Time to pretend.
You’re not the only one honey!
And now, direct from MySpace, we have a new random playlist:
IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here’s how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend your cool…just type it in man!
Opening Credits:
Don’t Stand So Close To Me – The Police
Waking up:
Ballad Of The Beaconsfield Miners – Foo Fighters
First Day At School:
Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes
Falling In Love:
Thinking of You – The Colourfield
Fight Song:
Pieces of What – MGMT
Breaking Up:
Universally Speaking – Red Hot Chili Peppers
Prom:
The Take Over, The Break’s Over – Fall Out Boy
Life:
Informal Gluttony – Between The Buried And Me
Mental Breakdown:
The Flame of Youth – DragonForce
Driving:
Maktens spita – Finntroll
Getting Back Together:
Bare My Teach – Converge
Wedding:
It’s No Good – Depeche Mode
Birth of Child:
Karma Chameleon – Culture Club
Death Scene:
Mesopotamia – The B-52’s
Funeral Song:
Destroyed – Within Temptation
End Credits:
(And She Said) Take Me Now – Justin Timberlake
Christmas in October.
Moped Santa – in a hurry again this year.
So last week I was in a department store in the city, and couldn’t help but notice the amount of Christmas items on display; tinsel, baubles, Christmas themed chocolates and trees. This week I was staring out of the window of the bus on the way home and I noticed many a Christmas decorated lamp post and stobie pole. You know, where the city streets suddenly become covered in tinsel, fake mistletoe and over sized baubles, stars and reindeer? And then I thought to myself, it’s only October!
I often overhear people saying that Christmas keeps coming earlier, every year. But I think Christmas has arrived this early for as long as I remember. The stores want to sell as much Christmas paraphernalia as they can, and putting up street decorations earlier might draw attention away from problems such as graffiti, lack of bus shelters and uneven footpaths. You might even call this a win/win situation.
But throughout this entire lead up to ‘Commercialmas’ we see and hear little of the ‘true meaning of Christmas’, the birth of Jesus Christ. This is not surprising given the changing nature of Australian society. According to the 2006 Census, only 64 per cent of Australians consider themselves to be Christian. This is a significant drop from the first national census in 1901 where 96 per cent of the then population said they were Christian. Of course, the growing influence of ‘Jedi’ as a religious movement in Australia can surely take some of the blame (see this media release).
Whether we are celebrating commercialism, or the birth of a religious figure, Christmas is a time to celebrate the end of the year with family and friends. If shops want to put certain items on sale, and if councils want to put up decorations earlier, what does it matter? If you don’t like it, don’t buy the stuff, or go and live in a communist country! Happy Commercialmas everbody! : )
You are what you eat.
McDonald’s Vs Hungry Jack’s – whose fries reign supreme?
If you’re like me, you occasionally stumble into a fast food outlet seeking sustenance. Now we all can’t help to occasionally visit one of two very similar outlets, McDonald’s and Hungry Jack’s. Both sell the not all too uncommon fast food phenomenon of the burger and fries. One of these outlets – Hungry Jack’s (the Australian arm of the evil fat inducing Burger King Corporation) claims in its advertisements that “the burgers are better at Hungry Jack’s”. This may well be true, but we’ve heard enough of the burgers, what about the fries?
Well, at Hungry Jack’s, where allegedly the “burgers are better”, the fries are dry and devoid of taste. You wonder how old the oil they cooked them in are. If you are crazy enough to consume an entire serving of these fries then you might surely want to vomit. A visit to the irregularly cleaned Hungry Jack’s restrooms will inform you that someone already has.
At McDonald’s on the otherhand, the fries are gold and crisp. The oil they are cooked in is definitely fresh, or contains some toxic chemical to keep it fresh for longer. After being submerged in the cocktail of deadly molten chemicals, the fries are coated in so much salt that you think the Dead Sea is a freshwater oasis in comparison. But it tastes so good, you don’t even care.
So in conclusion: The burgers may be better at Hungry Jack’s, but the fries are better at McDonald’s! But why bother when you could just go and buy some tasty and healthy sushi instead?
And now I think it’s time for another music playlist:
1. Panic! At the Disco – But It’s Better If You Do
2. MGMT – Kids
3. Depeche Mode – John the Revelator
4. Sam Sparro – Black & Gold
5. Stream of Passion – Spellbound
6. Kylie Minogue – In My Arms
7. The Cure – Strange Attraction
8. Nighwish – Moondance
9. September – Cry For You
10. Rihanna – Take A Bow
Only in America.
American Kath & Kim – really not very good.
A long awaited television screening happened on Sunday night – the American rendition of cult homegrown show Kath & Kim. If you didn’t catch it, then this promo should give you some idea of what the American version is like. But to really know how the American version compares to the original Australian series, you will of course, have to watch it for yourself.
BUT DON’T BOTHER.
The American version of this show is terrible. At times it almost seems more like 90210, The O.C. or Ugly Betty. The Bold and the Beautiful perhaps? It has a familiar U.S. television format, essentially the modern dramady – a combination of a drama and a comedy, with moments of drama between characters and events contrasted with constant light humour. The characters are attractive and affluent to the extreme. The characterisation of Selma Blair as Kim is entirely unoriginal, and underplayed. Sorry Selma, you just haven’t got what it takes! The important bond between Kath & Kim in this series just isn’t there, and the dialogue between them can only be described as mundane. The overuse of cheesy comedic ploys such as Craig’s (Brett) dog chasing a cat through Kath’s flower bed and the constant eye-rolling of Kim fails to impress.
Several characters have been renamed. Kel Knight is now Phil Knight and Brett is now Craig. Oh, and Mr. Knight now sells sandwiches instead of meats. Okay, we can cope with these changes. But what’s the point?
Without the dynamic comedic energy of Jane Turner and Gina Riley, the show lacks heart, soul and rythm. Turner and Riley held up a mirror to the average Australian suburbanite. The Australian version truly was non-stop over-the-top, in-your-face comedic go-go-go, and we loved it! This American remake just fails to live up to the original. I miss my horny hornbags from Fountain Lakes!!
Perhaps the most unforgivable aspect of the whole conundrum is the absence of one of the important characters, Sharon. Without her, what chance does Blair have of doing the character of Kim justice? Kim needs her ’second best friend’ and this show needs a Sharon, or better yet, to get canned.
Leave it to the Aussies!!!
And yes, it’s good to be back. I’d almost forgotten that blogging is a lot of fun!!!
See you soon. : )
Perception of reality.
Reality TV.
After all the public complaining and academic argument and axing of shows like Big Brother, it isn’t dead yet! Perhaps reality TV in Australia has become more appropriate to the public following the ‘turkey slapping’ incident of Big Brother a few years ago, but the reality TV of today is more stupid than ever. By stupid I mean, it is surely aimed at an audience of Bogans who have killed of most of their brain cells through over-exposure to the mass media!
Tonight I was watching ‘Taken Out’ on channel 10. I was curious. I shouldn’t have bothered. It was perhaps the most stupid show I have ever watched, or one of them at least. It involves a panel of somewhat attractive (extremely dumb) women who must decide if they want to go on a date with a bachelor who is usually even dumber than the women, if that’s even possible! The entire show is obviously contrived. They hurl insults at each other like “you need to grow up”, “you look too old” and “you’re just not my type”. The first guy rejected the only girl who was willing to date him. I could go on some more about this terrible piece of trash but I think I’ll move on.
After this, Australian Idol screened at 7.30. When this show first appeared on our screens I used to watch it regularly. Furthermore, I used to enjoy it, to some extent at least. The format is now extremely lame, the judges heap endless pleasantries on the mediocre contestants and they’ve now enlisted the help of former contestant Ricki-Lee to provide mindless innuendo when interviewing the performers. It’s just trash. It’s not even entertaining anymore.
I’ll leave you today with a music playlist (Fav songs atm):
1. The Cure – Mint Car
2. Frank Sinatra – Luck Be a Lady
3. Echo & the Bunnymen – The Killing Moon
4. Nightwish – The Phantom of the Opera
5. Rise Against – Life Less Frightening
6. ABC – Poison Arrow
7. Depeche Mode – A Question of Lust
8. Rihanna – SOS
9. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – If You Leave
10. ABBA – Mamma Mia
Weather-wise it’s such a lovely day.
“Friendships last when each friend thinks he has a slight superiority over the other.”
- Honore Debalazac
Someone recently drew my attention to this quote, I don’t know who Honore Debalazac is but it’s an interesting quote.
The concept of superiority is an interesting one. In my experience a friendship where each person thinks they have superiority over the other is unlikely to be an especially enduring friendship. Eventually one or both of the people will get fed up with it.
I can remember one friendship in particular where this happened. Every time we were closest he would come to think he was superior and start being unpleasant or ditching me for ‘cooler’ people. Then we’d start fighting and wouldn’t talk for a while but then somehow we became friends again later on. This vicious cycle lasted for nearly three years until I became so fed up that I said “stop acting like you’re better than me, you’re not!!!” or something. The way I said it and everything was so harsh, this was two years ago, and I haven’t spoken to him since.
Of course that’s all in the past.
At the moment I’m wondering how I can be a good friend. Because truth is, I don’t feel like I have a really, really close friendship with anyone. Sometimes when you go out with someone and then break up it ruins your chances of continuing the friendship that you may have once had before you went out, or during the relationship. I know this has happened to me this year. It really sucks, because if you went out with the person, then you know that you could have a really good friendship. Why does it have to be so hard?
Today I did a lot of driving. All around town, including the “middle of nowhere”. The “middle of nowhere” is surprisingly pleasant, and filled with beautiful homes. And with a car, it’s not really all that far away.
So today’s pic is metaphoric. This is how life feels like sometimes. And I love the irony between this and the title of this post. (Frank Sinatra – Come Fly with Me) Because Frank Sinatra makes the best cruisin’ beats!
If I listen to it, it probably isn’t emo.
So to elaborate on my last post, Panic! At the Disco are NOT an emo band! They even said that “emo is bullshit” during an interview.
The new album, Pretty. Odd. is no where near as good as A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. The new album is very generic, sounding like some fail version of Maroon 5. But still, a few of the songs are alright. Nine in the Afternoon for instance is kind of catchy.
Don’t know why they dropped the exclamation mark though. Perhaps it just demonstrating how boring their new music is compared to the thrills of A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.
I’m really liking Nightwish at the moment. Today someone (a friend) said that Ghost Love Score (gls) is an emo song. What an outrage! The mere suggestion that gls is just another emo anthem nearly makes my skin crawl… well nearly. Their best album would have to be Dark Passion Play, with the new singer Anette. Yeah, tis good.
So today, I finished my Journalism assignment, which was alright, and then just neglected my Global Societies essay which was due today. I just can’t do it. The topic is so stupid. Something about citizenship and identity… Hopefully I’ll do it over the weekend and not lose too many marks.
This week I got 5/10 in the news quiz, which I’m very happy with considering I read almost no news the previous week. Sometimes it feels like this:
Fare thee well. 
It’s nice to say hello.
Quick post today. I have to go and pick up my mum from work at 5.
Today I slept late, then got up and did some banking.
The iTunes party shuffle function seems to be pleasing me at last. Too much Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco though. I’M NOT AN EMO! Is that what those two bands are, emo? I didn’t really think so, but according to Last.fm they are. I always thought emo music would be more depressing. I suppose extremely depressing emo music does exist, but I’m yet to hear it.
I’ll leave you with my recent playlist, from this afternoon. The most recent are at the top.
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana
Lullaby – The Cure
Listening – Pseudo Echo
Useless – Depeche Mode
Golden – Fall Out Boy
Love Missile F1-11 – Sigue Sigue Sputnik
In the End – Linkin Park
Eyes Without a Face – Billy Idol
(very long name) – Panic! At the Disco
Why Can’t I Be You? – The Cure
White Wedding – Billy Idol
40′ – Franz Ferdinand
Warsaw – Joy Division
Downhearted – Australian Crawl
Mysterious Ways – U2
Bang The Doldrums – Fall Out Boy
Rebel Yell – Billy Idol
k gtg. :]
Positive thoughts in, negative thoughts out.
It’s Thursday night. I would go to bed now but I need to stop neglecting this blog.
My week ends on Wednesday night, and begins again on Thursday morning.
This is because as a uni student, I don’t have to attend uni every day of the week. Just Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. So Wednesday night, after I finish my day at uni, I feel like it is the end of the week.
This is only the third week of this timetable, and I still haven’t decided what to do with the remaining four days of my week. I need a job.
I no longer have a social life. It occurred to me today how isolated I am at the moment. Trying to make friends at uni just seems like high school all over again, and if there are people spreading malicious rumours behind my back, I wouldn’t be surprised.
My pessimistic attitude needs to go!
I have friends at uni, sort of. It’s just that I’m not very close with them. The one guy there who I thought things were going well with started ignoring me. He hasn’t responded to two messages in the last few weeks. This last week he arrived at the first lecture really late, and sat at the end of a row so there was no chance of me sitting next to him for a chat. He skipped the second lecture altogether. This was odd, he never skips anything. It’s not like I should care, he’s antisocial and a bit strange anyway. His head is always buried in a book, like an excuse for people not to talk to him or something. We went and saw Get Smart together a couple of months ago. I admit that I neglected him a bit after that, just because he seemed busy, and I had other things to do. Anyway, this week, I want an explanation.
And he won’t see this. Because he doesn’t use the internet. (And I made it so you can’t find it in google.)
All this talk of uni, brings me to the guest speaker for Media Contexts on Tuesday. He was a journalist from India, in his early 60’s. I found his talk to be the most inspirational lecture since i started this degree. He emphasized the importance of learning, stating that, “If there came a day when I had nothing left to learn, then I would die.” He talked about citizen journalism, in particular online. He himself contributes articles for a blog! He doesn’t get paid for this, he just enjoys doing it. Throughout his career he has gone out of his way to report on issues that would rarely get more than a single article, using the example of two teenage boys who died of excessive alcohol consumption. He emphasized that it is important that all people have a voice, and I agree with him.
At the end of the lecture he got us to do a little breathing exercise. We closed our eyes for this. As we breathed in we thought “positive thoughts in”, and as we breathed out we thought “positive thoughts out”
I must admit, it did made me feel better.
Here is an image from failblog.org:
This is timely, with the recent closure of all three Starbucks outlets in Adelaide. Lest We Forget.
Did you know that the worlds oldest blogger recently died at age 108? She was full of life right until the end. She embraced new technology as well!
ABC NEWS – World’s oldest blogger dies at 108
Until nextime!
