contemporary and modern as it was when opened. They were like an electroshock to the Granada dining scene, as it was one of the first café-restaurant in the city to avant-garde in fusion cuisine, started the tradition of brunching, and started opening and serving food all day long, at times that are not traditional in Spain. No wonder, the place became soon a favourite among local foodies and hypsters, and foreign tourists and expatriates. Despite that, there is no hype around the place any longer, as the hype is elsewhere in the city. This is, still, a trendy café despite the pass of time.
I love the fact that the place is located in the heart of Granada, but a bit hidden, just in front of the tiny Botanical Garden of Granada. The interior is very modern, with clean lines and an elegant mixture of white, orange and blues, and functional pine tables, adorned by the artistic exhibition on display at the time you visit. There are two distinct areas, the café-bar at the entrance, and the dining area properly speaking, which is located at the rear back of the long corridor.
If you live in Perth WA, el Botánico is to Granada what Bivouac is to Perth, but it opened more than a decade ago!
El Botánico has great prices. It is a bit pricier than other places in the city, but not much really, especially if you choose the set menu, which is great. The set menu is a tradition amongst Spanish cafés and medium range restaurants, and includes bread, water, one alcoholic drink of your selection, a starter, a main course, and a dessert) for the ridiculous price of 12 Euro inside and 13 on the terrace (taxes and service included!). Otherwise you can eat a la carte. They have special prices for breakfasts and brunches during weekdays. If you compare these to Perth prices, you could be clapping out of joy, or thinking, is that really possible? Good food, nice place, cheap? Yes, it is, if you have hundreds of bars, cafés and restaurants in a tiny city competing for your visit.
The service is friendly, and decently paced, but it changes from person to person. The restaurant hosts temporary exhibitions and musical events inside.
To be fair and honest, if I was a tourist, I would rather immerse myself in the delicacies of the real Spanish gastronomy elsewhere, in a city that is renowned for his hundreds of tapas bars, traditional and contemporary Spanish restaurants at very good prices. However, El Botánico is still great place for escapades into territories that are quieter, more cosmopolitan and more flexible regarding eating hours, and culinary styles.
TIPS
- If you go at the traditional Spanish eating hours, the place can be quite hectic. But very quiet otherwise.
- They do takeaways!
- They have pre-arranged set menus for groups.
- They have vegan and vegetarian dishes.
Monday, 15 April 2013
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9481 0047
Hours
Mon - Thu: 09:30 - 18:00
Fri: 09:30 - 21:00
Sat: 09:30 - 17:00
Sun: 11:00 - 17:00
Website
If you love good bling, you certainly love Swarovski crystals and Swarovsky exclusive branded jewellery, accessories and decoration figurines.
The shop at 200 Murray Street (also listed as 3/140 William St) replaced the now closed small shop at Carillon. The boutique is large, with ample space to move around and browse the numerous wall and table cabinets. Most of the pieces are locked, except for some of their charms range. Their shopping windows are always beautiful and eye-catching.
Prices are high, but you pay quality crystal from a renowned brand. However, they have seasonal sales and discounts, some of them considerable when new seasonal items are brought into the shop. The timeless pieces, though, are rarely reduced. They packaging and shopping bags are beautiful.
The service is good but a bit lacking and uptight at times. I think it can be explained by the fact that a huge amount of visitors enter the shop just to browse around. I do so regularly. However, once they see your interest, even if it is just to try something on, the guys are very helpful and nice.
They accept exchanges within a 14-day period, if they are returned in their original packaging and tags attached. However, they do not accept returns for change of mind or during sales.
The director and main actor is Shane Carruth, an ex-engineer who also wrote the script, and made the music! His family and friends make most of the cast, too!
Carruth is a scientist by formation. Therefore, all the part of the story related to the experimentation and discussions taken part in the garage are truly believable as they have all the technical jargon that you expect from real physicists. If time-travel was discovered would be, we can guess, in a similar way to the one portrayed in the movie.
The use of the camera and the amateurish acting (really pedestrian in the case of Carruth) help the story to be credible, down to earth and realistic. As if somebody was filming the meetings and wanderings of the characters with a video-camera. Something very close to reality to what went on in Carruth's house when he was preparing and shooting the movie.
The movie is definitely original, believable and refreshing, and incredibly good-looking for the low budget. A good suit and a tie always work on camera! The 1990s mood and style are very good. The mobiles and the computers range between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s, and the laptop in the movie is very similar to my first (and now ancient MS2) Toshiba.
The first and main problem of the movie, to me, is not the jargon, but the fact that the dialogues are crowded, words colliding atomically against others at the speed of light. Moreover, the diction of the actors, especially of the two main characters, is really bad, a fact that is highlighted by the poor quality of the sound. Secondly, there are gaps and blurs not well explained in the script, or perhaps are just the result of a poor editing. In general, the movie is a bit thick and confusing.
The movie won the Prize of the Jury and the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at Sundance 2004, but I do not think the first one was deserved - my opinion.
The first time I wrote about this movie, I ended saying:
Well, he has proven to continue to showcase his talent, and wrote the scripts for two other science-fiction movies: the critically well-received "Looper" and for the just released and winner of the Special Prize of the Jury at Sundance 2013, "Upstream Colour".Carruth is somebody to watch in the future and has brilliant ideas. Hopefully, he will have enough budget next time, and will have learnt better film-making skills, so he can make a great film that is not just for scientists doing a Ph.D. and without having to sacrifice any depth. That's possible. You need to learn film-making, not just produce your own brilliant ideas.
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