GOLDEN TICKET

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I feel like Charlie from Charlie & the Chocolate Factory when he found his golden ticket! Received tickets to the filming of Oprah's one of two Australian shows! SO EXCITED! She is an amazing woman with amazing hair (can't wait to see it in person!). 

Am taking my sister who took is a bit skeptical of the whole idea but free flights (a very generous Christmas present) softened her up! 

Destination: Paris

Australia's first female Prime Minister!

www.globalctint.com

Today is an important day for all Australians as Julia Gillard has been chosen by the Labor caucus as the first female Prime Minister. While it is a landmark, the manner in which her rise has occurred leaves me feeling sorry for Kevin Rudd who was elected on a wave of excitement and anticipation of the changes to come.


KRudd will be remembered for his apology to the Stolen Generation, as well as overturning WorkChoices. Despite these improvements, a number of important policy backflips (immigration, ETS, etc., etc.) and policy changes (the mining supertax) rendered Rudd's often frenzied leadership open to criticism. These criticisms came from many corners. The most complex analysis of Rudd's rise to power came in David Marr's Monthly Essay which contended that Rudd's political persona can be explained at least partially by his experiences as a child which brought about a so-called "inner rage". As questions began to be asked about KRudd's leadership, his composure seemed to dissapate. 


Don't get me wrong, I am happy to see Gillard obtain such wide support from her Labor colleagues. The big test, however, is whether Australians will directly elect Julia at the election later this year. This makes for a very interesting election campaign. No doubt, Abbott will struggle to campaign against Gillard. I look forward to Abbott putting his foot in it. 

WORLD CUP FEVER!

I'm a huge FOOTBALL fan (real football aka The World Game). It is universal and enthralling, especially when the World Cup comes around every four years. Thanks to global migration post-WWII, my allegiance is split between: 1. Australia 2. Italy 3. Argentina.

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While the Socceroos fought valiantly in their final two group matches, 2010 isn't their World Cup. The FFA now need to focus on developing young players to replace players like Kewell and Emerton. As the oldest team in tournament, Italy have failed to provide much excitement or entertainment. Of all my allegiances, Argentina is looking the most promising to take out the highest accolade in football. Add to that the fact that their coach is the most enthralling and compelling figure (some say caricature) in international football. Watching Maradona on the sidelines is like watching a train crash in slow motion, the guy just exudes a vibe reminiscent of a Greek Tragedy! 


Are you enjoying the World Cup? 

Blogger Confidential

So this post should really be called Blogger Confidentiality but I thought blogger confidential sounded better. Call me vain and throw me in a pot of boiling water. So be it.

Anyway, I grapple with the blogger thing. I would like to do outfit posts but am worried about revealing too much of myself via the internet. To put this in perspective, I nearly died last week when I realised my privacy settings on facebook were not, in fact, very private at all. This problem was quickly rectified.

This is why I found the latest post by Stylelines really refreshing - the lovely Kat George posted a 'normal' yet very pretty picture of herself. I'm sick of the uber polished, dressed to perfection photos common on many fashion blogs and just want to see some normal people wearing normal outfits. I'm sure most style bloggers photoshop and 'fix up' their outfit photos before posting.

While these are two distinct issues, I feel they are connected. Are fashion blogs, and other social media mediums just a means for us to show others how perfect our lives are? How much should we reveal of ourselves on the internet?

To all the bloggers out there, tell me, how do you decide what is and what is not appropriate to reveal on the net?

Splendour in the grass 2010

So the Splendour line up was announced yesterday and I can describe it in one word, ok maybe two: freakishly amazing! So many great Australian and international artists! Then i sussed out ticket prices: freakishly expensive! So my dream of attending Splendour 2010 was shortlived when tickets, flights, accomodation were all factored in. Oh well, the feeling was good while it lasted!

Anyone planning on trying to get a ticket?

I want ...

I want ...  this jacket. I know I can't have it. It is probably too 'out there' for me anyhow. There's just something about it, a Victorian vibe that I get.

Pic: violentgreen.blogspot.com

xoxo

Love: Popular Penguins

Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically. The cataclysm has happened, we are among the ruins, we start to build up new little habitats, to have new little hopes. It is rather hard work: there is now no smooth road into the future: but we go round, or scramble over the obstacles. We've got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen. - Lady Chatterley's Lover

I love books. Especially books I am excited and motivated to read unlike the oversized casebooks and water management textbooks currently cluttering up my desk! Sigh, the joys of studenthood.

Since the middle of last year I have been developing quite the collection of Popular Penguins, both new and old. At $9.95 a pop, they are truly affordable. I try to pick out one new book a week, in addition to scouring opp shops and savers for bargain books. Was excited to hear that the new range of Popular Penguins is being released in July 2010 - not long to go now! Some fantastic titles and new discoveries are to be found. 

Here is a list of my picks: 

The Beautiful and the Damned (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

The Poems of John Keats (J. Keats maybe)

Scoop (Evelyn Waugh - this is my favourite book - incredibly funny!)

Washington Square (Henry James)

any many many more! Check them out here!

Currently reading: Lady Chatterley's Lover

How refreshing!

Sometimes I wonder how all the fashionistas attend the s/s fashion shows in what looks like one layer of clothing when it is obviously winter in ny/paris/london. Well it seems that mother nature has had her sweet revenge this NY fashion week.* Shin deep snow in the lead up to fashion week and cold weather has seen editors, stylists, bloggers, and celebs stack on the layers. Warm winter dressing never looked so good. As the pictures above show, piling on the layers can be fun and can work!  

Pics: style.com; style.com; modelsoffduty.com

*Please excuse the undertones (or overtones depending on how you read it) of schadenfreude. I am bitter and twisted. 

Bright Star & Keats

A 24 hour thoroughly stressful and unenjoyable trip from venezia to melbourne was sweetened not only by the 4 valium tablets i took for my severe fear of flying, but also by being able to watch Bright Star. When those slightly annoying airline intros that come after the all important safety instructions were finished, I hastily turned my in-flight entertainment device onto a film which I had been eager to see since it's release in Australia in December. Jane Campion's movie surrounds the love affair between romantic poet John Keats (Ben Whishaw) and the strong-willed Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). It is a beautifully shot film with amazing costumes and sets. I am a sucker for costume dramas hence my devotion to period films, not to mention BBC dramas!

My sister and I were lucky enough to visit the Keats museum when we were recently in Rome. Despite consisting of only four small rooms (the rooms in which Keats lived for the five or so weeks before he died), it is packed full of information on Keats' life, upbringing and family, as well as information on his contemporaries, Byron and Shelley. After taking in all this information, we relaxed in the main room where the poetry of Keats, Shelley, and Byron is on hand to read. Ideal for a cold and dreary afternoon in Roma!  

If you haven't seen Bright Star already, go and see it! Ditto if you find yourself at the Spanish Steps with a spare couple of hours!

Picture: www.brightstar-movie.com

One of those day...

You know those days where your hair doesn't sit right? 

Or where you are still waking up at 3 am craving a 3 course Italian meal due to a severe case of jetlag?

Or where your alarm doesn't go off and you wake up 30 minutes after you're shift started?* 

Or where your sister steals your salvatores even though you are trying to keep them looking nice and you specifically asked her NOT to wear them?  

We all have those days right??? Well, these days are making me mental and it seems that one or three bombay and tonics on ice at 2 pm is the only thing that will make you feel better. 

Today is just one of those days...

*Does not tend to happen to the unemployed like me. 

 

I'M BACK

So I have decided to give this blogging thing another shot. I even have my own camera now. It isn't anything flash and I'm still working out how to us it properly. My return may or may not last, who knows? I like to keep you all guessing!

I have just returned from a two month European jaunt, full of frolics in the snow (complete with frozen toes), new friends, and unexpected gunshot wounds. All the lot of the Aussie backpacker I assume. 

As every traveller experiences, being home is difficult. I'm bored, tired (due to lack of sleep) and unemployed. This has meant that I am actually looking forward to going back to uni in two weeks time, probably the first time I have ever said this. 

Anywoo, just wanted to write a quick note to say "I'm back" and "stay tuned".

Love from the other side of the blogosphere!