I know there are only a few shows left, but if you are in Sydney you simply MUST go see Hedwig and the Angry Inch at at newtown. I went last night with the Snook, Amy, Andrew, and Morgan. It was AWESOME. I’d seen the movie a couple times and really liked it, and I didn’t think there was any way a small local production could live up to it. I was so wrong. Iota was absolutely incredible as Hedwig. Funny, sexy, tragic… and with legs to die for. I was so thrilled to hear my favorite song performed live. The whole time, though, I kept wondering when the actor playing Tommy was going to make his appearance. Needless to say, the climax of the stage show is a lot different to the one in the movie (and a lot more powerful). Even the Snook enjoyed it, and he hates musicals. I don’t think anyone can help being blown away by the Iota’s incredible energy and talent, sustained pretty much alone on stage for an hour and a half. GO SEE IT if you can!

Dude, if I still drank cola*, I’d totally want some Lordi Cola.

* I’m nine days free of the Diet Coke monkey! And I think I’ve finally broken the back of my addiction. I had some wicked headaches last week but that’s all over now. I don’t even have any cravings! So don’t bother shipping me any Lordi Cola, Jussi. 🙂

Okay, so supposedly you can watch footage of me and the Snook crossing the finish line at the City 2 Surf, but I can’t spot us anywhere in that crowd. Snookums was wearing a light blue shirt and I had a white sleeveless one with navy around the top, and we’re both wearing black shorts and red caps. I think they may have messed up the time on the videos and they’re showing the footage from our adjusted time as opposed to our real one.

Update: I found us! They did screw up the times. You can see us on this guy’s video. We’re visible on camera 1 and camera 2. We cross the line about ten seconds after it starts playing, just to the right (as you’re looking at it) of the central pillar. Snookums is also carrying a vest, if that helps you spot him. From camera 2 you can just see us raising our arms before we get to the line. You can also clearly see Snookums bopping through with all the energy in the world, whereas I pretty clearly collapse into a walk as soon as I’m over. 🙂

Update Again: Looks like they’ve fixed it! You can see us on our proper link now. (Although I noted that they did not publish my comment on the official City 2 Surf Blog where I called them out for the bug!)

Make your own zombie words here.

Check out this chart of cat tail positions and what they mean. Of course, this would be more helpful if our cat had more than half a tail.

What in the hail?
Dude, Sydney got hit by a mother of a hailstorm today. What’s more, I managed to be out in it! At first I couldn’t figure out why my footsteps were crunching as I waded through the alley behind the shop on my way home. Once I hit George Street, I could see the white pebbles starting to dot the sidewalk. Luckily I had my umbrella and I managed to get on a bus without serious injury. By the time we hit Town Hall, the roof of the bus was getting pummeled and the streets were starting to turn white. Driving to Central was actually really fun, watching the Sydneysiders huddled in doorways gawking at the hail. Weather as entertainment! Our bus driver was incredulous. “It looks like somewhere else!” he kept repeating. When we stopped at Central, he jumped out to grab a handful as if to convince himself it was real. Me, I sat huddled in my street grinning at their wonder. Most of these people have never seen snow, and this is as close as it gets in Sydney. It was actually piling up in drifts created by the cars splashing down the street. I found that if I squinted just right, I could pretend I was on the school bus coming home on a wretched Indiana February day. And suddenly I was so homesick it hurt. Strange what can bring it on, you know?

When I got home I went out into the backyard to take a few pictures. The flowerbeds got quite a dumping, as did the picnic table. Tracey‘s already got two nice shots up on Flickr, and other Sydneysiders are posting theirs as well. I especially like this one from Morgan. Ooh, and Mary-Helen‘s posted some too.

Stop the presses. We are actually getting knitting yarn made from corn! How insane is that? Well, really we’re just getting samples to see if we want to carry it, but I’m already in favor. CORN YARN. That blows my mind.

I’m supposed to give an interview this arvo at 3:00 with Nova 96.9’s Bianca Dye. I don’t know if it’ll air live though; the website says her show doesn’t start til 4. Will keep you posted…

Update: Just did the interview, which they’ve taped for the show. Will probably be a short one, just 60 seconds or so. She told me that her show was really “quick” and “punchy,” and it was suggested that I pretend I was addressing a bunch of 21-year-olds. So if I sound brain dead, that’s why.

The City 2 Surf Results are in! Our times got bumped down 8 minutes and 44 seconds (to account for the staggered start), which put the Snook at 108:24 and me at 108:25. Of course, according to my stopwatch it took us nearly four minutes to get up to the starting line from the back of our pack, so I still maintain we really did it in 105. The great news is, we also met our goal of finishing in the top half! Of the 53,669 who finished (Where did 10,000 people go? Seriously.), the Snook placed 24,571st and I placed 24,578th. (Because of the bunching.) Go us!

Kris’s Tour of Alternative Medicine: Part Two – Acupuncture
This morning I was checking out the website of the health clinic in the building where I work when I noticed that their acupuncturist claims to help with “gastritis.” That’s how I wound up lying on a table eight hours later with five needles stuck in me. I had a nice long chat with the acupunturist – Sam – and explained how I’d had some mild success with hypnotherapy last year. (I made sure to emphasize that I’m still not sure if it was the placebo effect though.) Then I gave her every single symptom and pain description I could think of. That’s the best part of non-traditional medicine; everything you say is Very Important. You’re craving bread? She writes it down. It’s Very Important. Cold at night? Very Important. Chapped lips? Very Important. It’s all so Very Flattering. Then I climbed onto the table so she could take my “pulses” and look at my tongue. She said we’d start simple: just a few needles in the important spots. I ended up with one on each elbow, one on each shin, and on in the middle of my belly. (I knew that one would get maximum sympathy from the Snook. We think bellies are sacred. I worship his; he worships mine.) They didn’t hurt though, and I don’t think they went in very far. They didn’t even bleed when she took them out. But basically she just put them in, adjusted them, and left me to lie there and relax for fifteen minutes. Then out they came and I was done for the day. I’m supposed to see her twice a week for two weeks, then once a week for a month. And what sort of results should I expect? A “total recovery” from my symptoms. Hey, anything that keeps me away from an H.pylori diagnosis is fine by me! So what’s the verdict? I think it’s too soon to tell whether my “chi” has been unblocked. My stomach had been playing up when I went in to see her and it’s definitely better now, but as Snookums pointed out, that may have been fixed by simply lying down for fifteen minutes. I’m trying to keep an open mind though. I don’t want to buy into any snake oil, but I’m also willing to believe there’s a lot about the body we don’t understand yet. Anybody else tried it?