Day 193: July 31

From the newsdesk...

Happy birthday Jo (and Harry)

Dear Jo,

First off, happy birthday. The purpose for writing this letter isn't solely to wish you a happy day for when you were born; it's a thank you letter. 

Thank-you for writing. Thank you for being on that train that day and putting down the idea of Harry Potter on the that serviette (or napkin - what do they call it in England?). Thank you for creating our favourite red head family - to the tricks the twins play to Ron's fear of spiders (why couldn't it be follow the butterflies?) to Mrs. Weasley's 'NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH' one-liner that had the whole cinema cheering. Thank you for creating the Malfoy's, a family that just mirrors our reality. Thank you for creating Lily and James and McGonagall and Dumbledore and Snape. Always. Thanks for creating Hermione to show us that girls can be warriors to and thanks for Lupin and Tonks and Mad-Eye and Luna to show that different is good. Finally, thank you for Harry. We saw him (and Dan) grow up from a small boy whp lived under the stairs to a man who duelled with Voldy. As it is said 'there won't be a person in this world who won't know his name'.

Thanks for Hogwarts and Hogsmeade and Azkaban. Thanks for all the time and effort and energy you have put into this series of books. 

I remember when I was about 9, and my older sister was reading Harry Potter and my mom said to me "oh, why don't you read this?" and I looked over at the book and I said to her "No, it looks bad". And if I could take back any words I've said, it would be this. I think maybe a few months later, I thought to myself, why not? I started the Philosopher's Stone - and never looked back. 

I remember going to line up for the last book. We had a countdown and we took it straight back home and my sister read it in 9 hours straight. I took it from her and devoured it. It was like I had been waiting for a part of my childhood to come along and this was it. I finished it. And you never once let us down Jo; not once. 

One more thing I remember is the premiere of the last movie. The last ever Harry Potter movie to show in cinemas. I went to the midnight screening with my best friend of the time, my younger sister (who had since become obsessed) and her friend. We dressed up; I was Hermione and my sister was Luna. We walked in and see Ron's, Harry's, Weasley twins, a Lucius and even a Malfoy. The atmosphere was brilliant. We went into the cinema and the movie started. I think it was about two hours. People cried, people laughed. I certainly laughed, but I didn't cry. I just watched the movie, reliving everything from the books. And then it finished. We just sat there for about ten minutes, taking it in. NO MORE MOVIES. But then I thought, I've got the books. They're taken me through 5 years of my life and they will continue to do that. 

So Joanne (Kathleen), thank you for my childhood. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By extension, happy birthday to Harry Potter. 

To the Boy Who Lived, 

Thanks for the years of laughter and fun and tears and spells and magic and flying and Polyjuice Potion and crying and Ford Anjelicas and transfiguration and the Snitch and Fluffy and Fang and fights and duels and you pretending to be dead and your glasses and your scar and just you. 

Thanks for being apart of my childhood. 

---------------------------------------------------

On a really unrelated note, I cut my hair!! Since I came to Australia (2005) I have had long hair and I was just getting really sick of it and it was just there I wanted it cut. For once I actually like my hair cut. 

Hair today, gone tomorrow 

Day 192: July 27

From the newsdesk...

Please Like Me 

(This is not a post of me saying that you guys should like me, it's actually a post about Josh Thomas' TV show Please Like Me & Australian television in general). 

If I had a hat on right now, I'd tip it. (It'd preferably be a bowler hat or a top hat). 

I'd tip my theoretical hat to John and Josh Internationl, the company that produced this show. (It is named after Josh Thomas and his pet poodle mixture of some sort, John). 

Please Like Me is an Australian television comedy drama starring Josh Thomas (as himself), Caitlan Stasey (as Claire), John the dog (as himself) and Tom Ward (as Tom), his best friend. 

It's a funny, heartfelt, charming TV show which takes just the right amount of twists and turns. Even the sad moments turn out to be something to be laughed at. 

Please Like Me centres around Josh (as himself) and the days leading up to his 21st birthday. There are laughs, hook-ups, break-ups, boyfriends, girl-friends, deaths, (maybe) new lives, lots of Panadol, online dating, a fancy car and a $19 sundae. 

Josh (and Caitlan Stasey) for that matter have this weird Australian-British accent. They both have this weird intonation where they sound like they've been living in Britan and picked up on how they say some of the words. But pretty sure they're both born and bred Australian. 

Straya. 

Just watch it. We know all I'm pretty shitty at reviewing stuff but I really recommend this. If you're having a shit day or you just want some down time or a few laughs, watch Please Like Me. There's 6 episodes and they're about 28 minutes each, so really if you watch them and then hate it, it's not that much of a waste; approximately only 3 hours of your life.  

(GUYS IT'S BEING RENEWED FOR ANOTHER SEASON)!! 

Australian television/movies are actually really great. I'm always really cynical about it - "aw, they can't act" or "damn, hate the accents", but it seems like I'm just saying it for the sake of saying it. Of course there are the bad movies/tv shows *cough* Yolngu Boy *cough*, but there are plenty of bad American and British TV shows and movies too. 

There's WINNERS AND LOSERS (which I swear by) and NEIGHBOURS and HOME AND AWAY or PACKED TO THE RAFTERS if that's your thing. Movie choices are endless: SHINE, TIM, THE SAPPHIRES, AUSTRALIA, CROCODILE DUNDEE, RED DOG, ANIMAL KINGDOM, BRAN NUE DAE, MURIEL'S WEDDING (no.), MARY AND MAX (A++ would recommend), JINDABYNE; I could go on for forever. 

So whenever you're bored or just feel like chilling, grab a stubbie, a lamination (or a piece of pavlova if you're that way inclined), chuck a shrimp on the barbie (which I've never seen anyone do and don't they call them prawns here?) and pick yourself an Australian movie to watch. 

((My dog is snoring))

Day 191: July 23

From the newsdesk...

Happy birthday Dan

Happy 24th birthday to The Boy Who Lived (or his very much real/alive counterpart). 

Thanks to Dan for making one of my absolute favourite characters come to life. You grew up in front of the worlds eyes and for us Potterheads, in the ways and means of Harry James Potter. As Emma Watson said in her speech at the premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II launch, on July 15, 2011, "Dan, you didn't 'get lucky' - you were and are the perfect Harry and will be forever." 

Ps. This only feels relevant to mentioning because it has a sort-of (minimal) Harry Potter relation. The Royal child has been born and according to the bloody news banners that scrolled across the TV screen every 10 minutes, it's name will announced in 'due course'. I don't care (because we all know it's going to be something like Edward or Arthur or Harry or Geroge) unless its called Snape which would fit BECAUSE IT IS THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. 

Just saying. 

Day 190: July 15

From the newsdesk...

Existence 

Our existence is so fragile and - quite literally - could be ended with something as simple as a gunshot. Or a bomb. Or a fall. You can even be killed by drinking too much water - your organs will drown in the excess liquid 

Our existence is a tiny little fly waiting to be swat at. We move around, avoiding obstacles, but one day our end will come and we'll face that fly swat head on. 

People are people and whether they're young or old or fat or skinny or average or have brown hair or blue hair or green eyes or run or paint or watch lots of TV or like reality cooking shows or want to be a police officer when they're older, their hearts will one day stop beating. No-one can know the exact second that will happen. 

It's taken for granted that most people will live a long and joyous life and be taken away by old age - with the exception of those with cancer, a disease or something that will inevitably end their life sooner than expected. But while cancer and diseases are public, as such, drugs and alcohol are not. 

You can be drinking yourself into oblivion and no-one would know, save for the people close to you. Same goes with drugs. One day you have them and you're fine and the next day you have one too many and you're no longer. 

Which is why it was such a shock to me to hear about Cory Monteith. For those who didn't know who he was, he was an actor, most widely known for his role in Glee as Finn Hudson. He was found dead two days ago in his apartment in Vancouver. No foul play was seen, a drug overdose was suspected. 

I found this on Tumblr and it really rang true. 

It's like an equation. 

Young + healthy = not going to die 

Young + sick = still not going to die, due to young age 

Old + sick = will die. People are already preparing themselves 

Old + sick = mmmh, will die soon. 

It's like a habitual 'draw a line between the two that match'. I mean, young people don't die, do they? That's just totally not a thing. Ludicrous!  We immortalize them, take it for granted that they'll live forever and if they're in a certain TV show/movie/picture book they're be typecast as that character (but, different discussion for a different day). 

R.I.P Cory Monteith 

Ps. 

Kyle Massey (Cory in the House) has cancer 

Zimmerman went free. (quite angry about this)

Day 190: July 11

From the newsdesk:

Blood Donations 

Today I gave blood. 

Yes, it did involve them sticking a needle into my finger (haemoglobin check) and my arm to take the blood out. But you know what? That small prick is a small price to pay when you think about what your blood is doing. 

Your blood (and platelets and plasma if you choose to donate this) are saving people's lives - quite literally. 

In Australia, 1 in 3 people will need donated blood in their lives, while only 1 in 30 donates. Think about that. Think about the people who might die because they're not getting blood. Obviously there are a few exceptions to blood givers - preggers, lived in England around Mad Cow Disease time, Hep C etc - but otherwise there is absolutely no excuse. If you are one of those people who claim to care about humanity so much that you'll do anything to help, now is your chance. 

If you live in Australia, here the number to the Australian Red Cross: 13 14 95, and here is the website: 

Donateblood.com.au

At home after I'd donated blood :)

Day 189: July 1

from the newsdesk:
L PLATES 

This day, the 1st July, 2013, marks the day that I got my L plates. First step to driving on the big roads. I just had to do a 32 question compter-generated test. It took me about 12 minutes. The pass mark was 78% and I got 81%. This means I have to now do 120 hours with a supervising driver, ie. mom/dad/at a driving school and record it all in a log book. Totally OTT, but I suppose that's what makes Australian roads as safe as they are. I'm totally pumped to learn how to drive, but also totally scared. It'll give me a control I've never had before.

On another note: FASHION CRISIS! I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO WEAR TO JASMINE'S (my friend is having a big 16th and I have nothing to wear). HELP!

New favourite song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7Tblv4ZVig
It's such a classic.  

(how punny Lauren).
Oh, wow, I crack myself up.