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.