What's Up?

Play 

Pottermore.com. This is where all the cool kids are. The illustrations are beautiful and there is EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. I would say it's pretty much perfect, but I wish to be able change my avatar. You see, I didn't realise there were two pages at the pet store and if I had seen page two, I would have bought a TOAD - because that would have been INDIE. 

I would like to publicly tell the world how lame I am - dude, I had to get a WALKTHROUGH in order to find my shopping list and to cast a spell. But then after I finished the Philosopher's Stone, I went back to the beginning with expert knowledge. 

I would also like to tell y'all about one of those moments Indies find themselves in ALL THE TIME. So I went to my friend's house right and I was excitedly telling her about Pottermore as though she wouldn't be knowing about it. And she was like, Yeah, I've been on for, like, a year (id est) as part of the BETA.

Watch

Sliding Doors, starring Gwyneth Paltrow whom my above friend is not a fan of just because she's not a fan of the movie Emma, just because she is not a fan of Jane Austen. 

So in this movie, the main character is called Helen and she's having a bad day and then she's wanting to catch the underground. And the theme is WHAT IF she had or had not been able to catch it. But the flicking back and forth between the two Helens is not at all confusing because of her HAIRCUT TRANSFORMATION. There's a cheesy hospital scene, but there are some really good QUOTE WORTHY lines and there is a TWIST at the end.

GROW

Usually when I buy plants to cultivate, they end up dying.

READ

The Tao of Physics (An exploration of the parallels between modern physics and Eastern mysticism) by Fritjof Capra 1975/1983. Seeing as it goes into relativity theory and quantum theory, this book should be quite difficult reading. However, the font in the copy I am reading makes me read faster than I normally do, and I would have to say it's the best font I've ever encountered for a regular sized book. 

(And on an aside, I think that these days books are made too big/ too small. I wish all books were the size of the Penguin Classics with the BLACK background!) 

I haven't yet gotten to the part of the book that talks about the serious parallels, but what I've learned so far is that one of the similarities between the two is that the deepest concepts have to be EXPERIENCED and cannot be expressed through words. 

And in this book there are lots of quotes by Lao Tzu. 

I picked this book off the school library shelf a) in the hope it would make the "penny drop" for physics, and b) because I wanted to be able to judge how hippy my ideas about the way the world works are.

The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami is actually a novel I will study this term for World Literature. It's quite a strange book and it's made up of all these short stories (all by the author) which are snippets into someone's life where a bizarre/unusual occurrence occurs. In this way, the author is QUESTIONING NORMALCY. Yeah. And there was this super short 4-5 page story called 'The Little Green Monster' and I had NIGHTMARES for two night.

But anyway, if you like beer (which you probably do because you're an Indie), you'll like this book.

EAT

I'm in search of the perfect ANZAC biscuit.

Also, congratulations to the Simpson Prize winning students who spoke at the ANZAC Day service at Lone Pine. Phyllida Behm, you are officially an Indie Icon. To use an expression, you rock a certain style.

And that's because I say so.

And from my television at home, the dawn service at ANZAC Cove and the Lone Pine service looked UNREAL.

Get Into

Okay, everyone's sad because Sammy died and now Dance Academy Season Two is over. But SERIOUSLY, GUYS, you've got to get into Young Dracula Season Three. 

The seriously ANGSTY Vladimir Dracula is a little bit older and he's out to save the world. One of the things I love about this show is how the crudeness of the vampire world is meant to be funny but the humour is not crude. Do you get what I mean? No, you don't. Anyway, Vladimir's now got all these cool powers and the moral of the story is that love conquers all. 

Also, while I was watching the first episode, I was eating this really great sandwich which was of fresh sourdough baguette spread with harissa and filled with halloumi and rocket.

Argh! My holidays are over! I go back to school tomorrow. I don't know how I'm going to keep up with Young Dracula. Maybe I'll have to watch it on iview in the library during lunch/in my free periods.

I'll Be There For You!!

Here is a list of some of what has been going around in my mind the past couple of days:

1. Television Shows
2. Alter Egos (haha, I'm thinking about the ones I used to look at on the Daria website!)
3. Whether one can successfully liken TV characters to dishes at Yum Cha.

Of these three, I should like to talk about Number One. And in particular, the degree of catchiness and effectiveness of the theme-song. (Are they even called theme-songs? You know, the song that plays with the title! Title-song?)

Here are some that came to my mind quickly:

1. Postman Pat: 360 degrees for having left such a strong impression. If I were to temporarily lose my memory, it would be one of the first things to come back;
2. Dance Academy: Sadly I can only say 270 degrees. This is because the song fails to capture the historic vibe of Sydney, which one does, in fact, feel when watching the street scenes;
3. Summer in Transylvania: Guys, there isn't a second season. This is a cause for sadness. This show has one of my all-time favourite theme-songs! But should I give it 360 degrees when the title page looks kind of homemade? This show cracks me up - every episode Summer was looking for some romance and a chance to get popular;
4. Dead Gorgeous: This is what I call a good, wholesome television show for big-kids. The theme-song is catchy but, look, take this from a fan, the song is too uncool - it's actually more uncool than the show itself.
5. Daria: I haven't watched this show in years. If I had a recording of Mystik Spiral's song, I'd play it everyday. 360 degrees.
6. Friends: 360 degrees. It's truly got a special place in today's culture. Question - what would happen if one went to a busy public place and blasted out a recording of "I'll Be There For You"?
7. Community: is to be awarded zero degrees/F grade for it's theme-song. Nice attempt at one, either you actually don't have one or it is just so unmemorable that I can't remember it. (I remember the paper-folding, though)

On an aside - Dubstep music. It kind of reflects how modern culture is so influenced by TV shows and video games that they have become inseparable with modern identity. 

And then now something that has come to the population from the media is  being sent back into the media.

Is this ironic?

Another aside - ALERT - the TV show on ABC 3 called The Assistants. It is possibly the most appalling show that channel airs. You know all those things people call inappropriate for children's shows and in very poor taste? The Assistants takes it to the next level and portrays these bad values in a good light. I have only seen one episode and I was shocked. If you are interested in this cause, you should only have to read a synopsis.