Chim Chiminy... Chim Chim, Uzi

This goes in the 'so wrong' basket.

Yes, I'm aware this is the sort of thing that should go on a site like Regret the Error, but The Australian really did screw up with this headline typo. It's not bad enough that there's another case of cultural insensitivity on the part of American soldiers + heightened sensitivity on the part of Iraqis, the newspaper has to screw up the headline.

Now I'm going to have visions of psychotic chimney sweeps stuck in my head. Mary Poppins better watch her back.

[The Australian: Slapped Iraqi soldier soots dead two US troops]

Yes they can!

[ICanHasCheezburger]

calm

I started writing an entry a few weeks ago, in which I explained that I felt like I was at sea.

I'm starting to realise I've been at sea for a few years now. I've been trying too hard to find that centre, pushing too hard against the current, getting lost nonetheless - or rather, because of my pushing. I got too tired recently of pushing; and went with the flow.

Even then, I've been irresponsible lately. My finances aren't shored up. My emotional state has been a wreck. My sanity a thread in a delapidated doily.

Tonight, though, for the very first time in a while, I feel calm. It's as if I'm coming to shore.

Guess it's time to find my land legs.

fa fa fa fa

(for those scratching their heads, watch this.)

Christianity in a nutshell

This photo is not doctored in any way - I think that's the best bit about the whole thing.

Forest at the Opera House

Apologies for taking so long to get this up, but I wasn't sure how to convey the feelings of the evening. Being such a staccato/legato experience, I figured it's easier to make it read almost like a haiku.

Outside. Rain.
In Line. Hipsters. Suburbanites. Bad Cowboy boots on one girl. Yelling Teenagers. "Ben!"
Inside. Foliage. Foliage. Construction v Nature. Smoke: columns, haze. Singer. Lost Masses. Contemplation of Outside and Inside.
Outside. Posters: 39 Steps - the Musical, Hamlet @ Belvoir.
Opera Bar Alien.
Home, James.

Gossip Girl: An OC-Lover's Guide

Josh Schwartz's latest project, Gossip Girl, has started showing in Australia, exclusively on cable.

I've been debating whether to write this post given there's so many (check out a few, below) others, especially this article doing practically the same thing.

The thing is, they're just a wee bit too simplistic. Sure, you can map most of the characters from the OC pretty easily to their Gossip Girl equivalents, e.g.

Marissa Cooper is cooler and more worldly as Serena van der Woodsen.



Kaitlin Cooper gets bigger exposure as Jenny Humphrey, as does Oliver as Chuck Bass:




Luke Ward has his equal in Nate Archibald:



There's also the 'trouble' with fathers: Nate's likes a little too much of a sniff of the coke , whereas Luke's is gay. The mapping is supposed to continue in the second season, with a storyline where he gets to see an older woman played by Central Park West's Mädchen Amick (remind you of anyone?):



Seth's first girlfriend, Anna Stern, becomes Dan's friend Vanessa Abrams:



Of course, Sandy Cohen translates Eastward as ex-rocker Rufus Humphrey



And his wife Kirsten becomes the love of Rufus' life, Lily van der Woodsen (cue the semi-incestuous storyline):



But that's when it gets more complicated. For example, Little Jenny's brother, Dan Humphrey, is a bit of a mix of Seth Cohen and Ryan Cooper:



Serena's best friend and Queen 'B', Blair Waldorf, is very much the mix of Summer and Julie Cooper Nichol:



Kiki, Julie and the Noopsies get younger as they turn into the girls' clique at St Jude's:



(FYI, I've missed a few of the secondary characters in the right-hand side of the photo).

The relationship between Dan and Serena is a blend of Summer and Seth and Ryan and Marissa, with all the angsty-ness, Dan's longstanding up-until-now-unrequited obsession with Serena, and the insider-outsider aspect of the relationship:




Similarly, the friendship between Blair and Serena isn't as reminiscent of the stick-by-you Summer and Marissa as the on-off semi-but-still-ultimate-BFFness of Kirsten and Julie:

JK-BS.jpg

And the relationship between Lily and Rufus is complicated by her courting of billionaire Bart Bass, a pseudo Caleb Nicholesque character:



Finally, Luke's relationship with Marissa in the first season of OC translates to childhood sweethearts Blair and Nate:



So, that's a really basic starting guide. You know, I love it.

[People.com: Gossip Girl: The New O.C.]
[Socialite Life: Chace Crawford Checks Out An Older Woman]
[meeVee: "Gossip Girl" - "The O.C." Without the Heart]
[Muckety: Gossip Girl resurrects OC themes]
[Metromix Chicago: 'Gossip Girl'... in 'The O.C.'?]
[NY Observer: The O.C. Goes N.Y.C.]

You like Gawker Stalker?

No way!*

I just found out about this 'even better' version that News Limited have created for World Youth Day:

http://twitter.com/popedownunder

Ya - you can totally follow the pope on his visit around Sydney. It's, like, so hot right now.

*For the record, I don't care much for Gawker Stalker. Nor the pope and his brood.

Oh, no you did-int...

I'll still go watch it. Still, this has to be one of the worst mental-image inducing headings I've come across in a long time.

PS. Has anyone else seen this lovely tip to To Kill A Mockingbird?

[The PEN15 Club]

dumb idea #3,938*

How about - 'let's set the slogan for the 2008 Republican Presidential campaign to the same one used by an anti-anxiety drug'?

Great move, John McCain! Almost as good as 'Mission Accomplished'...

* [Casualties in Iraq since 'Mission Accomplished']
[Huffington Post: Jason Linkins]

i can has lolpeoplez now.

i blinked, and lolcats all of a sudden became lolpeople.

it's fantastic - i especially love these two. i'm still waiting for the lolpriests, tho (scarletscorpio and cvm?)

[pundit kitchen]

Cuteness Friday

The sun is shining. I can't help it.

1. Star Wars, explained by a 3 year old



2. Hey Jude - one toddler's interpretation



I know. Oldies, but goodies.

bad pun land - know the difference

in this case, wong should be right.

wright, however, may not be.

introverted social media alien

for those of you that know me personally, you'll know i started working for a very interesting interactive agency a few months ago.

now that i've made the switch from software to online media and advertising, my life is even more focused on the online world, especially how I can contribute to the different spheres of online life. i've finally bought my first ever wireless modem/router the other day (unfortunately, i've not yet set up a broadband connection at home for a few rather annoying reasons). i've added myself to twitter and have updated my RSS feeds. I've made an effort to use facebook more often and acquaint myself with a whole heap of social networking tools. I've even managed to learn a lot about google analytics and development tools, and can talk about viral marketing best practice with some confidence.

if you'd asked me the difference between HTML, ASP and ASPX a month ago, i would have had a blank look on my face. Now - I may not be 100%, but i'm getting there. I'm able to tell you all the wireless hotspots within a km of my house. I can look at a site and pull apart its components in a few seconds.

Learning all this stuff comes at a price, however. I'm constantly exhausted, and the whole new household settling in thing isn't really helping. To add to it, I've been running around like crazy: networking, farewells, birthdays, celebrations, catching up with old friends, etc.

The thing is, I'm feeling a little done with it all. I'm constantly in contact with people, and as much as I love everyone, it's all a bit much. I don't feel like I'm adding anything to my life in the end, and I just want some time to myself. I need to work out how often I should tweet, blog or IM and what for. I need to know that when I get home, I won't be so exhausted I need to veg out for a good hour or two before I look up (that's assuming I get home before 10, which lately I haven't been doing often enough). It's just not that useful for my health, or life in general for that matter. I want to feel like I'm contributing something interesting, and not just floating along and watching life go past.

So, I'm slipping off the social radar for a little bit. My room needs a reorganise. I have books to read, plays to watch and films to catch up on. Oh, and I haven't been to the gym in god knows how long.

I'm not interested in going out to a bar every second night for the opening of an envelope. I'm not interested in sitting around watching the latest reality tv bore me with its inane host and pathetic contestants.

I'd much rather do a few things around the house, maybe catch up with the odd person, and recollect my thoughts. In other words, it's time to collect some social surplus. Maybe then I'll have something truly stimulating to contribute.

if only madonna had been as popular when chornobyl exploded

I'm completely bemused, even if a little wary, by this latest round of celebrities sticking their noses into politics.

I mean, it was amusing when Madonna decided to save the world from nuclear waste with magic Kabbalah juice. It kinda makes sense that, as director of the STC, Cate Blanchett would be part of the 2020 summit, especially with regard to Arts. But Shakira, advising the British Prime Minister on educating the developing world?

Next up: Jordan (sorry, Katie Price) advising Thabo Mbeki on hygiene best practices for South African hospitals.

times like these, i need a cocktail

or five.

stupid me went on a date, and proceeded to be a total fool.

how do i explain this? i went for a lovely drink at one of my favourite establishments, met a lovely guy, you know the game. we went on a date to my current fave venue on king st, in newtown.

a few drinks in, we decided to go for a nightcap at the marlborough. while we were chatting away amicably, i went for the kiss.

except he stepped back.

i tried badly to recompose myself. after a minute or two, even managed to get the conversation going again. half an hour later, he dropped me off at mine.

i feel like such a moron, but i'm even more confused by the fact that the 'date' continued after my gaffe. i have no idea what to make of this whole thing.

on the up side, it is my first date in a while. maybe it's just like that first job interview after working in a role for years - it's like practice for the serious jobs you want to go for later. or else, it just proves that i truly am a masochist.

a case of the bloody obvious, please

Hmm... unusual day, creative activities, enjoying myself? No way - not on April Fool's...

Turns out not everyone wants to f**k you like an animal...

I'm not a fan of the RIAA or the MPAA or any of those fan-hating, moneygrubbing organisations whose sole existence seems to be to hunt down anyone and everyone to squeeze them for every penny.

So imagine my delight at reading this. It's actually something of interest that every muso who thinks that they must let the industry dictate how they distribute their tunes should read. Oh, and it may mean the occasional artist may get a little less precious about their intellectual property - hear that, Prince?

Which would you choose?*

*hint: gift ideas ahead.

I've blogged before about how much I adore Claudia introducing me to Cat and Girl.

Now, even though I'm stone broke from moving house and paying off an innumerable amount of bills, while waiting for some stuff to be completed at work, I did what one does when one is in such a hideous financial state: went window shopping on webstores for new t-shirts. And apart from the "dead presidents doing the Thriller" dance or "Ninjas can't catch you" t-shirts on the Dr McNinja store, pretty much everything is on the Cat and Girl store.

Of course, this comes to the most horrible of dilemmas: which one should I get?

There's the Future Corpses of America:



The There is no God:



Or The Babysitters' Club:



I mean, it's a really, REALLY difficult decision.

I guess this would be the Phil Donahue post

I came across two very interesting situations the other week. I'll try to keep as general as possible, as I don't want to name names.

A friend had her 'mother-in-law' accuse her of being the overly dominant one in her relationship, inhibiting her boyfriend's potential in life. The mother decided to do this at a dinner party, in front of the boyfriend's family.

Another friend, who has been dating a guy eighteen years his senior, has decided to break it off with his 'hot daddy' because he's uncomfortable with the thought of what his parents would think of his relationship - especially given the boyfriend has more in common agewise with them than with their son.

It seems like parents have this outdated model of masculinity they use to measure their children's relationships by. Basically, their son must call all the shots - or at least, pretend to listen to their partner's needs, then make the call as befits their own specific needs. There's no room in this vision for the other partner's goals or needs (if they get in the way of their son's), and their child's partner definitely should not in any way hold any power over their son - whether that be in terms of age, social standing, or financial status.

The thing they tend to forget is that relationships are full of all sorts of inequalities. The disparities in knowledge, emotional maturity, experience (in every aspect of life), income, age, ethnicity or subcultural alignment... whatever. They are what makes the relationship interesting, what attracts us to our partners. And yes, they can result in situations where one partner exerts a dominant role over the other. Maybe it's just the foucauldean in me, but one would hope that in a good relationship, these roles switch at times and reach a general equilibrium of some sort.

I guess the scary thought is that it's not just parents who harbour these assumptions - people will risk their own happiness by accepting them. Sides, provided you have a family, they will accept your partner (in some way) once they realise just how much you care for each other.

(This last point doesn't justify some family members' expectations that their son's partner needs to demonstrate love for their son in order to meet their approval).

Fuck, i'm such a hopeless romantic.