Wilder & Tamer

WILDER

~ This delightfully beautiful song and lovely new video from Joe Blossom.

TAMER

~ Dressing completely inappropriately for the weather.

Wilder Web

Pin of the week. Love it.

Happy tears over this proposal.

11 Hidden Messages in Company Logos. Number 3 blew my mind. (via Dooce)

What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Jack Kerouac and the Beat Generation. (via Blue Milk)

"In the end, I’m not sure what’s more offensive—the film’s rampant and unapologetic misogyny or Stewart’s interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, in which she claimed that On the Road told her “that you have to use every second in life. You can’t get complacent and let life pass you by,” as if fathering children and abandoning them is just an essential part of what it means to be free, man."

The reason I love the Mummy-blogs that I do is because they are as honest about their failings as they are about their successes. My Kids Eat Homemade Bread - What's Your Excuse? illustrates this perfectly. (also via Blue Milk)

Linking to this one because it cannot be talked about enough ~ Lani Wendt Young takes on rape culture for her column in the Samoa Observer.

Wellington's South Coast is one of my favourite places in the world. Sundays at Lyall Bay shows what one of our typical visits is like ~ eating Ekim Burgers, watching planes land, chasing dogs, battling wind, jumping waves... it's all bliss.

Jessica Valenti on coming to terms with the reality that she will only have one child. 

"I know that I don’t hate myself enough to die. And I love her enough not to."

This poem hit me like a sucker punch. So, so good ~

Wilder Wellington

I would love for this blog here to be a reporting of my adventures (and misadventures) as I travel to far flung places. Alas, my piggy bank does not allow for such a jet-setting lifestyle. So I've made a decision; I'm going on a stay-cation. A permanent celebration of all things Wellington. Let's face it, the life I lead here is pretty wonderful, and I get to experience an inordinate amount of awesomeness for very few pennies. So I figure, why not share that with the rest of you? I'm going to make a real effort to push myself to find new and hidden Wellington gems, and to see the beauty in my everyday life here in this windy city.

I've been meaning to get this Wilder Wellington series started for a while now, but it's taken a ridiculously full week of activities ahead to spur me on. So far this coming week I plan to take in gigs at Bodega & Mighty Mighty, an international netball game, No Lights No Lycra, and Diwali celebrations. Phew. Unfortunately my pesky black lung has chosen this awesome week to play up on me, so I may end up spending week one of the stay-cation in bed, dosed up on antibiotics. Eep! That's not so exciting for me or you, but we'll wait and see what happens.

Tune in to find out the results of the Black Lung vs. Gem's Social Life. 

Wilder Women ~ Sathima Bea Benjamin

Jean Grae is one of my favourite Wilder Women. I've had the pleasure of seeing her live a couple of times, and not only is she a brilliant music maker, but also an incredibly hilarious and engaging performer. If you ever get the chance to see her live I highly recommend you take it. 

But I'm not here to showcase Jean Grae. You see, Jean has just written a beautiful tribute to her mother, who died earlier this year. And at the end of that tribute she linked to this beautiful piece. 

This is stunning and soulful. I recommend you save this for a quiet moment, pour yourself a drink, sit back, close your eyes, and let the music wash over you.

Music like this really is the spirit within you.

Sathima Bea Benjamin ~ a new Wilder Woman to add to the list.

Wilder & Tamer

WILDER

~ Eleanor Catton winning The Man Booker Prize!

~ When your friend arrives to babysit, which is awesome enough in itself, but then turns up with a loaf of freshly baked bread for you as well. Amazing! Thanks Erin!

~ The resulting Bruschetta that the aforementioned bread became.

~ Unexpected yet absolutely perfect & awesome gifts.

~ Apa's Lasagne. Yum!

~ Watching Koko play really nicely with her cousin or her friends. To see her developing and engaging and learning is so awesome.

~ Raw honesty.

TAMER

~ Waking up in the night with a bad earache.

~ Green phlegm.

Wilder Web

Pretty much the most adorable comics ever.

Mega-swoons & wistful sighs at the cast of Twin Peaks at the 1990 Emmys. (via Morgue)

23 Things Every Woman Should Stop Doing. (via Yes and Yes)

How To Travel Alone... Without Ruining Your Marriage! Timely. Relevant.

Lani Wendt Young's awesome piece on body acceptance is amazing. Also amazing - how she managed to not punch her dickhead friend for trying to fat shame her. 

"I hadn’t realized how exhausting body-image obsession is, not until I stopped. Its so much nicer to be nice to myself! This has changed the way I view the women around me as well. I am no longer critical of how they dress or what they look like. Instead I can focus on what they say, what they do and how they treat the people around them."

I'm such a fan of this piece ~ Courage & Creativity: be a clown, not a martyr. 

"In Native American culture, according to Randerson clowns are valued for being unafraid to say what needs to be said. Clowning takes courage. A clown has to be brave enough to risk looking stupid and saying things people might not want to hear."

Kind of in love with this adorable couple, & their awesome rendition of Toxic ~

Ah, nature ~

(via Yes and Yes)

Wilder & Tamer

WILDER

~ Koko in plaits. Plaits! (This was the best picture I could get of the Plaits!, sorry.)

~ When new friends turn into good friends.

~ Having painted finger & toenails. It's one of those simple things that gives me so much pleasure.

~ Toasted English Muffins with butter and golden syrup. Mmmmmm.

~ Toddler mischief. So cute.

~ The West Wing. I watched a bunch of season one when it first screened, but that was it. I've borrowed my friend's DVDs and am loving it So Much.

~ It feels so weird to be saying this, but, Pizza Hut Chocolate Mousse. I'm going to go out on a limb here & proclaim it as good as any gourmet made from scratch chocolate mousse that I've ever eaten. Mouth wateringly good.

~ Monterey for dinner. Onion Rings, burgers, soda, sundaes. Yum!

TAMER

~ $22 dress, $38 postage. Nope. Uh-uh.

~ Messed up sleep patterns, sore throats, black dog moods; these things may all be related.

~ Snobbery & smugness.

Wilder Web

Every Sci-Fi Starship Ever, In One Mindblowing Comparison Chart. (via Nick)

My adoration of Lorde grew exponentially with this article, and in particular, this statement: 

"She’s a feminist. “Absolutely. Wholeheartedly,” she says. “I think women who say, ‘No, I’m not a feminist — I love men,’ I think that is just… You don’t know what it means. You think it means that, ‘I don’t shave under my arms, I burn my bras. Fuck men!’ How could you be so uneducated, and so unwilling to learn about something which is so important to you?”"

And here's a brilliant piece that Lorde herself wrote. I know, there's been a lot of Lorde around here (and everywhere else) lately. But let's face it, none of us will ever be half as cool as she is.

A brilliant TradeMe listing for "Rare folk art".

Things are a little different in Canada.

This piece on a woman who is working towards a goal of making 300 sandwiches for her boyfriend has copped a lot of flak. I think she just wanted a Julie & Julia type hobby to work towards and write about, and this is what she came up with. Decide for yourself.

Bank Wars: Social Media done right. I love businesses with a sense of humour.

Chvrches' Lauren Mayberry: 'I will not accept online misogyny'. 

"Is the casual objectification of women so commonplace that we should all just suck it up, roll over and accept defeat? I hope not. Objectification, whatever its form, is not something anyone should have to "just deal with"." 

Heathrow Airport Goes to Awesome, Amazing Lengths for Autistic Man.

I've been following Fosterhood in NYC for a few years now, so I found this Poem for Foster Moms that a friend wrote for her particularly moving & perfect.

Yes Yes Yes! Dooce talks Katy Perry & Cheerleading & girl power & gets it all so, so right.

EEP! A lip sync battle with Stephen Merchant, Jimmy Fallon & Joseph Gordon-Levitt (swoon) ~

Baby says flamingo ~