Sweet, Crafty and Phoney Things

About a month ago I finally got a smartphone!  Since I am a tightass and I am careless with my telecommunication devices, I got the HTC Wildfire. It's lucky though as I have already dropped my phone onto the train tracks! Only once though. So far.

Apart from being as excited as freshly percolated coffee about the Wifi and GPS on the phone (I will never get lost again!), I was even more psyched about trying the camera apps. So far I have only tried the free ones - Vignette Demo and Retro Camera.  I also have installed Little Photo and Magic Hour demo but have yet to use them.

Of the two I have tried, I prefer Retro Camera, since each of the preset filters try to imitate the aesthetic of a particular type of film camera.  I think they do anyway, I don't know enough about film cameras to be sure.  Let me know if you know!  While on the other hand, Vignette Demo lets you adjust the settings and filters until you are happy with the results.  For me the photos end up looking a little unclear and over edited, but it probably is just a user problem and I like the flexibility and control you get with tweaking photos.

Sadly there is no Instagram for non iPhone phones.

This one was taken with the Vignette Demo camera of my much loved coffee press.  I added vignetting and a blue filter for extra funzies.

These two pictures below are of a collaged shoebox and were taken with the Retro Camera using the Bärbl camera filter with the flash on.  The colours are less saturated and are cooler than in real life.  There's also some vignetting business going on around the edges.  Overall the photos look OK (they looked better on the phone's small and crap resolution screen) but  don't mimic the softness of film as the photos still look sharp.

These marshmallow lollies were addictive, they are matcha flavoured and have a matcha paste centre.  Luckily they are on the pricier side otherwise I would be eating these all the time.  The photos below were taken with...you guessed it, the Polaroid filter.  As you can see, they are way too sharp to look anything like actual polaroid photos plus the colours are too saturated and 'correct'.  Also the scratchy bits look fake.

This New Zealand brand of chocolate also have really cool flavours like kiwi and cocoa nibs which unfortunately aren't sold in the supermarkets except at the IGA in Market City (this is the only place I know of, this is in Sydney by the way).   I also really like the toasted coconut and milk chocolate flavour.  This photo was also taken with polaroid filter... I think it was a different one.  My finger was probably covering a little of the lens hence the flesh coloured blur on the left.

While I have yet to find an app that I like as much as my film camera, I am still impressed with what you can do with a camera phone these days.  The search continues. 

The Professional by W.C. Heinz

The Professional by W.C. Heinz was published in 1958 and tells the story of the boxer Eddie Brown training for the world middleweight championship. A simple story which in itself is not very interesting, if like me, you don't have an interest in boxing or sport in general.  It took me a couple of chapters to get into the book because of the endless sporting references about famous sportsmen/ memorable games.  However boxing is what links all these characters, whether they are the boxers, the trainers or the reporters.  A common thread, if you will.  Even though I have no interest in boxing, the characters' passion for the sport transferred to me as I was reading and so as the novel progressed I really got into it.   

The characters of the novel are very richly imagined, Eddie Brown, tall, muscular man of few words. Doc Carroll is white haired, tall and wiry and always in a foul mood. Even though there are a lot of characters in the book, they are all memorable with each of them having unique characteristics.


In the foreword by Elmore Leonard, Leonard made a good point that Heinz doesn't use adverbs to describe how a character has said their words. After going back over a few pages of the books I realised that is true. The lack of adverbs lets the reader flesh out the character in their imagination and to create their interpretation of the character. The prose is concise and not too flowery which I like and suits the setting of this book. For me, this novel was a pleasant surprise and I didn't expect I would like it as much as I did.

Book Shelf

Thrift shops aka op shops aka charity stores are places of infinite possibilities.  Honestly, I probably spend more time in them than in the shopping centres.  Even if I don't buy anything, it is fun to rummage through all the bric-a-brac (junk, some would call it), it is almost like looking through a person's home but without the intruder/thief/intruder tag attached to it.  One of my weaknesses are used books as I can take my time to read them and I don't have to worry about overdue library book fines.  These beauties were only 50c each!


Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, The Neon Bible by John Kennedy Toole, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos and Vet in a Spin by James Herriot.

I haven't read any Anne Rice books yet but I believe this one is her most popular book.  It looks to be an easy read.  I don't know what the Oscar Hijuelos novel is about but it was a Pulitzer prize winner so I got it because of that.  John Kennedy Toole also wrote A Confederacy of Dunces which I have read, so I thought I would read this book as well.  The novels by James Herriot are uproariously hilarious, I have read a few already and Vet in a Spin is just as funny.  It's a little embarrassing reading this on the train as I have to contain my laughter...and sometimes I can't contain it.  If you haven't read any James Herriot novels yet, I suggest you do so ASAP!