australia, who do you think you are?

over the past few weeks i have given a lot of thought to tomorrows national holiday. australia day, synonymous with bbqs, beers, fake/real flag tattoos and the wife beater. sad really, i have no real inclination for celebration. why? i mean, it's our nations day of celebrating uuuummmm yeah we commemorate the...., well that is to say, there is triple j's hottest 100 and yeah.... ok so i had no idea what the day was meant to be about and i assume not many others do either so i researched. the day is in an effort to pay tribute to the arrival of the first fleet in sydney cove in 1788, when the british hoisted the union jack and claimed the land under their sovereignty. wooooohhh!

this act is the reason why various aboriginal people declared the day, 'invasion day'. seems fair enough really but, my problem isn't with history so much as it is with the present. the day is seen as nothing more than a bank holiday in the sun and an excuse to get completely trashed and bitch about angus and julia stone's song 'jet plane' reaching the number 1 position of the hottest 100 (yest that's my ominous prediction btw). not that there is anything wrong with such past times, especially the last, but it does indicate how this country is missing something. a sense of national identity.

another criticism of the indifference that occurs on australia day is the fact that it falls during the school holidays. some teachers believe that due to this children are not as engaged as they are with other national holidays, like anzac day, and have no real concept of the importance of such an event. this lack of engagement in my mind has cemented the one dimensional hedonistic self image of australians. we like sport, having a laugh with a drink our hand and chilling on the beach. surely, there is more to us than that?

be it a result of our countrys short history, or our connection to britain and the united states, we haven't been given a chance to really branch out on our own. no civil wars or wars of independence, we haven't had the opportunity to grow as a nation by ourselves. not that wars are good things, but they do see change and a rallying of people behind a cause. we are still a member of the commonwealth because we seemingly can't be bothered or want to become independent knowing if we do, we can't win gold medals in sport at the commonwealth games. sad really.

getting back to my original gripe. australian tattoos have become a bogan trait. either through un-originality or a lack of understanding many aussies will proudly show off their 'patriotic' ink whilst subtly trying to say they have gone through pain for their noble homeland. now THAT pisses me off! mostly because i'm quite convinced that they have no idea what it means to be an australian. i know this, because i'm not even sure what it means anymore. but, having 'australia' or the apparently 'un-british' part of the flag (the southern cross) tattooed with abandon across your ass is about as offensive to me as burning the flag right in front of my eyes.

ok alright so, maybe it isn't all that bad, but it no longer posses the ideals it once encompassed. a symbol of perceived patriotism and egalitarianism was hijacked by racist thugs and well, the brand seems to have been irreparably damaged. blogger henry stones described the average southern cross tattoo holder in a smh article as possessing many traits, including: "you call rum and cokes 'rumbos' and you drink a minimum of two cartons a month"; "you have started a conversation regarding matty johns' innocence" and "you have a rat's tail".

perhaps a bit harsh, still it is concerning. this is how we show we care for our country? widespread apathy i fear will be the theme for tomorrow and whilst being wholly depressing is also scares the bejesus out of me. what's going to happen when the day comes we have to stand up for what we as a nation believe in, and can't think of a single thing worth fighting for?

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. 

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.

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.

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!

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.

julia gillard, will you be my prime minister?

the lovely kathryn said that yesterday and i think it perfectly sums up how i, as a card carrying labour party member, feel about the massive shift within the federal party that took place last night and then today. two days is all it took for mr. kevin rudd to get shived and replaced by his deputy.

i do have two concerns. one, that my blog post not two days ago might have had a hand in bringing down krudd. ha! just kidding but, in the span of 12 hours australia has been witness to a seminal event in our political and cultural history. today we have our first female prime minister in julia gillard, an atheist one at that. 'hooray!', i say. feels like all my dreams have been answered. still, a lady prime minister? australia has been, compared to the rest of the world, conservative on the subject. what were we all so worried about? that if we elected (or not, in this case) a female pm that one day, in the future, she will snap because she is having a bad hair day? she lives with a hairdresser people! don't worry about it.

this leads me to my second point. as far as i'm concerned, concentrating on gillard as the first female prime minister is a good thing. this is a good day for feminists and people who believe in equality within the workplace and in this case, the political arena. what i DO have a problem with is all the unnecessary crap that the media has begun to bring up because she is a woman. so she isn't married, doesn't have children, favours a nice pants suit and has red hair.... exactly how are these things essential when crafting policy and/or communicating with the public?

it shows a desperate opposition leader, when his point of attack is that the new pm can't relate to families because she isn't a mother. conveniently forgetting, that she is a daughter, sister and aunt. as far as the media's impending attack on her looks well, lets all remember the women that have previously walked in their sensible heels as leaders of their country, before the new australian pm. though, not thatcher. i'm still pretty sure she is actually a man in drag. isabel peron, golda meir, sirimavo bandaranaike, gro harlem brundtland, benazir bhutto, kim campbell, edith cresson, luisa diogo, helen clark, michelle bachelet, cristina fernandez de kirchner.... the list goes on and on. these are names of women who were either prime ministers or presidents and have lead their country since the first woman was elected to such a position, in sri lanka, 1960.

the rest of the world seems, quite rightly, comfortable in choosing a woman to lead them. to choose how their hard earned tax dollars are spent, are represented overseas, that public health and schools are well cared for etc etc etc. but first, if this person is a woman we must judge her outfit and connect her ability to run a country with her capacity to have unprotected sex and then 9 months later push a small human out of her vagina. are the two things really connected?

the answer is no. the liberal thinking people of australia (aka. voters with a soul) should be applauding this move for a more stable leader in julia gillard. a leader that has tony abbott asking his aids how exactly you spell, 'capitulate'.

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for a far more eloquent account/opinion of these recent events check out the blog siesta on the pilar. you know, in case my ramblings didn't make that much sense.

this is australia!

not america! and definitely not sparta. though some days i do get this strong urge to kick certain people into a big bottomless pit. but, i digress...

in my daily stroll through internet news sites i came across something so deeply disturbing that it has awoken a fierce angry fire breathing dragon within me....and not the cute puff kind! lateline is a goldmine, full of wonderful political commentary and today it did not disappoint.

check this video out!

now, i'm not going to say that christian's don't deserve a voice, they do. i'm just not entirely sure that we should be going the americanised route on this. in god we trust? please. have any of them read the bible, god is vengeful. he killed more people in the old testament that anyone else in the entire book. not someone i am personally happy for my governing officials to be taking advice and guidance from with regards to taxation, immigration and environmental reforms. the guy got a little pissed off one day and FLOODED THE EARTH!

i'm not completely stupid, i do know that the whole jesus/god/bible deal is a metaphor blah blah blah and as i was raised catholic, i'm sure i have some latent rage regarding the subject of organised religion. you believe what you believe. i don't agree with you. the world keeps on a turning. politicians are no exception to this rule, they can have beliefs but i don't want to see them begin to seep into day-to-day policy making decisions.

then again, i conceed that they already have. western culture is drenched in christian morality. stealing is bad, adultery is bader and murder is the badest. in other cultures, with a different religious morality, that order is different. for example in some islamic states adultery receives a harsher punishment than murder. neither is right or wrong, it's just how it is. but, this morality is so imbedded in our societies that it will never be removed. most importantly, i don't like faith being used as a tool for self promotion.

as krudd and tony 'budgie smugglers' abbott freak out over how close the next federal election is going to be, they are willing to do almost anything to get a few more votes. if that means parading their religious beliefs out for everyone to see, then so be it. i really do worry about this 1. because people are eating this crap up and 2. THIS IS NOT AMERICA! that is just not how we roll here and also, well those idiots voted for bush (twice) who essentially made all his decisions with 'gods' council. it really is like talking to your imaginary friend, which is fine i had an imaginary friend when i was 2 years old, BUT these men are world leaders!

please take jesus/god out of the equation when you vote. god doesn't direct these men and if he does 'talk' to them then we have a much bigger problem. 'cause everybody knows, when you talk to god it's prayer but if god talks back then you probably have schizophrenia.

but, her birthday is in april....?

happy long weekend to all! so in the eastern states of australia we celebrate the queen, our monarch's birthday today. the problem is her actual birthday is the 21st of april.... so why do we have it in the second weekend of june? this has always bothered me, until today when i decided to consult the magical machine that is google.

it turns out that there is a very cool and rich history behind why we get a day off work; unless of course you work in hospitality and then, yay extra money. it all began way back in 1788 when governor arthur phillip declared the holiday in celebration of king george the 3rd (who was born on the 4th of june). the holiday did jump around to coincide with the birthday of the reigning monarch until it was decided after the death of george the 5th (queen elizabeth the 2nds grandfather), whose birthday was on the 3rd of june to keep it on its original weekend.

not going to tackle the issue of an australian republic because well, i'm not sure if i have a solid opinion on it. i don't like the idea of inherited wealth and privilege but i also equally like having a long weekend that usually falls around my own birthday.

question time: the only thing that can make me that angry and bored at the same time.

now, don't tell anyone but i do on occasion partake in a nice afternoon of not wearing pants and yelling at the television. that might sound just a little bit bad but there is a perfectly reasonable explanation. here we go, this is hard, hi my name is michelle and i'm addicted to question time. wow, that wasn't so bad. but, seriously i really like watching politicians yelling at each other across a room about the politics of the day. does sometime worry me that these people control the country but then julia gillard speaks and i feel a warm glow of security again.

this is unquestionably the greatest thing on free to air television. it is the only thing that can make you absolutely furious and bored at the exact same time. not sure, what that says about me as a normal well rounded individual but hey if i let things like that bother me i would never have gone to bulgaria. which actually in hind-sight wasn't a good idea.

i digress. i do have a sordid voting past. i did vote for john howard (twice eek, please don't lynch me) but i was young and he was good for comedians morale. the latest federal liberal party re-shuffle has me scared. i might have voted for malcolm turnbull, he was quite left for a conservative, and seemed to be somewhat sane. BUT, tony abbott has this bizarre ability to both terrify and anger me without even opening his mouth. then when he does speak you can't not picture him in his speedos.

vomit! this is not america, this is not a country that elects someone because they can lift the heavy thing. i wasn't that worried about his ability to win the next election against our current prime minister but some very smart people are telling me that some aussies are buying what el doucho abbott is selling. tax hikes, outrageous policy shaped by jesus, internet sensorship comparable to china's, no national broadband, taking money away from school kids and giving it to their pals the mining industry. oh and lets not forget 'work choices' that i now believe is 'abbott's box of arse magic'. i could be wrong there but still, if the man had his way secular australian society would become as insane as americas 'in god we trust'. where one third of the population believing in an actual devil (with horns and a tail). that is true by the way. the country of operaology....

then there is julie bishop. i think she might just be the wicked witch of the west. and not the fuzzy singing one of 'wicked'. keep half expecting her to turn green and start running around the house of representatives cackling and calling for her flying monkeys. though, if the liberal party gets into power in the next election the witch will probably have a sexy new hat and her monkeys out of work. then again, abbott looks a bit monkey-like so maybe not.

a lovely man speaking in a lovely house.

exciting time here in michelle's world! one celebrity encounter with the amazing brian chase; made a slight douche of myself in front of him by swooning over his obvious love for me and my inevitable close friendship with karen o. but now, tickets go on sale to see stephen fry speak at the sydney opera house! the wonderful man of words, wit and wondrous neck ties is coming to speak in july. he could be my connection to david mitchell and hugh laurie.... still, other than that i am so excited to see the mans mind at work in person. squee!

you still might be able to get your hot qi loving hands on tickets. might have to go to the box office but i'm sure you can get them online. check out the official site here. hopefully we can have some post speech drinks and discuss the witticisms of the evening. i'm not drinking before hand, need to be completely sober and ready to absorb all the amazingness i can.

why wollongong sucks.

now, i have always been a lover of wollongong since i moved here and it really wasn't until today that i started hating on it. been missing my friends that (selfishly) moved away to have lives and uni careers outside of the south coast but i have never felt it more than today. the lovely and talented brian chase (from the yeah yeah yeahs) is playing a free lunchtime gig at the uni bar and no one here seems to care. strike one wollongong.

he is wonderful and a member of one of my fave and easily coolest bands in the world and people here are going, brian who? for shame! also, i had to park today almost in freaking figtree! was late for class when a douche bag wearing a volcolm shirt saying 'your mum is my other ride' called me an indie wanker, for no reason. wtf i wasn't even wearing or doing anything weird. strike two wollongong!

i was ready to go back to bed at this stage and in hind sight probably should have!

one more strike and you are out, to use my newly acquired baseball knowledge! gota say if this happens again i'm going to have to go on a killing spree and cull the area after an extensive music and fashion quiz/poll. failure means death! you have been warned.

but, like all things there is a good side to wollongong. work is fun! but, when you're sick and grumpy all the tedious tiny annoying things jump into focus. i'm sure it's the universes way of keeping you on your toes.

who do you think you are?

i'm seriously lucky to have a mum with facebook. you put up a little comment about watching, 'who do you think you are?' and wondering what is lurking in your dna. this is what i got back.

my ancestors were a heady mix of several convicts, lots of thieves, a madame and that's just in the 17 and 1800s. a few more colourful characters since then but, according to mum, all lines lead to ireland. four leaf clovers, guinness, leprechauns, binge drinking and casual violence. add to this a 15 year old convict who came to australia on the second fleet. when he died, 1839, he was recorded to be worth 11 million pounds. that's a lot of money now, back then he was a venerable bill gates.

just one wonderful story: my grandmother used to visit HER grandmother (my great-great grandmother) every sunday and at the insistence of her great-aunties was not allowed to tell her grandmother that her mother (ellen) had died. four months later old grannie was dead too. now, this is where things get hilarious. turns out, grandma (aka. eliza stephens) in her youth was arrested for 'keeping a disorderly house' and in 1870 was sentenced to 3 years, which she served in the uk and then immigrated to australia. married a nice wealthy farmer and proceeded to pump out 5 kids, the eldest being ellen. the name 'ellen' (which is my and my mums middle name) came from this line. mr. wealthy farmer's mother died when he was 10 years old and his younger sister was 2 years old; they were reportedly close and her name was ellen. he named his first daughter after is younger sister and it has stuck through generations.

anyway, this whole line goes back to the 15 year old kid that came out on the famous ship 'the scarborough' with the second fleet. that kids name was jonathan griffiths. follow that link for details but the cut down version is he was arrested for stealing 5 pounds worth of stuff and sentenced to 'seven years transportation'. he arrived on norfolk island in 1790 and began learning how to build ships. he moved to sydney in 1795 and later began building ships to use in the carriage of grain up and down the nsw coast. his family later relocated to victoria were the began farming and (oops unpc alert) whaling. he died in his 80th year with two wives (not at the same time, thank god), 9 children, a small fortune and an island off the coast of victoria named after him. 12 generations removed from me.....i feel quite insignificant after all that.

i'm so proud. no really, a madame and a self made millionaire, how cool is that?! this is all just my mums side of the family. god only knows what we might find on my dads side....we dare not look.

i really don't get the lesbian 'dress code'.

seriously! as i write this in the uni library, cause i ran out of internet again damn house md and its addictive episode goodness, i am stting opposite a very dykie looking lesbian. though can't be sure she really is gay but the crew cut and trucker singlet are indicators.

last night i went to the opening of the sydney travelling film festival and one of the two movies we watched was 'the topp twins: untouchable girls'. the film follows the lives and careers of new zealands finest yodelling, activist, rural lesbian twins. they were hilarious! their complete abandonment when it comes to performing is very endearing and leaves you forgetting and not even caring that they are so out of this world different.

still, the only problem with them is the way they choose to dress. come one, flannel is not a good look on a lady. BUT, for these two women it doesn't really matter. the crew cut hair and thick new zealand rural accent is actually charming. maybe because they are from the country is is more acceptable. if you are gay living in sydney, you have no excuse to not dress with some sense of femininity. it's as if they think dressing feminine comes from the love of a good penis....ummm somehow i don't think that is right.

anyway back to the topp's, an act like this would never find the level of fame and receive national love were they from australia. new zealand is very lucky in this respect. maybe it is because it is comparably such a small country but the topp twins in my mind seem to personify liberal thinking and acceptance that australia is severely lacking. these two women who have been openly gay from the very beginning of their public lives are truly beloved by all new zealands from every walk of life. from the big city gay scene to their rural home town cattle drive community.

these two women through their extensive advocacy work (anti-nuclear, gay rights, anti-apartheid, breast cancer awareness) make me feel terribly good to be a human being. still, the fact that had they been from rural australia they would never had reached the level of national fame that they do in new zealand. and THAT makes me ashamed to be australian. god bless new zealand.

beat the devil's tattoo!

to celebrate the fact that i can't afford a splendour in the grass tickets this year; ok so 'celebrate' might not be the right word. but anyway, the amazing line up has spawned sideshows! hooray sideshows!

next week tickets to the amazing american band, black rebel motorcycle club (brmc) sydney sideshow go on sale! can't wait! i have never seen this band live. their new album, 'beat the devil's tattoo' is rather wonderful the song of the album title is easily my favourite!

give them a listen here and if you dig that you can pick up a ticket to their sydney show here. if you beat me out of a ticket though i will kick you to death! also so getting some merch! woop!

i smoke, and i vote!

let me preface this post by saying, smoking is bad it causes cancer and i am under no allusions that there is hard scientific proof to back this up. i'm not stupid i know this. though, i do continue to smoke and yes i know THIS is stupid.

a massive hike in the tax on cigarettes began in new south wales last weekend. 2.5% is a lot in the grand scheme of things and the reasons behind this are highly questionable. the tax hike is posited by governments to be purely for health concerns. as though, smokes will now quit because per packet the price has risen about $1 per 25 pack. one, this won't work two, this also won't stop people taking up smoking and three, it isn't the only reason for the tax. there are other incentives to this tax that are far less noble than, 'we want the youth of australia to live long, happy, cancer free lives'.

we all know tobacco companies are evil. we as evil as mcdonalds yet the are perhaps less nasty than their modern day fast food friends. this is due mostly to restrictions governments around the world to undermine companies freedom to for example target their product to young consumers. this is a good thing. kids shouldn't be smoking. they are still developing physically and mentally; having such a vice at a young age IS dangerous.

the right to choose as an adult is a god given rite. if you want to eat meat then you do. if you don't want to own a hand gun then you don't. but upping the price of either of these products is not going to deter people from purchasing them.

the real reason behind the new tax has got to be far more consumer based. capitalism is more powerful than democracy in first world countries like australia or america. politicians and leaders understand this. people smoke tobacco, tobacco comanies make money and governments want a piece of the action. money is a far greater motive than interest in public health during a global economic crisis. why not be up font about this? why not say we want smokers money? well going into a federal election, smokers vote too.

we have come to expect this kind of underhandedness from our conservative liberal party leaders. but krudd, give us a break! why aren't you upping the price of your precious queensland beer xxxx? oooh right, cause its not at all addictive, harmful and doesn't have greater social implications. more aussies drink and vote than smoke and vote.

light up a cigarette for democracy! its your civic duty!

thank god for the abc!

as i resist the urge to start marching around my lounge room while i watch the annual sydney anzac day march; i've begun to contemplate my own possible military service. as some of you may know, i am considering finishing off my university/psychology qualifications through the australian armed forces. i have always thought serving my country in this way to be an incredibly noble and rewarding choice of employment.

there is nothing i can say in the post that can sum up what the men and women who are marching today other than, 'lest we forget'. today we take the time and give these humble patriots our respect. they, like their fallen comrades when asked by their country to give, gave their lives in the service of our small nation. even if you don't agree with the reasons behind why we go to war, soldiers deserve and should expect civilian respect. i suppose what today is about, respect. for us to take one day every year to be reminded of the sacrifice that unfortunately was essential to our nation being what it is today. the youth of this nation, that seems to be largely in disarray in a haze of american pop culture and bacardi breezers, yearly have their eyes opened to the big, bad, violent world of the past and present.

this is a good thing, and if they watch the parade on tv or in person this is one thing we can all agree on. or if all that goes over ignorant heads, there are always hott navy sailors....that can't be a bad thing surely.