Blue Velvet Cat

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New Music 08/2026 - Rosalía, Cate Le Bon

I’ve been in a mood for some artsy, experimental avant-pop. These two albums are not musically alike, but they definitely share the same adventurous spirit. (more…)

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Top Ten Tuesday - Book Covers from Centuries Past

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl is about picking your own topic relating to book covers. I thought I’d go back in history and look up the book covers from before the 20th century. I’d especially love to get my hands on those magnificent jewel-encrusted medieval creations! (more…)

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The Invite - Film Review

An awkward dinner party is hell in real life, but this sharp, funny and chaotic chamber piece mines it for comedy gold and emotional insight. (more…)

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The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham - Book Review

I enjoyed this very English take on post-apocalyptic survival, even though the story turned out to be quite different to what I expected. (more…)

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The Odyssey - Film Review

As a fan of Christopher Nolan, it pains me to say that I can’t recall the last time I was this disengaged at the cinema. For me, his take on Homer’s epic was mostly a slog, with some redeeming aspects. (more…)

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Between the angel and the devil

I have a soft spot for anthropomorphic images of animals, especially cats. In this lithograph by J. J. Grandville, a prolific 19th-century French illustrator, a young kitty is caught between her angelic and demonic nature. She seems keen on the Evil One, but can you blame her when the angel looks almost as malicious but nowhere near as fun.

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Sundays - Film Review

A pick from the Spanish & Latin American Film Festival, this quiet, thoughtful and engaging family drama about religious calling is also an unusual coming-of-age story. (more…)

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Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke - Book Review

I had fun with this buzzy tradwife thriller, but it’s fair to say that it entertained and frustrated me in equal measure. (more…)

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Top Ten Tuesday - Book Titles That Include the Sun

This week’s theme from That Artsy Reader Girl invites you to choose a word and share book titles with it. It’s a very open topic, but the recent winter solstice inspired me to pick the flaming hot ball of hydrogen and helium at the centre of our solar system. (more…)

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Central Australia - Uluru, Kings Canyon and more

This vast outback region has been on my travel list for years, and I finally made it there on a camping tour. It’s a truly special part of Australia. (more…)

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Obsession - Film Review

I finally watched this horror movie, a rare example of a genuine word-of-mouth phenomenon, and thought that the hype was mostly justified. While not especially scary, it’s well-acted, disturbing and darkly funny. (more…)

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The Snowman by Jo Nesbo - Book Review

Another gritty, twisty and nasty entry in the Harry Hole series. It could be pure recency bias, but I thought it was one of Nesbo’s best. Continue reading The Snowman by Jo Nesbo – Book Review

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Quote of the Day - Handmade

As a graphic designer, I work on a computer all day long, but I do love this quote from the Westwood I Kawakubo fashion exhibition I saw a while ago.

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Mountain artwork finished!

The artwork is now completed, framed and hanging in my Mum’s dining room. The sky was a bit trickier to do than the mountains; I had to scrap a couple of completed sections because the balance just wasn’t right and the fabrics I picked were too dark or too light, or too shiny and reflective. At this point I know better than to go, oh no that’s not too bad, it will do. Gut instinct is always right…

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The Stranger - Film Review

I never read the original 1942 French novella by Albert Camus, but this stylish, beautiful and unsettling adaptation casts a haunting spell of its own. Continue reading The Stranger – Film Review

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A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck - Book Review

This flimsy but intriguing novella mixes horror and philosophy for a mind-bending take on the afterlife. I enjoyed its ideas if maybe not the execution. Continue reading A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck – Book Review

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Top Ten Tuesday - My Favorite Books by My Favorite Authors

This week’s topic from That Artsy Reader Girl was a fun challenge. Not only do you have to pick your favourite books by your favourite authors, you also have to decide who your favourite authors actually are. It made me realise that a great deal of my best-loved books are by the authors that I haven’t really explored beyond one or two of their works. Because I’m a stickler for self-imposed rules,…

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