Born to be Wild

I turned the TV on the other night and caught the tail end of the documentary Blackfish.   If you are not familiar with the movie, like I was, Blackfish is a 2013 documentary film about Tilikum, an orca featured at SeaWorld, and the controversy over captive killer whales.   

Tilikum was captured when he was only 2 years old near Iceland. At the time he was about 13 feet long.  He was the largest orca in captivity, weighing 12,500 pounds and over 22 feet in length,at one point.  Tilikum had been in another park prior to SeaWorld.  Tilikum was involved in three deaths, including that of Dawn Brancheau in 2010. Tilikum died last 6 January 2017 of a bacterial lung infection.  

I watched a couple other more YouTube videos on orcas.  I think they are beautiful creatures.

Among the things I learned as I watched the videos include the health and wealth aspects.

• An orca in the wild would have a dorsal fin that are straight and strong.  The dorsal fin of orcas in captivity are collapsed and flaccid.  The strength of the dorsal fin is a 'use it or lose it' thing.  Since captured orcas are confined to a finite space, they are unable to swim very far. 
• Apparently, most of the whales that are captured are female, making Tilikum a valuable asset.  He not only provided income to SeaWorld as one of their main attraction, but he was also a source of income as a sperm donor.  Over 50% of the orcas in captivity have been sired by Tilikum.

I must admit, I have enjoyed many of my visits to zoos and animal parks. I have always known that these animals were smart. I have been amazed at the sight of magnificent creatures I would not otherwise have been able to see up close.  Watching the Blackfish documentary just reminded me that there are always two sides to a coin.

Here is a video of Tilikum's performance at SeaWorld.

This one is a video of one version of Tilikum's life.

Cookie, Cookie, Cookie Starts with C

I usually pick up a bag or two of chocolate chips when they are on sale and keep them in the pantry or the freezer for those times that MyGirl or I decide to bake.  Lately, we've been using the Cadbury chocolate chip cookies recipe which calls for a low temperature and shorter baking time.  This results in soft and chewy cookies.

I don't know about you, but when I think of soft and chewy cookies, I think of Subway cookies.   And when I think of Subway cookies, I think of white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies.

So guess what... we were suddenly craving white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies the other week.

When we managed to gather up all the needed ingredients, we set out to satisfy our cravings.  MyGirl baked us a superbly yummy batch of cookies last Sunday.

White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Cookies

 Makes 20-22 big cookies 

1/2 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1/3 c caster sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 c self-raising flour
1/2 c roughly chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 c white chocolate chips 

Cream butter, brown sugar and caster sugar until light and fluffy
Whisk in egg and vanilla
Stir in flour
Fold in nuts and chips
Place golf ball sized ball on a greased or lined trays
Bake in pre-heated oven at 160 C (320 F) for 10-15 minutes
For soft, chewy cookies, pull out cookies from the oven while they are still soft. 

(For regular chocolate chip cookies, use 3/4 cups of chocolate chips instead of nuts and white chocolate chips.  For chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips, add 1/2 c of cocoa to the flour and replace the macadamia nuts with white chocolate chips for a total of 1 c white chocolate chips.)

House of Lies

J came for a visit last August.

I had given him our address but forgot that he is not familiar with the address formatting system here when someone lives in a townhouse.   Say we lived at unit #15 of 5 First Street, we would typically write our address as 15/5 First Street.  I had given J our address but did not explicitly tell him our house number.  As luck would have it, he got dropped off several houses down the road and had knocked on someone else's apartment.  Fortunately J is a smart cookie.  He figured he had the wrong address and simply picked up his bags and walked up the road.

When he finally arrived at our doorstep, he was surprised at how much the kids have grown.  The last time he saw them was in 2011 when we all went home to Manila for the 50th wedding anniversary of Father and Mother.  That was almost six years ago and the kids have definitely gotten taller since then.  

J christened our place the "House of Lies" after he discovered (with great disappointment) that the bottle of Bacon Flavoured Chips contained black pepper.   Although he wasn't interested in the Onion Flakes bottle, he was no longer surprised to find rock salt inside that bottle.  Lies!  Nothing but lies!

I tried to make up for that by getting him an honest to goodness bottle of Bacon Chips he could bring home with him.   It must have done the trick because before he left, he declared that I was his favourite sister in this continent.

(Hey, wait a minute, J.  I am your ONLY sister in this continent.)

Finally, something that is 100% true.

Bird's Eye View

I can't remember the last time I rode on a cable car prior to August this year or even if I have ever been on one.  Then in a span of my two week vacation, I found myself checking out the scenic aerial view via cable car at Cataract Gorge and at Sentosa.

In both cases, there were other ways of getting from point A to point B but the cable car was the tourist way to go.

Cataract Gorge, Launceston

Australia

Singapore

Being so high up provides a view of places one might not otherwise get a chance to see so it does become worth it to overcome the initial fear factor and the occasional heart palpitations.  

Little India Heritage Trail

We decided to take the Heritage Trail at Singapore.

They were preparing for the Deepavali Festival 

Our walking tour guide said she was the granddaughter of one of the first jockeys in Singapore.

Singapore likewise had a lot of commissioned art work on their walls.

There were colourful houses.

This building was once a bakery.

There were temples of worship.

There was a special wall on TRADITIONAL TRADES of Little India. 

We were told that majority of the Singaporeans live in Singapore's public housing.

   

And horse-racing was once a big thing there.

As the walking tour came to a close, we passed by a park where even the cows get a splash of paint. 

I think I got my 10,000 steps done that day.

Singapore Getaway

For the first time ever, I went off to be with girlfriends for a long weekend getaway.  

It is not uncommon for upcoming holidays in Manila to be announced in advance.  We decided to plan for an August trip.  Two of the ladies have birthdays in August and we were sure there would be a long weekend we could make our plans around.   We settled on the third weekend of August.  The 21st of August has been a special non-working holiday since 2004 in commemoration of the death of Ninoy Aquino.

We had made our plans as early as March.   We had not been together as a group since Jan 2008 when one of our friends had come home from Melbourne to visit Manila.  At that time, six of us were living in Manila and only one of us was out of the country.  Getting everyone together was much simpler. Soon after that, another one of us migrated and left for Perth.  Then in 2009, we left for Sydney. Getting together was not as simple as it used to be. Whenever one of us would come home, the girls would always see each other.  We would correspond via email, text, FB, and Viber but the physical getting together was long overdue.

We stayed at an airbnb.

We went on the Little India walking tour.

We posed in front of this painted cow.

We even got matching t-shirts for this group photo.

I look forward to our next getaway ... whenever and wherever that may be.

Hobart's Urban Wall Art

In a move to discourage illegal graffiti, the City of Hobart commissioned artists to cover several inner-city walls with art.  They have included these as one of their tourist attractions, complete with brochure under the CREATIVE HOBART theme.

So being a new visitor to the city that loves to walk around and take pictures, I picked up the map and set out to find these walls. 

Go around with me.

1. Tasmanian Red Habdfish, 2016 by Amok Island

    Endemic to Tasmania, the red handfish uses its fins to "walk"acriss the seafloor.  With less than 1000 remaining in the wild, this artwork seeks to raise awareness and encourage protection of this unique fish.

2.  Chairs, 2016 by Jae Criddle

    A nod to Mr. Arthur Purdy, Chairs speaks of local history, referencing his second hand furniture business, which ran in the lane for 27 years.  These quirky characters sit on antique chairs, carefully keeping watch on Purdy's Mart.

3.  Mobius Strip, 2017 by Chooka, Aedan Howlett, Seven, Odi, Lukan Smith

Mobius Strip is a 5-minded reflection on the ocean.  Styles, colours and ideas clashing like waves-creating an aquatic harmony.  With many individual stories told, the story for the viewer is left to their own imagination.

4. Sprout, 2017 by Sarah Etheridge

Sprout is a discussion about consumerism and in particular, everyday recyclable materials.  I've done this by attracting city goers using vibrant colours against an almost harsh white wall, allowing them to reflect upon its deeper meaning and what they can take from  it.

5. Lost Giant, 2015 by Stormie Mills

Lost Giant is a character in a global story. With his smartphone's GPS in hand, he sets out on a journey to discover the city and himself.  Share the journey as he navigates the streets of Hobart.

6.  Teraform, 2016 by Tom O'Hern

Teraform is a weed pushing through a crack.  It's some far off jungle.  Your mildly disturbed neighbour's overgrown yard.  A rogue bacteria clinging to a probe on Mars.  Or maybe just the kind of place where car wrecks go to be swallowed.

7. Trapdoor, 2017 by Jade Pollard

Trapdoor takes passers-by on a journey through a dark dungeon cave filled with treasure and crystals.  Influenced by various cartoons, including a 1990s TV show of the same name, Trapdoor is a nostalgic connection to a 1990s childhood.

8. Yes, Mountain, 2016 by Bonsai and Ghostpatrol

9.  Rodent Six, 2017 by Luffy Rae

Re-imaging objects and artefacts from the pop culture that surrounded children growing up in the 1990s.  Virtual pets and portable game consoles inhabit vivid memories of tender moments, looming over us forever with dreaming eyes and rose coloured cheeks,

10.  Everyone Needs a Hand Sometimes. 2015 by Stormie Mills

As these characters push and swing, we see the idea of giving and taking and working together to create the equilibrium required to maintain the balance of everyday life, set against the backdrop of Hobart's hanging urban landscape.

11. Birds of a Feather, 2016 by Phibs

I've been inspirted by the cheeky and playful character of birds for this work.  My aim is to create an engaging mural using patterns and repetition to give a sense of movement and draw people in to use their imaginations.

12.  Weedy Sea Dragon, 2015 by Bonsai and Ghostpatrol

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There were other walls with paintings, not on the brochure.

This one was not quite wall art.

It was a poster for WORM FARM and SMALL COMPOST BIN.

And they even had metal dog sculptures.