back and begging for stuff.

so i'm back. feel bad for my extended hiatus, but it was essential. my last month has been hectic. full of assignments, exams, physie highs and lows with some work mixed in for good financial measure. all except the latter are over now for another year and i can't wait for 2011 to begin. EXCEPT for chistmas. it's pretty wrong that my first post back is grubbing for presents but as my sister is scared of shopping for my gifts i now present you with my updated list of summer/christmas must haves.... well things i must have.

i'm known now for my love of internet shopping and it really is a simple reason. i like stuff no one has or, maybe even didn't think they wanted until they saw it. 'hipster' is a disgusting word, but i really am one. combined with a huge dollop of geek for good measure. which is where i will begin.

battlestar galactic was and will always be my favourite show of all time. when it ended my sadness was cushioned by its sister show caprica. a few years ago bsg released 2000 limited edition cylon toasters. they sold out and to get one now you will be looking at a price tag upwards of $500. so, instead of maxing out mums credit card, you can now get cylon toast from a caprica toaster here. on sale for a measly $65.   

MODEKUNGEN are an amazing swedish brand. although, their site is entirely in their native tongue it is reasonably easy to navigate. this is their handvaska med nitar undertill bag.... no idea how to say that but has me going, oooh pretty. the brand suits my post-punk loving self but is still classic enough to be rocked with a cardie. will set you back 899 SEK or $132. another reason to shop online, our dollar rocks!

i'm a bit confused as to why i want these israeli desert boots. maybe i think they will make me look like ziva off ncis. meh for $70 it's well worth the consumer indulgence. palladium boots have some other rather less conventional shoes going on here and they are all very well priced considering how well made they are.




it just isn't summer without new swimmers and sunnies. this year black milk will supply the former and ray-ban the latter. the red galaxy one piece really does sell itself. just look at its amazing weirdness, and will set you back $85. quite reasonable, no? the black milk brand really is amazing, it's site is a print lovers dream. check out their other swimmers and leggings: R2D2, Astronauts and Skeletons.

ray-ban's have been on my christmas list for years and years, and i haven't really ever bothered to ask for a pair because they were simply too expensive. well the american dollar sucks and they aren't as out of your reach as you may think. a pair of wayfarer 2's will cost you $145, have a look at their many many colour options for two tone magnificence.


'think geek' really is nerd heaven. as someone who habitually loses book marks and even the book itself, this find could not have come at a better time. the book rest lamp is everything i have ever dreamt of and more. well, not really but it is very cool looking and more importantly nifty. combine this with a pac-man alarm clock, going to sleep and waking up will never be the same again.


now, please excuse my indie indulgence but i just must have these shirts, to turn into singlets.... well for mum to turn into singlets. kurt cobain and count duckula. bit of a questionable combo but still, these both make me squee with love in two very different ways. firstly, the daniel johnson shirt worn famously by kurt cobain is the personification of my disenfranchised teenage years. ooh the angst. and count duckula, well it's count duckula! possibly the best children's show EVER!

onto dvds and books. stocking stuffer essentials. let's pretend for a second that i have room in my apartment for anymore box sets and/or novels. hypothetically, it's not surprising that i need every season of waking the dead, peep show and jam and jerusalem. the english really do comedy and serial killers better than any other nation in the world. ebay is always worth a look for box sets, even after you consider postage, you can save a considerable amount of $$$. penguin classics are always a cheap and cheerful addition to any christmas morning. 'wind and the willows', 'madame bovary', 'journey to the centre of the earth', 'middlemarch', 'mrs. dalloway' and 'decline and fall' by evelyn waugh have been on my ebay watch list for the past month or so.

lastly, as i sit watching the first day of the ashes i'm reminded of the fact i have never EVER been to see live international cricket. for something that played such a big part of my childhood summers. so i'd love tickets to go watch the english FINALLY get what is coming to them. ticketek have some very good deals for families and even a concession price for us poor university students. a silver ticket as the SCG will cost you $90 for an adult (and $77 with concession).

well that's it. hope these sites give you some ideas for presents (not just for me, though keep me in mind) that might be a bit out of the box but fit someone you know and love.

click the linkage!

the arias are generally seen as a time when normal freethinking people with decent taste in music put aside 3 hours to mercilessly mock australia's most 'talented' douche bags. this year may be different however, if all goes to plan and my stormtroopers click on the shinny links, i will give you in a second, the best television of all time could come to fruition.

the lovely caitlin and declan are vying for the opportunity to grill our nations best and brightest musical leeches on the red carpet or the aria music awards. such questions may include:

cait gp

Q. you're on the red carpet and are trying to get the attention of the veronicas. how do you attract their attention and stand out from the crowd?
A. yell "i love you work".... they haven't heard that one in a while

OR

d wow

Q. keith urban has arrived on the red carpet. what is your first blog about him?

A. move over russel crowe and the 'ordinary fear of god'. it's new zealand's new favourite super musician.

it's what we have always wanted. so, make it a reality and vote for you new favourite journalists. declan here and caitlin here. if nothing else but to see their pretty faces on the telly. 

banned from wikipedia!

i have been banned from editing pages on wikipedia for some kind of slander infringement. seems fair, i probably deserved it. BUT the fact of it is, i have absolutely no idea what i did. i went back through my blog posts and facebook status' looking for what exactly i was doing that day that might have pushed me too far and caused me to lash out on wiki. NOTHING!

One piece short of a puzzle?

so now i have been forced to take out my abject rage on the encyclopaedia website. i'm not silly though, won't be getting my ip address banned again.... lets just say, that people at the university of wollongong probably won't be able to edit pages for about a month. i do have to admit, i did find out i had been banned when i intended to go on a page and call someone a slut. but, i didn't get the chance. i mean i did today, still not the point. i would like to call some idiot keyboardist verve-frontman-loving person whatever names i like, from the comfort of my own home.

the biggest problem is, i can't even find out what i initially did to get banned. my conduct is not up for negotiation. it's like living under a fascist regime, except online and it doesn't really matter. i have found a way around the issue and begun my 10 step plan to destroy wikipedia. at the very least, i may mildly irritate them. still, not sure where to start. pick a sweet spot and poke it with a hard stick seems apt. any suggestions? anyone you really dislike or maybe someone you do like that you wish for me to make up a whimsical lie about?

suggestions please! i need my archduke-franz-ferdinand-first-strike to really kick off the annoying.

mellowing in my old age....kind of. ok maybe not.

a few weekends ago i attended a lovely wedding. the best kind, with a bride and groom that you actually like and can stomach how much in love they are, without day-dreaming about taking a firearm to the crowded reception. not that i'm bitter. well, that's not entirely true. i am, but i wasn't that day. furthermore, i think the experience of actively enjoying a wedding, sans feeling the need to get completely trollied on free wine, has softened my view on god.

ok so let me explain. religious weddings usually make my very cynical atheist side come out. that day, i tried really hard not to mock or giggle. right, so i giggled a little bit.... still, in my active repression (of which i have years of catholic church-going practice) i found myself listening. i'm not saying i believe in god now. i haven't seen the light and i still think strong belief in god is a bit mad BUT maybe, just maybe, denying the existence of god is as moronic as believing in one.

as a result of this, i did what i have always done. go a reading. so i read-up a bit. philosophy is generally fun for me, saves me having to think up my own ideas, and i found a very interesting guy called robert g. ingersoll. an american political leader, don't worry he wasn't very 'good' at that, and orator during the 19th century. he gave a speech in 1896 entitled, 'why i am an agnostic'. it spoke to me, answered some questions i hadn't known to ask.

ingersoll wrote, "is there a supernatural power-an arbitrary mind-an enthroned god-a supreme will that sways the tides and currents of the world-to which all causes bow? i do not deny. i do not know-but i do not believe. i believe that the natural is supreme-that from the infinite chain no link can be lost or broken-that there us no supernatural power that can answer prayer- no power that worship can persuade or change-now power that cares for man.

i believe that with infinite arms nature embraces the all-that there is no inference-no chance-that behind every event are the necessary and countless causes, and that beyond every event will be and must be necessary and countless effects.

is there a god? i do not know. is man immortal? i do not know. one thing i do know, and that is, that neither hope, nor fear, belief, nor denial, change the fact. it is as it is, and it will be as it must be."

i like this on many levels but, to name just two. nature, science, evolution and humanity in my mind are all linked. to stop looking to the heavens for answers and instead look at each other i think is, not only powerful but, also sensible and practical if you want actual answers about life, the universe and everything. secondly, his ideas of prayer as essentially scripted hoping. this desire for certain things to happen if we hope/pray really really hard will make some blind bit of difference. good people that do good things for the right reason, is in my mind, far better use of their time on earth than spending hours and hours of their life in a draughty old church (where god lives) and recite barely remembered scripture like it was a song from childhood.

so this is me softened. hmmm maybe not in hind sight, but still i was genuinely happy for the bride and groom even if i do think they were brought together by a random series of events over thousands and thousands of years and not god. because if so, where is my knight in shinning armour? ok maybe a lot bitter.

congrats guys! hope you like the egg rings.

the commonwealth games, the olympics retarded half sister!

if you are a member of a post-english empire country you may know that the commonwealth games are on. its all very unexciting. not a sports fan myself, spent the nrl grand final asleep. still, there is one thing i have noticed that quite often occurs at events like this, and that is the shitness of most national anthems. australia's really is rubbish, but i am comforted by the fact that new zealands is worse.

although, there is one that is quite clearly worse and to add insult to injury they are pretty good at sports now. 'god save our gracious queen'? oh please, does she really need that much saving? she does live in a big house behind barb-wire fences with guys with guns standing in front of that. now, that is one fucking saved queen! why does she need 'her people' to stand on platforms and sing to her good health? maybe she should be put in peril, send her off to afghanistan in her pyjamas. THEN maybe then the british would have something to sing about.

so this isn't my joke, can't remember where i saw it. but, it stuck with me and today made me angry all over again. do not even get me started on the pointlessness of flags....

something small to make you smile.

the internet is full of crap. i think, we can all generally agree with this statement. we fill a vast majority of our time with complete trash. not that it isn't highly entertaining or interesting, but still not exactly plumbing the depths of human achievement. having the most friends on facebook may get you interviewed by some vacuous morning show host, but probably not a nobel prize or even a job.

this brings me to this photo. i found this yesterday and am inclined to believe that it is easily the shining peak of my internet surfing. a golden ray of light, through the otherwise dark intellectual vacuum of online content. the picture of elisebeth and dave mitchel, in kings cross circa 1965, is just so lovely to me. it speaks of a seemingly more exciting time in history. a time when people tried, or maybe just pretended, to care about the sucky world they lived in and endeavoured to fix its problems.

now, i know this is an incredibly idealised view of australia in the 60s. still, it made me genuinely smile at the two people (presumably married) and the way they seem to just casually 'fit' the world at that time.

wine wine wine.

there are many things in this world that me and my father do not agree on, but thankfully wine is not one of them. there really is nothing wrong with wine. i actually think sometimes that homeless wineos have the right idea.... ok so maybe not, but they do get to drink an inordinate amount of wine, the amount of wine i wish i could drink were it not for the sheer fact that my uni grades would plummet and i would probably get fired from my job from either being pissed or recently pissed.

however, i digress. red wine is the best wine. there really are no down sides, aside from the yumminess and being drunk the only thing that could even approach being more exciting is the lack of stress when buying a bottle. if you have stress about picking a bottle to consume then, well you are an idiot. there is no other perishable good that has such a simple code for its scale of shit to awesome. THE PRICE. its right there, on the bottle following the $ sign.

don't worry, i'll explain. you walk into a bottle shop, its full of sluts in ugly shoes (oh so yes, maybe i am retelling my recent trip into wollongong for alcohol) and you stand in front of the 'shiraz' section. a few hundred bottles stair back at you. which to choose, which to choose? hmmmmm. now here, is where my stress just fades away. a cheap bottle of wine, lets say under $10 in australia is RUBBISH. but if you want to marinate some brain cells, a good choice because you can get 2. now above $10 is my price range. i like a $13 to $15 bottle. affordable, red, and most importantly will not taste like lighter fluid. from here up i'm not really interested, but they get even better.

the more expensive the better the wine. it really is that simple. all this fetishisation of wine is bourgeoisie wank. i blame the french! i also love the french for this. they do pleasure well and have inserted a handy system for wine goodness.... so thank you france.

stay tuned to my next thrilling blogpost regarding my love of cheese.

group work anger!

right, so i have been quite absent from here of late and it is to some probably not surprising that the issue that brings me back is one that has sparked an angry fire-breathing dragon within me. university group work! now, i have in the past 3 years somehow managed to avoid this situation i now find myself in. mostly, my experience has been very positive largely due to the wonderous brain that lives in alex's head. now though, my faith in the intelligence of humanity has been shaken to its core and where else, but in the graduating class of the university of wollongong's communications and media studies class. as a result, i have come to the conclusion that this exercise is not in an effort to prepare students for communal projects in the work place but rather, a communist plot to weed out the people in a group (like me) that will just go, 'awh frak it, i'll do it myself!'.

my group, made up almost entirely of not just stupid but lazy students has gone from mildly irritating me to full blown psychotic rage. as someone once said, "a fail mark doesn't mean your stupid. a pass mark means your stupid. a fail means you are stupid AND lazy!". i don't mean to diminish the work one member of the group has contributed but for fraks sake, i built a freaking website for these people and haven't received so much as a, 'huh cool' from them.

the final straw to this absurd debacle came today, when one girl announced to the group (via email mind you) that she wouldn't even be attending the tutorial for the submission of the assignment. ok so yes, this is the student that asked a tutorial full of second year politics students, what democracy was. then to add further insult to her obviously injured brain, if iran and afghanistan were, "essentially, like the same country". age isn't an excuse for everything.

so, what to do? submit the assignment, that i have done a vast majority of, and hope for a decent mark? the problem is i am so far beyond caring about the media studies degree. not that i don't think it is both fascinating and important but, come on i don't want a job within its correlated industry, my group members do, why the hell should i bother.

but, i have bothered and now i will tell you why. there aren't many opportunities outside of internet comment bashing, when one has the compulsion, nay duty, to smack down someone they hate with every fibre of their being. in a way that caitlin has termed, 'oxbridge style'. essentially, this means veiling rather horrible insults with a vocabulary that one would find within the halls of academic excellence, oxford. think stephen fry insulting catholics and/or david mitchell attacking with angry logic the idea of fastidious male grooming. yes, they both went to cambridge.... but, you must concede my point.

oh my point, right. for this assignment there is a pretty exciting up-side. the opportunity to bitch about my group 'colleagues' in a manner that, i think, will not only tickle my tutor with its unreserved anger/ honestly but also make me feel a lot better about this entirely unsatisfying experience.

as such, i have decided to begin my 1000 word academic rant with, "during the past few weeks i have discovered that, copernicus was wrong about the earth being the centre of the universe; as clearly each member of my group believes that this right is reserved solely for each of them. were it not for my ability to discern this fact early on, in the creation of this assignment, i feel that all we would have to show today is a quote from 'jersey shore' regarding the state of politics in the world. this is not to say that my group members believe solely what they are told about the wider world simply from one reality television 'star' they are big believers in getting a wider perspective. kim kardashians blogpost on barak obama was considered and aptly rejected. laziness was also an issue. now, im not saying my group didn't contribute. however, a link to julia gillard's twitter account in my mind should not be considered indept research. simply put, my groups lazy approach to this assignment made me look like roadrunner, compared to their not only slow but, wildly incompetent wile e coyote."

what do we think? too harsh?

i love my life as a dickhead!

we are having NEW AGE FUN with a VINTAGE feel.

courtesy of my lovely wife, with her hipster hate.

tourism australia.... oprah's new bitch.

it was revealed today that the queen of day time television, oprah, is planning a visit to our shores. in a deal with tourism australia, she hope to go out with a bang at the sydney opera house. celebrating her final season on television, this move is to me completely unexpected. are we just the highest bidder? or simply, the most desperate for fat american tourists with big wallets and even bigger mouths to come here and misunderstand our culture and get peeded on by a koala?

this will also be the first show to be filmed outside of america. ok so two things: 1, who cares? and 2, why here?

so i do care a little, only as a passing fancy and the 'ha cool' factor. the later point i think interests me more. surely oprah doesn't give two shits about our economy and its reliance on foreign tourism, so what's her motivation. my guess is money. although, tourism australia isn't spilling on how much money they have put into this scheme, new south wales has admitted to putting up $1 million (usd) towards this.

the episode announcing the trip 'down under' was viewed by 40 million americans and an estimated 30 million people internationally. 70 million people! almost 4 times our population. if even a sixth of them actually make a trip here that's.... well i don't know exactly but ALOT of people.

moreover, i can't see your average sydney-sider getting a seat in her opera house audience. the nicole kidmans of australia maybe, but me? probably not. ooh well, nothing we can do about it now.... welcome oprah. i suppose its better that she comes and visits than mel gibson.

kasparov, deep blue, 1996.

i'm not sure if anyone knows this but, apparently the suburbs are the place to be. 'what? surely not!', i hear you say. i didn't believe it myself but the arcade fire do not lie, and their latest album the suburbs has been hailed as their best yet. now, it is good.... amazing even but better than funeral hmmm i'm not sure.

still, they have gone back to the idea of making an album in a very radiohead type way. it is meant to be listened to as a whole, in order and rewards this continuous listening. with every song in some way linked to the idea of the suburbs it has an understated, almost innocent, likeablity that give you a nice warm and fuzzy feeling. reminds me of home, but that could just be me.

mike diver hailed the cd as, "a complex, captivating work that, several cycles down the line, retains the magic and mystery of that first tentative encounter. you could call it their 'ok computer'. but it's arguably better than that."

now, i love radiohead and this review i agree with completely, but only because 'the bends' is my favourite album EVER. but still, breaking the golden rule of, 'thou must not speak ill of radiohead' may in this case be warranted. anyone who knows be gets how massive a deal this is.

anyway, get your ears a copy. i think 'the suburbs' will make them happy.

wish-list!

so summer is coming and i couldn't be more excited. summer fashion, sand and my albino skin rarely sit well with one another, but i have found some amazing new things that could just make this season bearable. slut wear, it seriously just not me. a winter full of stocking, scarfs, army boots and skinny jeans are much more up my ally. still, my latest finds give me hope for the coming sweltering season.

and. here. we. go.

(top to bottom: SHIN MultiDress $198, Necklush Inkdrop $74, Galibardy Apple Ring Red $34, Paola Loves To Shop Subway Map Wayfarer Sunglasses $10, Black Milk Cape $70, Underground Fred - Cuban Heel Gold Beat Boot $79.50)

acid-rave sci-fi punk-funk!

an hour ago, a free copy of klaxons new album, 'surfing the void' happened to fall into my computer shaped lap. a 'laptop' if you will. i know it has been a while since i raved about a band and their music, this has been mostly due to the fact that no one recently deserved my praise. the klaxons do! their much anticipated second album is amazing. cited as a band with the complex and aptly named musical genre, 'acid-rave sci-fi punk-funk' speaks to everything i love. combine this with some amazingly odd fashion choices, my love runs free.

get your hands on a copy of their album! if you haven't heard of them, WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? in prison? a coma, perhaps. well, if so you are in need of a serious musical education. one, you can find here. or just check out their new single, 'echoes' official video below. could be just me, but i feel the need to run through the desert..... i never feel the need to run. disturbing.

seriously, who cares?

answer, the governator!

as i put of studying for a psychology quiz, i began having a look around the new yorker online site for blog post inspiration. i forgot how much i really enjoy writing on this thing. what i expected to find was not what has me angry today. i thought, i would uncover some cool new book, movie, play or music review to pique my interest but instead, i found this.

last wednesday in california a lot of people thought that they would be getting married. not a big deal, people get married every day. except this day all wedding parties were disappointed. the 18th of august, 2010 was set to mark the day when preventing same sex couples from marrying would be deemed unconstitutional. a federal judge thought that this would be a great day to appeal the decision of 'perry v. schwarzenegger'. hence gay marriage is still illegal in the state until at the very earliest the 17th of september or the latest after a supreme court decision in 2011.

ok so what is in a month? it's surely isn't that long, and what is one more year? the answer is, a lot! i have a few friends who are planning weddings and really excited about starting a new chapter of their lives with the person they love. i can't imagine the heart ache they would all go through if, on their wedding day, they were told, 'sorry not today, maybe sometime in september. though, i wouldn't start re-organising'.

my problem with this decision is obvious. but, i guess i don't understand why there is such a fuss over same sex marriage. how can we live in a society that openly allows gay people all other opportunities, but legally binding themselves together is for some reason offensive to the publics moral sensibilities? i'm not going to speak for the christian right who oppose such a union, but i will ask them this. gay people don't choose to be gay, they were born that way, there is nothing wrong with that. it isn't a disease that they caught and the gay men and women i know are good people who deserve to be afforded the same rights as any straight person. moreover, how does it at all affect you?

the answer is, it really doesn't. one line, in a deeply disturbing historical text (i'm speaking of the bible, of course) is all it takes for religious people to oppose gay marriage. god said, "sorry boys if you like streisand and eachother 'like that' you can't get married". ok so that might not have been his exact words, but the sentiment is there. and lets face it, gay people are not the only people to be excluded by doctrine. the catholic church, continues to receive its tax exempt status from the government when its institutional sexism runs rampant. they don't allow women to become priests and openly gay men are disallowed from entering seminal school under the very vague excuse, god said no.

but, most people who aren't religious, and this is a large chunck of the australian population according to the latest census data, don't really mind. and why should they? gay marriage affords couples with legal rights regarding their children, spousal privilege and tax incentives that are made available to all straight married citizens.

seems fair to me. gay couples are just asking for what is given to straight people without question. vermont had the right idea, 10 years ago. come on australia, catch up!

so this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause.

apologies all for my unplanned sabbatical, but my uni and work load is kicking my butt. still, after the disappointment of the recent election i feel the need to vent.

now, i vote labor/greens and as a result have a certain level of moral egotism that goes with such a decision. not that all left of centre voters are this way, but considering that gillard may loose this election because 3 ex national party independents get to decide for 14 million people i think my piety is somewhat warranted.

firstly, vote for whoever you want. this is how democracy (usually) works. but, it is a decision that should be taken seriously and requires a citizen to actively pick one side or the other in the two party preferred system, for a reason beyond disliking a ministers hair cut. if this is the case then you are who i'm angry with.

my parents vote conservatively. this is a problem on so many levels for me but they are both small business owners and need a stronger economy for the immediate future and also as they near (not too near) retirement age. many a conservative (abbott nlp) voter has pitched this argument to me under the reasoning, that rich people know how to deal with their own money and as a result know how to look after yours, the tax payer. all fine. still, my wondering continues, are we so bad off now? australia is doing the best out of the entire worlds advanced economies, in unemployment levels, inflation and interest rates.... krudd did us a solid with stimulus. maybe, the labor party aren't so working class anymore. i heard gillard even went to university.

still, i realised this week as i drove home from sydney (passing cars and thinking 1 out of 2 people voted stupidly for abbott) that, maybe the reason conservative voters are able to look past the partys racism, religious fear mongering, wacky science climate change denying proposed policy is because they vote for themselves and their own backpockets. there is something very wrong with this. when i voted on saturday my mind wasn't on how this act of civil duty would benefit me, but rather how it would enrich the entire nation. how a national broadband network (without internet censorship) could benefit rural and poorer communities, how mining companies could be held accountable for environmental problems and how conflicts engaged in by our armed forced could be helped with more aid to the defence department.

maybe, i'm just less pragmatic because i have the luxury of being young and idealistic. i love australia. i'm a patriot. voting is something that not everyone has the right to in this world and here people don't take part fully in the process. we call the system, 'broken' and refuse to immerse ourselves in information and make a decision, but rather rely on trends and catchy slogans to make the decision for us.

if nothing else this election has shown that people are scared. the gfc, climate change and pesky non-white immigrants are invading our small isolated corner of the world. instead of hope and a 'yes we can!' attitude australia's 5.8% swing to a howard henchman shows we would rather turn back the clock 4 years and undo the mistake of 2007.

it's depressing, i never thought i would see the day when the american public is smarter than 14 million free australians. this is the country that voted for george bush.... twice.

i still miss you, bsg.

there is absolutely nothing i don't like about this video. check the portrait art's youtube profile. the person who draws these is my new role model..... you know, coming from someone who can't even sketch an accurate stick figure.

is that...? O.M.G!

....another one of the reasons we love stephen fry. he inadvertently introduces us to some very cool people like, THE STROKES.

(l-r: albert hammond jr., caitlin, fab moretti, nikolai fraiture, me and kathryn)

a mind of one's own?

ok, so sorry for being so very slack of late but i do have a good reason. i have been staring at this post for 3 days trying to work out what it actually is and what i'm trying to say. it had the ideas, i think, to be one of my best ever but, alas, i don't think it's going to work out.

earlier this week, i began reading a book that has been sitting in my mini library forever. virginia woolfe's seminal non-fiction work, a room of one's own. in this short novel, originally 2 speeches, she outlines her views on women, fiction and the things that are required for great literary work. but, it is more than that. it is a post-world war 1 depiction of the plight of women throughout history up to that point.

so many things in this book got me thinking. perhaps most significantly, the way men saw women as far beneith them and not just intellectually but also, emotionally, spiritually and culturally insignificant. the concept of the work is that, 'a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction'. i began this adventure into early 20th century feminism expecting her to slander men, call them idiots and all female writers exceptional thinkers and people. this is far from the case and, i think, the reason why it will continue to influence not only the way i write on here but also, what it means to be a woman today. with the relative freedom to aspire to be whatever i choose.

this leads me to my second point. woolfe's main point in giving these speeches to young women who had only just begun to explore their new found access to education at a university level was to push them to understand this right (one she was not afforded) and also, their responsibility in paving the way for future female writers. she gives immense credit to the likes of jane austin, george eliot and the bronte sisters, as brilliant women who not only dared to write within their own styles but, who wrote in some cases exceptionally well. these women inspired woolfe and as a result she, i believe, inspired a generation of newly emancipated women who now influence the writers of today.

freedom? check. education? check. money? check. all requirements for the ability to choose your own fate. this got me considering how i feel about these three things, that i had never once considered to be a part of my life. but, they all are. without the ability to choose, then women today would be nothing more than wives forced into marriage and producing children in the 10s and 12s, instead of the 2s or 3s. how, although i respect women who choose this life for themselves (as mothers with the responsibilities that go with such a thing) i perhaps don't value it enough. what do i value? the power of love? not really. kindness? hardly. intelligence? oh yea!

reading this book made me look at the slightly disturbing aspect of myself that i value more than anything. and not in just me, it's what i judge you on first as well. intelligence. i've always dismissed it as fine, normal even, to do this. after all, it's better than judging someone on their appearance. but, when did i become such a snob? maybe, it's something built within my dna.... or is that just an excuse. still, after thousands of years of men telling women they are beneath them is it not completely understanding that we feel the need to push back in some way?

the short answer is, no. there was a line in the second chapter, that suggested the reason men (specifically during the 16th century and then again, when women demanded their right to vote) of these times saw the need to put down a woman's worth was to elevate his own. this is what i do. i think you are stupid, i feel smarter, i feel superior. this is not acceptable. there is always someone smarter than you are, and always someone not as intelligent at you. maybe, we should all remember this next time someone asks a 'stupid' question. i know i'll try.

butt-ugly!

well, it isn't really a debate i find difficult to come to an opinion on. men who wear their pants half down their legs in an effort to flash their expensively branded ass look like docuhe bags who think a fun night out includes watching jersey shore and then maybe going out and robbing a bottle shop. still, i never thought i'd see the day when wearing your pants this way could be an illegal act. and i got to say, i love it!

now, the new york post is complete trash but the article re this news is pretty interesting and hilarious. check it here!

fyi, i just found out what jersey shore is and have never watched it. but, it seemed an appropriate metaphor for stupidity. cheers, kathryn. you teach me things.

a match made on hoth!

my love for star wars knows no bounds and as it turns out, by proxy, the same is true for adidas! this is because, they have released a line of star wars themed shoes and clothes! as someone constantly searching for the perfect pair of white high-tops this find could not have come sooner. also, what is not to love about an advertising campaign involving snoop dog.

these are the shoes that i have in mind. now, it is just a matter of getting my hands on a pair. thank lucas, that my sister currently resides in america. the home of all things ridiculously consumer minded.

check the whole line here and receive an oddly accurate laser display show courtesy of our good pal darth vader's ultimate weapon, the death star. the vid below it also definitely worth a look. oh and spot daft punk, i love them even more now.

all together now!

my world is all askew!

i have just discovered that there is a physie book and feel like i have stumbled into the twilight zone. i really shouldn't be surprised but, to think that our small sport has a book that has actually been published seems a bit, i dunno, weird. now, i'm not about to start critiquing the book because, quite simply, i haven't read it.

still, it was written by a physie girl (danielle walsh) about a physie girl so, that is a good sign. william faulkner suggested, you should always write about what you know, unless of course you are emily dickinson then you have the skill to do whatever you want. anyway, you can get a copy here, if you like physie. from reading the blurb, a very 'up' positive take on our wildly odd sport can be found in this first step into the world children's literacy.

also, i'm not above asking for a free copy in exchange for an actual, well thought out, review. so, free copy please. i'll be nice, i promise. ok fine, i'll be honest.

live a crazy celebrities life.

we all remember the 'choose your own adventure' books from childhood. the ones that, when forced to read, most normal kids picked the shortest story possible. like most wonderful things it has made a resurgence. first poptisms NOW choose your own adventure: mel gibson.

i think this pretty much sells itself but, if not you can go through your own day of the drunk, drug addled, anti-semitic actor who now has a hot young new girlfriend. he is a properly crazy bastard i mean, look at that mugshot. imagine the crazy shit you could get up to in this fun freaky friday online situation!

check it out here!

looking forward to the rapture!

21st of august = judgement day! or in laymans terms, 2010 election day.... yay it's so soon. oh, i do love a good federal election esspecially, when the debates decline into name calling or in this years case a round of barely veiled angry flirting.

and on a related note there is a nice new drinking game going around related to the impending prime minister showdown. the rules are very simple, every time gillard or abbott use the specific phrase, 'moving forward' you do a shot. it really does have a simple eloquence that, the way this election is going, is sure to get you hammered all the way through this month and the next. i predict many drunk days at uni because, we all know that's were the labour party hangs out and liberal party follows hide and pretend they aren't in agreeance with casually racist political policy.

not that i'm bias or anything.... lets get our drink on! ANYONE BUT ABBOTT!

twitter validates my existence!

a few weeks back i posted on my facebook, 'omg john larrouquette is now following me on twitter.... the same day he decided to follow leonard nimoy! omg!' and SHOCK HORROR no one cared! heathens! so, i felt the need to repeat myself with a melodic tune from the master comedian and actor from the hilarious, boston legal.

check it here. cue applause!

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also, obviously quitting twitter didn't take.... gillard began her run world domination and twitter became essential. sue me!

sorry america, i don't think we should be friends.

it has been pointed out to me recently that, in the past, here on my blog, i have done a lot of america(n) bashing. i feel the need to reiterate that i'm always right about these things but still, not entirely the point.

the reason that i have been waving the 'america is screwed up' or the 'some american people are really stupid' flags that always gets be angry is because as an australian, they are our biggest international allies and more importantly, our protector. this is the country that we negotiate with and give stuff to (like free-trade agreements and soldiers for their wars) and in return expect them to do stuff for us.

this is a country that can't even sort out their own problems and we trust them with the most important of things. i don't think it is too must to ask that they try harder. maybe, i'm too idealistic or naive about how the world works and even if i am, i don't think that that is a bad thing. i suppose, i'm worried that we put far too much trust in a nation that ignored their own people when a cyclone struck new orleans. ignored! as in, pretended it didn't happen. the white house's reaction to the incident was putting their fingers in their ears and going, 'la la la la la'. the national guard didn't go and aid the people of the city you know, because they had green day tickets and/or more likely were busy fighting in iraq. another rant for another day. i just have a serious fear that if this country is unable to aid their own citizens then i doubt they will help us out when north korea comes calling with bazookas and surface-to-air missiles.

we should be scared. i know i am. eek! still, this is a country that with a rich and noble history full of men and women who not only knew what the right thing actually was but, fought hard for what they believed in. i hold out hope that they will pull their shit together, then i watch a joan and melissa rivers special and despair!

i've got sunshine, on a cloudy day.

as i was trolling the internet yesterday for something to occupy me.... as you do, i found this! POPTISIMS! we all remember the motivational posters of yore, you know the ones with pictures and stupid phrases underneath that do not in anyway promote motivation but in actual fact, make you feel slightly depressed about the creative spirit of the douche bags that come up with them. anyway, poptisms, have decided to reinvigorate the idea and they are doing it with passion and a clever up-to-date attitude.

they remind me of a funny, romantic, completely lame movie i watched last week, 'music and lyrics'. drew barrymore and hugh grant, the reigning king and queen of the rom-com, have this cool mini conversation about how pop songs really are like poetry for the modern man and woman. they are equally poetic to the great poems of yeats and shakespeare or lord nelson's love letters except, they make you feel more in the first line of lyrics and harmony than could be conveyed in an entire sonnet.

for instance, i dare you not to feel happy when listening to the the song 'my girl' by the temptations. seriously, i dare you!

the point of all this, is that i have always believed that pop music is fairly trivial and unimportant. it isn't and it is. when pop music is done well, and it rarely is, it can make you feel all pretty and happy. nothing wrong with that.

news corp. trying a new scam for cash? no?

edmund burke once said, 'all that it necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.'. fair enough but, what is the result when evil men do something good? this conundrum has sprung from the recent decision, of news corporation head honcho rupert murdoch, to force our hands to our wallets in his latest new untested model for profit. the 'paywall' has, since the start of this month, started charging readers £1 per day for the online news pages of 'the times' and 'the sunday times'.

now, it is a fiercely held belief amongst liberal thinking people, that old rupert is a unscrupulous right-wing evil profit hungry bastard, i think this too, and that his latest scheme for profits is another example of his abject greed. morover that it also, won't work. why are people in the uk going to fork out money for something they have always been able to view, for free, when they can get equal if not better news journalism elsewhere? the answer is they won't. the guardian actually welcomed times readers the day the paywall was enacted.

here is my point, surely the guardian is shooting themselves in the foot. the day they realise that people aren't buying actual tangible newspapers anymore and they need some cash to you know, pay their employees. but also, maybe we should have to pay. rupert murdoch is most definitely evil but, that doesn't necessarily mean everything he does is evil. like most things television, books, movies, music, clothes, food (sex....ha nah just kidding), the things we spend our hard earned money on are treasured more. we enjoy them more due to the fact, we have sacrificed money and feel the need to savour the experience. maybe, because it is actually costing us something. news could be the same.

my other weird pro-rupert point (ok now i'm starting to scare myself), is that print media is a dying art form. yes, i do believe it is art and the publics willingness to go and view day-to-day events in an online environment has seen cut backs that directly affect the quality of the printed form. for example, the sydney morning herald last year was forced to sack all their sub-editors in an effort to cut costs. this has lead to a severe drop in the quality of the paper. typos and/or spelling errors on the front page of the oldest continuously published broadsheet newspaper in australia. disgusting! moreover, after these cut backs the paper has been accused of 'dumbing down' content and becoming far to akin to a tabloid magazine. as opposed to its previous status as a reputable port of call for serious news readers.

the internet is full of crap. lets be honest even my blog, that i love, is full of grammatical miss steps, spelling errors and unsubstantiated claims. we need experienced professional news sites to outweigh the amateur. still, i think we need both. but, if we aren't going to or even just open to the idea of paying for online content then we are to blame when the 4th estate can't afford to operate and there is no one on the front line of news, reporting to us as it's happening.

without real news reporting, who can we trust to tell us the truth? politicians? ha, yea ok.

murdoch's play for the british publics pounds sterling will probably crash and burn. his uk online newspaper sites are going to take a serious hit. not only because they don't want to pay for news content but, also because they are going to dismiss the idea out of hand as sheers profiteering on news corp.'s part then go read something else. this is not to say the idea is a bad one, it isn't, its quite a practical. to be honest, i don't think it's too much to ask for this service to be a paid one. we have got far too used to everything in the internet world being free.....

well kids, nothing worth having is free. maybe, its time we began to accept that in the online world as well.

another example of combo love!

movies and politics.... two loves rolled into one amazing youtube video. this is a recent entry into the q&a competition called 'get enrolled'. the spoof video parodies the two contenders for prime minister in the upcoming australian federal election.

check it. it's giggle worthy.

the cut.

new york magazine's online fashion blog the cut is one that i follow fairly religiously. it's not for just the obvious superficial 'oooh so pretty' reasons, they actually have something to say. the cut heavily critiques fashion lines, questions ethics of the fashion industry, and opens up debate on topics ranging from elle mcpherson eating powdered rhino horns to michelle obama's obvious love for all things metallic to australia's push for more realistic looking plus sized models. still, to date the weirdest thing i have come across on this site is regarding the power of the mullet.

everyone, who owns a mirror and lives in a community that would mock you mercilessly if you sported the dreaded hairstyle understands the 'yuck' factor when you see someone sporting a mullet. business in the front, party in the back, is terribly outdated but more than that has a very unattractive socio-economic connection that can't be ignored.

still, like most things the iranian government has taken the eradication of the ghastly hairstyle way too far. earlier this week, the telegraph (which i don't usually go anywhere near) reported that, "in an attempt to rid the country of 'decadent western cuts', iran's culture ministry has produced a catalogue of haircuts that meet government approval. the list of banned styles includes ponytails, mullets and elaborate spikes. however, quiffs appear to be acceptable as are fashioning one's hair in the style of simon cowell or cultivating a 1980s-style floppy fringe."

and yes, if you are caught sporting one of the banned styles you will be arrested. these new laws have been enacted under the guise of strict islamic law and coincide with iran police who carry out regular morality checks. ok, fine. it's only a mullet it probably should be stopped but come on, where does this stop?

i am very lucky, like all of you, to live in a country that although it is heavily regulated by governing officials, have not (yet) gone to such extremes as to prevent this form of personal expression. the mullet might be hideous but it is just that. a choice.

oh please, i barely lindsay lohaned.

today lindsay lohan was sentenced to 90 days in jail for failing to attend alcohol education classes after she missed a court date. her very public struggle with drug and alcohol related problems has sparked something very odd in me. i honestly thought i would be cheering for her decline, we all like it when pretty people fall. famous attractive successful people is like hitting the hilarious trifecta. we enjoy it all the more. still, this weird popular culture fascination with celebrities concerns me on many levels.

my first instinct is to rant. why the hell do these people have so very many issues? vices that we 'normal' non-famous people don't struggle with nearly as often. yes, some of us have the same addictions but this is a relatively small closed community (the entertainment/music/fashion industries) and it is prevalent. OR at least it seems to be. i think, we don't understand their lives and through the media seek to gain some understanding and/or perspective. we think if we had that perspective we might somehow get how these very talented (or not so talented) wealthy people manage to screw up their lives so royally when we think they have everything so much easier than we do. i mean, these people don't ever have to worry about money and.... well, that is really it.

it was then that i began to get it. lindsay might be rich but, she has the same wants and fears that we all have. self worth, the wish to be loved unconditionally, to matter in the world and later, leave a legacy that has helped the future in some way. we all desire these things. i'm not saying money doesn't make this easier, it most definitely does but her wealth does come at a price. fame. she became internationally famous at the age of 11 yrs and if you have ever read or watched anything about her parents it really is no wonder she has the problems she has today.

a legacy of child stars has taught us that going into the entertainment industry at a young age is not a good idea. yet, people still push their children into it. this thirst for fame is uncontrollable for some. i don't get it. lindsay might not have been old enough to choose this life as a child but that is no excuse for her behaviour now. she could walk away from the spot light, get some help, do a natalie portman and go to school. do something else. but she hasn't and she won't. thus, we all won't be surprised to see her, like so many other famous people with issues, die a premature death. this is goulish!

when heath ledger died last year, the media went nuts trying to get us all the information we needed to fully understand what happened. they gave us, the public, what we wanted then we turned around and called them vultures for doing exactly as we asked. now, i'm not about to go into journalistic ethics (and yes, they do have them, sometimes) but, we should take some responsibility for 1. the news we receive, 2. the insidious way it is procured and 3. the down side of this 'cult of celebrity'. audience models for media analysis are very complicated and boring, by the way. still, what media we consume and why are central to all theories.

i can't say i ever expected to see these words typed by me but, i've got to the point where all this celebrity/social decay has to reflect something in me. i enjoy when pretty people fall, this is wrong. i should never find myself cheering for another persons self destruction. but, hey when the person is famous then it's perfectly acceptable. if it were my friend i wouldn't, even if it were a friend of a friend, i wouldn't. just because i don't know lindsay doesn't make it is ok.

then again, i'm not proposting we go out and sponser a celebrity, to get them back on their feet. but seriously, i think it's enough to simply feel sorry for these people and have just the smallest amount of human compassion. because, not matter what their situation everyone deserves that.

---------------------------------------------------

note - the title of this post is a quote from the tv show 'will & grace'. grace almost faints after feeling sick at a wedding.

suicide's easy, what happened to the revolution?

stephen fry - the sydney opera house - 27th of july - 8pm

foals - manning bar - 28th of july - 8pm

the strokes - the hordern pavilion - 29th of july - 7pm

black rebel motor cycle club - the metro - 1st of august - 8pm

....going to be a big week of AWESOME! woop can't wait. now, i got to go practice my thrash dancing.

go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company.

so, on this cold winter morning i decided to re-aquatint myself with the wondrous show that is boston legal. funny thought provoking stuff that often quote the great works and idea of mark twain. i'm quite ashamed to admit that i do not own one book by this influential and prolific american author; anyone who knows my book collection understands how big a deal that is. still, i have, like many high school children, read 'the adventures of tom sawyer' and enjoyed it about as much as any kid does a book they are being forced to read.

still, this post isn't about twain's books per-se but, rather the idea that live behind his works. ideas that americans pride themselves. still, i'm not sure twain's countrymen today are living by his patriotic example and have even stopped listening. history teaches, why aren't these people listening? this is a nation, where one 5th of americans can't locate their own country on a map, a mere 13% of senior students in the state of mississippi can read at an adult level and one 3rd of students in california can't even find the pacific ocean. the pacific ocean! it's right there.

some of his quotes that could help these uneducated young adults to find some thirst for knowledge are:

- 'classic.' a book which people praise and don't read.

- whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's tome to pause and reflect.

- all you need is ignorance and confidence and the success is sure.

- get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.

- i don't like to commit myself about heaven and hell - you see, i have friends in

both places.

- we have the best government money can buy.

- a man's character may be learned from the adjectives which he habitually uses in conversation.

- don't let schooling interfere with your education.

- clothing make the man. naked people have little or no influence on society.

- all generalisations are false, including this one.

- fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. truth isn't.

- honesty is the best policy - when there is money in it.

- action speaks louder than words but not nearly as often.

- there is no distinctly american criminal class - except congress.

- loyalty to the country always. loyalty to the government when it deserves it.

- better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak out and remove all doubt.

- familiarity breeds contempt - and children.

- i can live for two months on a good compliment.

- laws control the lesser man... right conduct controls the greater one.

- good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.

- wit is the sudden marriage of ideas which before their union were not perceived to

have any relation.

- such is the human race, often it seems a pity that noah... didn't miss the boat.

- the reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated.

- the lack of money is the root of all evil.

and finally, my personal favourite in today's australian political climate...

- when red-haired people are above a certain social grade their hair is auburn.