come and set me free!

Banks - our pens are chained down, because otherwise you'd stab us to death with them!

Thanks to Comedy Inc for that one.

Decongestant medication stuff is brilliant! So hopefully I'll be back working tomorrow, if I can figure what the f*ck is going on with everything - been trying to get in contact with ppl about it and haven't been able to so far. One could say feeling slightly screwed (and not in the fun way *lol*).

Must go and try to organise something about tomorrow... altho it is 11.05pm right now, so who knows. Maybe it's just time to sleep!

Or I could just book into a Finding Your Inner Goddess seminar that's going to be happening at one of the local stores in the near future *lol* Haven't you always wanted to get in touch with your inner goddess in a teepee after all? What better way could there be to spend a weekend? Especially if it's with extra hippies who don't wash very often. Mmm...

Song of the day: Hard On For Jesus by the Dandy Warhols. This song I really really really want to do at as a P&W thing at a church, just to see whether they get it or not *lol* Especially at a church like Paradise in SA ;) I mean, it's about time I started baiting pentecostals *puts on devil horns* *lol* The song just makes me think of the movie Saved! and what could potentially happen there.

And for now, I leave you with...

Oh yeah, jesus
You got me going.
And I know, just like I know,
No way of knowing.

I gotta have faith,
I gotta believe
That the lord of lords and
The king of kings
Come and set me free.

Jesus.
Jesus.

That’s all folks...

Stannnnn by your maaaannn...

Ahhh, there's nothing like a rousing country and western rendition of Stand By Your Man to make time spent waiting in the doctor's surgery simply fly by!

*bout of sarcastic coughing*

But on the bright side, I'm getting better ~ hurrah! No thanks to Stand By Your Man... but yes. The doctor said that I should take tomorrow off as well, but I'd be not very popular with my boss if I did *lol* So I'm going to head back to work, apply my nose to the grindstone, etc, etc.

And just when I was starting to enjoy daytime TV! New ambition in life: to write soap operas *lol* It would be cool to write in the stage directions: deep meaningful prolonged pouty look at X, combined with flashing semi-angry, semi-I want to do you like a crazed moose eyes.

All together now, Stand by your man..!

*teehee*

So muss er seinen Nächsten lieben

Better than chocolate. Better than sex. Better than skydiving. Better than winning the lottery. Better than blueberry muffins. Better than sunny days like this. Better than anything!

What is it?

Halleluja by Rammstein! I've waited for so many years to hear this and I finally downloaded it yesterday. What can I say? It's amazing - I think it's one of their best songs, nearly as good as Wilder Wein. It definitely matches in well with the sound of their 2001 album, Mutter (I believe it was part of the limited edition 2 CD version of that album, which I never got my hands on *curses*). However, it also makes me think of 1994's Schwarzes Glass. Now all I have to do is find Kokain and Wut Will Nicht Sterben and I'll be cheerin'!

Remember to love your neighbour ;)

Halleluja - Rammstein

Er ist fromm und sehr sensibel
an seiner Wand ein Bild des Herrn
er wischt die Flecken von der Bibel
das Abendmahl verteilt er gern

Er liebt die Knaben aus dem Chor
sie halten ihre Seelen rein
doch Sorge macht ihm der Tenor
so muss er ihm am nächsten sein
auf seinem Nachttisch still und stumm
ein Bild des Herrn
er dreht es langsam um

Wenn die Turmuhr zweimal schlägt
halleluja
faltet er die Hände zum Gebet
halleluja
er ist ohne Weib geblieben
halleluja
so muss er seinen Nächsten lieben
halleluja

Der junge Mann darf bei ihm bleiben
die Sünde nistet überm Bein
so hilft er gern sie auszutreiben
bei Musik und Kerzenschein

Wenn die Turmuhr zweimal schlägt
halleluja
faltet er die Hände zum Gebet
halleluja
er ist ohne Weib geblieben
halleluja
so muss er seinen Nächsten lieben
halleluja

Wenn die Turmuhr zweimal schlägt
halleluja
nimmt er den Jungen ins Gebet
halleluja
er ist der wahre Christ
halleluja
und weiß, was Nächstenliebe ist
halleluja

Dreh dich langsam um
dreh dich um

*Click here for a translation to English for those of you who might be a bit rusty with their German. And don't blame me for any potential trauma you suffer from the potential meanings the song contains.

So my Nanna's funeral was almost a week ago, but there's something that still bugs me (apart from her being dead, which isn't right, you know? She was like the eternal Nanna, and now she's not... makes no sense).

The thing that's bugging me is that a guy was there who I was friends with when I was younger. We always used to talk and hang out and stuff, and when I saw him last year, we had a nice time catching up.

Anyways, at the funeral AND the wake, he avoided me like the plague (and I know it wasn't my deoderant because everyone else descended on me, and one guy even spent five minutes talking to my t*ts rather than my face for f*ck's sake).

The only conversation we had was basically: (me) 'Hi!' (him) 'Hey, how are you?' 'Good thanks, and you?' 'Yeah, not bad. How's your work going?' 'It's really good, I love it.' 'I'm glad you're happy with it. Well, I have to head off.' 'Ohh... well, I'll see you later then.' 'Yeah. Take care.'

The whole time he looked like I'd cornered him and proposed that we do something indecent on the tea and coffee trolley.

*sigh* Kind of sucks! I mean, when you see old friends, you don't really expect that kind of reaction.

But other than that, the funeral was a really fantastic celebration of my Nanna's life, and catching up with the rest of my friends and relatives was wonderful.

"When our eyes met, I felt that I was growing pale. A curious sensation of terror came over me. I knew that I had come face to face with some one whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself." Oscar Wilde

But the sodomy's quite nice

Oh my goodness, I haven't laughed so hard in forever!

I was just talking to Jesus about the uncyclopedia, in particular the WMD (W's missing donuts), and there was a link from that to 'sodomy' which they defined as being a soldering term.

Jesus and I keep reading and browsing and somehow the sodomy thing comes up and Jesus says, 'Hahaha, sodomy is good!' and I literally almost fell off my chair laughing. He corrects himself by saying, 'The entry is so good.' Which is worse... and I'm crying with laughter by that time.

Finally we arrive at the statement, 'The Uncyclopedia article is well written.'

*giggles some more*

Heh... that was my entertainment for this unholy hour of the morning. Thank you Jesus :D

And please, no comments about being a special part of that entry *LOL*

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Sodomy

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Fetish

Och aye!

This flu is the flu from hell! I don't think I've been this sick in ages. And now the damn thing has migrated to my chest, so it's not just stuffed sinuses, I get to kill myself coughing. Hurrah.

And I can't shake this Scottish accent! Which I guess is better than the Spanish accent I was stuck with yesterday. Ugh... Really! My brain just doesn't function enough to switch back to speaking normally, and I know the people down the street looked at me really bloody weirdly when I spoke today (as in, where did this young lady get her Scottish accent from!? Didn't she sound British?).

I hate being sick! *shakes fist* Don't want to go to the doctors, but I think I might have to. I don't want to accidentally cough up a lung or something like that.

Ooooowwwww pain agony and not enough cold and flu medication :(

*teehee*

The three bears come home after a night out on the town. They look around the house and notice that something's wrong.

Baby Bear says, "Someone's eaten my porridge!"

Mummy Bear says, "Someone's eaten my porridge too!"

Daddy Bear says, "Screw the porridge, someone's nicked the telly!"

*teehee*

To dream the impossible dream!

*le sigh*

Life is one series of crushing disappointments after another sometimes. I had been thinking of doing the settle down, buy a house, work here for a number of years thing, but now I don't know that it'll work out that way. But maybe that's just a reflection of me thinking 'This is not my life, this isn't what I feel any more, this isn't what I want' lately. The Winter of my discontent?

Maybe it's time to turn my face to the road again and step out into another unknown or fall down the rabbit hole and maybe find the key that opens the door.

Or maybe there's another plan to it all. I don't know... This trusting a higher power thing is sometimes so confusing and stressful! I've been doing it all year, and should know that He always comes through with something in the end, but it still puts me on edge not knowing. Although who knows what He has in mind... It could be anything *lol*

Makes no sense at all... things aren't what they seem... - Burger Queen, Placebo

In happier news, I'm going to make stir fry veggies with noodles in a plum and soy sauce tonight. Mmmm...

You know, if I saw this sing while driving, I'd probably laugh so hard I'd crash the car.

Still, if food be the music of love, play on... But don't ask me about anything more with that because my brain ceased to function as of half an hour ago. All I can think of is cooking, and seeing what there can be done with leche... dulce leche is it? You know, where you boil up a can of condensed milk and use it as caramel. Or using flat leaf parsley with boiled eggs sliced length-ways on sourdough bread, possibly with some Persian feta spread underneath and the bread toasted very lightly.

Although if I made that, I wouldn't actually be able to taste any of it at the moment. This flu thing has taken over my tastebuds as well as my mind. Very industrious of it, to be sure! Maybe with the way I feel, I shall call it the Ozzy Osborne flu.

Shaaaaaron, the bloody dogs 'ave eaten me slippers again...

You know what's really good? Bottled sour cherries in their own juice with a teaspoon or so of cornflour (to thicken) a bit of sugar and a nice amount of cinnamon are divine when cooked up and served over ice-cream.

And somehow I just managed to poke myself in the eye with the corner of a tissue o.0 Owwww... See what I mean about Ozzy Osborne? Yeah... And when my landlord came in to talk to me about getting the shower fixed in the morning tomorrow, I couldn't even manage to make a squeak! *lol* Seriously, my voice disappeared and I was just like, '........' *ahem* and tried again *lol*

But back to food thoughts. I plan to make my famous banana and raspberry bread tomorrow to put in the freezer for my parents when they come to stay. And then I want to get into trying some other things, including experimentations with roast capsicum and tomato blended together for pasta sauce, lemon things, exploring sage, looking at something to do with coconut and fig - something makes me curious as to how they'd taste together, buttersnap cookies as a pie crust (all mashed up), hummous, concocting my own blend of tea and possibly making some bread.

Busy weekend coming up! Ugh... but not ugh... at least the shower will hopefully be fixed. Just when I'm coming to love baths again *lol* Seriously, how good are baths? They're fan-f*cking-tastic, especially with lots of foam and relaxing salts and so on and then filling the tub so full that it almost overflows *lol* Did you know that using a handful of oats wrapped up tightly in a face washer and then put in the bath is really good for your skin? Yuppers...

Seeing how my mind is wandering, I think I'll go now...

Mad Hatter and March Hare

I don't know what it is about drinking tea lately, but I'm getting addicted to it *lol*

But it's not the regular tea - it's herbal tea, which has a much more pleasant taste and aroma (ie: not that of wet twigs). At the moment, I have about seven or eight different types of herbal tea in the cupboard at home, some of which are in teabags and the others that are just loose leaves/bits (including hibiscus tea... mmm).

So every night after I eat, clean up and prepare for relaxation time, I break out the tea (with teacup, saucer and proper teapot included in the equation). It's relaxing, comforting, warm, healthy...

AND makes me feel like a total Nanna *lol*

Other than that, I feel so sleepy. And fluey. Icky! And annoyed about the shower at my house, which my landlord still hasn't organised anyone to come and fix. And cross about my dog's injuries sustained over the weekend (no wonder I worry about him staying with other people...).

*kicks some things*

*coughs up half a lung*

*sigh*

Yikes!

I have returned!

Well, the funeral went well.

And the time in SA was brilliant. Lots of catching up with friends and seeing people who we haven't seen for ages and ages. And I met some relatives who I'd never met before. They're all from around the Barossa and are so lovely!

I saw lots of friends from school, which was great, too. I miss them loads! And I really want to move to South Australia. Victoria's way too cold and boring.

Too tired to write more.

Honogurai Mizuno Sokokara (the original Dark Water) is on tonight on SBS, and I really really want to watch it, but I seriously can't bring myself to do it!

I've watched just at tiny bit of it, and perhaps it's because of the patch in the bathroom ceiling where water drips through in my house, or perhaps it's the ghost thing, or the lost thing, but it frightens the goodness out of me o.0

*sigh*

When the roof gets fixed, I'll watch it.

Quote of the night

I may be fucked up, but I burnt my leg warmers for you! - Nick Giannopolous, The Wannabes

НОЧНОЙ ДОЗОР

I really tend to hate thrillers/horrors, but I really want to see Night Watch (or in its original Russian, НОЧНОЙ ДОЗОР (Nochnoy Dozor)) when it comes out. Okay, so it was released last year already in Russia, but apparently it's going to at least be in England, France and Spain in the next month or two!

Seriously, apart from it being Russian AND good quality, there seem to be heaps of reasons to see it *lol* It's funny, though, that a lot of Russian people are like, 'Oh, it's so crummy! Poor quality!' But then we usually tend to dump on movies from our own countries that do well and don't stick to the 'purist' version of what we want to see in cinemas *lol* The movie was produced and marketed with the help of Russia's TV1, and apparently 50% of the budget was used on advertising and PR, which is rather impressive.

Anyhow...

Set in contemporary Moscow, Night Watch revolves around the conflict and balance maintained between the forces of light and darkness -- the result of a medieval truce between the opposing sides. As night falls, the dark forces battle the super-human “Others” of the Night Watch, whose mission is to patrol and protect. But there is constant fear that an ancient prophecy will come true: that a powerful “Other” will rise up, be tempted by one of the sides, and tip the balance plunging the world into a renewed war between the dark and light, the results of which would be catastrophic.
Night Watch is the first installment of a trilogy based on the best-selling sci-fi novels of Sergei Lukyanenko entitled Night Watch, Day Watch and Dusk Watch. The film is the official Russian contender for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2005 Academy Awards.

Sounds good to me :)

Prepare for funeral...

Pack clothes tomorrow night. Clean house. Do things. Wash hair. Try to work out how to program the VCR for the Canterbury Tales on Sunday. Work out travel plans for the morning.

Do stuff... Eeehh... this is too much for my brain *lol*

AAAAARRGHHHHH!

It's funny, but I never trusted most of the news reports from the original Gulf War (not the current Gulf War II: Doin' it for Daddy).

Tonight a program about media and government lies reminded me all about it. Some of the pictures triggered memories of having seen them before.

Ahh, the media and war...

Stock footage, no actual coverage of on-the-ground-in-the-war-zone events, prepackaged Pentagon clips, surgical, clean and zero death. Unlike the Viet Nam war reporting...

Oh, but we get a soundtrack for the war now. We get some nice music for the wars these days. Hey, let's watch some people having the f*ck bombed out of them while listening to some inspiringly snazzy imperial music! Yay! Break out the popcorn!

The government telling the media to not broadcast. People getting fired for showing footage. Never showing war for what it really is. How can you show the battlefield as a clean and non-violent environment, anyway?? How does that work?

Oh, nothing like manipulating the truth, too. We're marching down a highway of death, so who needs the truth? Who needs freedom of the press?

As a journalist, this depresses me so badly (and as a human). Sometimes I'm so ashamed of the media and being some part of it.

The truth. How hard is it?

*BTW, click on the image to enlarge - I love a political cartoon in the morning...

Guns or Butter?

I noticed the other day that the Nestle Double Blend hot chocolate (DO NOT BUY IT! It tastes like the armpits of slave alpaccas... I'm forcing myself to get through this batch, though, before I buy another brand of hot chocoalte entirely - waste not want not and all) packets, there's a pithy little 'saying' at the bottom of each serving.

Today's gem was, 'Chocolate or men . . . mmm?'

Which immediately made me think, well, what is the choice here? Is it about which one we'd prefer in our mouth? Or which one we'll get to change the shock absorbers on the car? Or which one we'd prefer to pour boiling water over? Or which one we'd want to drink to the very last drop? And is this really moronic advertising or is there some actual point to it?!

So not only does Nestle Double Blend hot chocolate taste bad, it's also stupid.

Besides, is there any real contest between men and chocolate? Sure, chocolate won't leave you for the local hairdresser who makes a crack addict look like a saint. It won't get you up the duff. It won't lie to you. It won't ever taste so unpleasant that you won't swallow it. It won't insist that women should be barefoot and pregnant.

But it doesn't actually *do* ANYTHING. It's just a bit of ex-cocoa bean that's been mangled and added to and changed about and wrapped in some foil and a nice bit of paper and charged an exhorbitant price for. It doesn't buy you flowers or perfume, or more chocolate. It doesn't love you. It doesn't do anything other than BE chocolate.

So thank-you Nestle, but I'm choosing men.

teeth... *bites things*

Call me kinky, but the dentist visit today was awesome! Especially with the metal bits and bobs and clamps and so on... *ponders* ;)

And best of all, the two fillings I got didn't hurt at all! Hurrah! Although my mouth is still numb (two hours later... *lol*). It's an odd feeling. When I put a glass to my lips to drink, half of my mouth doesn't realise it's there and it feels like I'm missing something of my face... unusual sort of sensation.

I forgot to ask my dentist about oral piercings, though, which I'm cross at myself about. I want to know what sort of affect they can have on the teeth and gums, so I'll have to try to remember to ask her fist thing next time I see her. I've heard that tongue piercings can cause problems for teeth, and I wonder about how lip and labret piercings would work, seeing as they're so close to the frontal teeth/gum area.

Of course, I could just say, 'What the heck, let's just do it,' when I go serious shopping next in early September (Larie, you'll have to hold my hand for it! *LOL*). Must remember to talk to work about it more though...

And if/when I get them done, I'll post pix. Now that will be exciting, won't it... *smirks*

Quote of the day

"You're not to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it." —Malcolm X (aka El Hajj Malik El-Shabazz)

Snow kicks a$$!

*sigh*

It might sound silly, but I miss my friend Oliver cruelly.

Words into the ether with him alone, but I miss it.

Maybe I'll just write a long e-mail to him and hope he writes back *lol* It's been too long.

Is this the return to Oz?

Didn't go shopping today because it's more than blowing a gale outside. Things are particularly interesting when the leaves on the trees are being blown by the wind so that they're horizontal to the ground *lol*

Anyways, I figured that it wouldn't be good to head out and about in case I got whisked away and ended up in the Land of Oz where I'd meet a tin man without a heart (know enough of them anyways... *cough cough* *lol*), a cowardly lion and something else... it's been too long since I've seen that movie.

Red shoes, red shoes...

Would you take red shoes off of a witch who had been crushed beneath your flying house? Would you click your heels together and say, "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's no place like home"?

Ah hell, why not *lol*

Pokarekare Ana

Pökarekare ana
ngä wai o Waiapu,
Whiti atu koe hine
marino ana e.

E hine e
hoki mai ra.
Ka mate ahau
I te aroha e.

Tuhituhi taku reta
tuku atu taku rïngi,
Kia kite tö iwi
raru raru ana e.

Whati whati taku pene
ka pau aku pepa,
Ko taku aroha
mau tonu ana e.

E kore te aroha
e maroke i te rä,
Mäkükü tonu i
aku roimata e.

*hahahaha*

Sonnet 80
William Shakespeare

O, how I faint when I of you do write,
Knowing a better spirit doth use your name,
And in the praise thereof spends all his might,
To make me tongue-tied, speaking of your fame!
But since your worth, wide as the ocean is,
The humble as the proudest sail doth bear,
My saucy bark inferior far to his
On your broad main doth wilfully appear.
Your shallowest help will hold me up afloat,
Whilst he upon your soundless deep doth ride;
Or being wreck'd, I am a worthless boat,
He of tall building and of goodly pride:
Then if he thrive and I be cast away,
The worst was this; my love was my decay.

shoppin' shoppin' shoppin' keep those trolleys shoppin' rollllllllllllllllll on!

There's no more snow, which is a little tragic. I miss the snow!

*goes to bed to sulk*

Oh, not really. Things aren't too bad. I mean, it's been a great day, had a nice walk, got a phone call from Amy, bought some nice bread (and some rather horrible-tasting chevre cheese, which made me curse for not buying the Persian feta) and am now making stewed apples with cinnamon and cloves :)

Planning on venturing forth to shop properly tomorrow - I have a couple of presents to buy still. It's strange with public transport, though. But I guess it'll have to do *lol* I mean, it's got to be a better option than hitch hiking and potentially ending up in a shallow grave somewhere in the mountains (which would really be getting out in nature, but not in a good way!).

*dances* Shopping shopping shopping!

:-D

Quote of the day

Oops, I just realised it's 29 minutes since I watched TV and I freak out after 30!

*sigh*

You know it's weird how one little moment can lead to finding out something strange or kind of sad or whatever other variations there are to the possibilities of emotions and thoughts.

Like today I guess I felt like a friend had lied to me or something. Well... it wasn't quite lying, because they'd never said anything contrary to it, but they'd never been honest about it either. Sort of like lying by omission.

*sigh*

I don't know, it disappointed me. And I feel kinda hurt or something. Which is probably really silly or something, but it just kind of sucks.

Still, I can see snow from my house, so that's a good thing - yay for snow!

*muahahaha*

This is deeply odd and morbid, but it gave me a laugh... Courtesy of Rusty Berther, of Scared Weird Little Guys.

If you wondered what Mark Seymore from Hunters and Collectors would be like if he was a serial killer...

I will come for you at night time
I will raise you from your sleep
I will squeeze the life out of you
And put your body in the boot of my car

I will drive to a sparsely populated area
And I will dig a small and shallow grave
But your body won't fit in it
So I will hack off both your legs
And I will have to chop your arms off as well

Then I will throooooowwww your arrrrrrrrrrrms away
Throoooooooooow your arrrrmms away!

(to the tune of that I will come to you at night, I will kiss you in four places song that H&C did)

I love the snow!

It snowed really heavily up on the mountains last night (on the other side of the valley, though, dammit!).

But it's so beautiful! You can see the snow covering the trees for about the top third of the mountains and it's so gorgeous.

I want to go back up there *lol* The snow was insanely fun yesterday. Hopefully it'll stay cold and snow again enough for there to still be some up there on Monday (more adventures for Cecil potentially *lol*).

Yay for snow!

Deli's Choice...

Is it just me or are the Deli Choices ads from McDonalds really kind of creepy?

I mean, for a start - they have the lady who played the Summer Bay stalker/psycho in Home & Away earlier this year asking people to try to new deli rolls. I still wonder about whether she's going to poison people with the rolls or stab them in the neck when they turn to look when she says, 'Well, look over there!' when they have to find out who made the rolls.

And then Ronald McDonald is creepy generally, so to see him looming up with his scary clown-ness is just enough to make me want to beat him into submission with a roll, tie him to a park bench and run away.

o.0

:-D

What an unusual dress there from Valentino. But it's much nicer than the Galliano work for Dior at the moment... nice colours, interesting work with the material...

Mmm...

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me...

Yup, my birthday today! :-D What an exciting moment. I'm 22 now, which seems to be some sort of age where I should be acting in an adult manner, but I think I'll try to avoid that if at all possible.

Anyways! What a great day :)

I got some nice e-mails from my family, which was cool. Then just when my Dad had rung and finished wishing me a happy birthday, Ben rang to wish me the same. Yay Ben! :-D You rock! :) That was so much fun - nothing like a good silly conversation every now and then. And remember, join his forum! Do things there! And see if you can find Kiri the Kiwi...

What else? Ohh... I got a card from some family friends (aww, they're so lovely!) and a card from the Boss boss here at work that was really nice and had a $50 Coles/Myer gift voucher in it! So that'll be something to investigate when I'm out and about shopping with Larie in September (thanks for the cute b/day message, btw, Larie :). I can't wait to see Larie again - it's gonna be a blast! :-D

What else happened? Just some random stuff. And then lunch with the work team at one of the local cafes...

And now... just some more work and later we're going up to the snow! Yay! And we're taking Cecil with us for some pictures, so I'll have to post some sometime.

Birthdays are nice :)

I'm off to look at more fashion things now...

If this is patriotism, then I don't want it

Yet another excellent opinion column from the Sydney Morning Herald this morning, which I'm sure they must have done just for my birthday *lol* No, not really... but it's wonderful to have someone looking at the issue of 'patriotism' in the current world climate, particularly when I think the word has been hijacked by many to use instead of what they're really pushing, which is nationalism (a word that sends me into a panic thinking of ghettos, exterminations, discrimination and hate 1930s–1945 style...).

Anyway, the article, by George Monbiot, originally written for The Guardian in England, is called Sounds of war echo in calls to patriotism and makes some excellent points about how patriotism is being used and abused.

Monbiot makes the observation that:
Emboldened by this consensus, The Sun tabloid insists that anyone who isn't loyal to this country (Britain) should leave it. The way things are going, it cannot be long before I am deported... the argument runs as follows: patriotic people do not attack each other... but while patriotism might make citizens less inclined to attack each other, it makes the state more inclined to attack other countries, for it knows it is likely to command the support of its people. If patriotism were not such a powerful force in the US, could bush have invaded Iraq?
To argue that national allegiance reduces human suffering, you must assert that acts of domestic terrorism cause more grievous harm than all territorial and colonial wars, ethnic cleansing and holocausts pursued in the name of the national interest. To believe this, you need to be not just a patriot but a chauvinist.

Hmmm.

How patriotic is it to demand that others who think differently from you be expelled from the country? Yes, I realise that the man that The Sun and other tabloids in England are focusing on is a radical Muslim cleric, but let's look at this rationally. If he's forced from the country, how long will it be before others are made to leave? How long will it take before all Muslims are attacked and vilified in the media? And then once they're gone, who gets turned on next? The Pakistani people? The large Indian population? Anyone who's not white and has a beard? Anyone who has a dissenting opinion?

And is it unpatriotic to have an opinion that differs from the mainstream or party political line? Isn't that just human and important and a sign that we have a healthy democracy where people are allowed to express opinions and have their own thoughts? Doesn't a true democracy allow for people to be different? Isn't that what makes it strong and function at its best?

Lately John Howard and other members of the Liberal party have been talking about how wrong it is for Australian citizens to oppose the government and its decisions (ermm... isn't that what a democracy is all about? The people? Or no? Did it suddenly change and it's now got a new definition that someone failed to include in my dictionary?). And then there's always the good old phrase of, 'It's un-Australian,' which always confuses me. What is it to be Australian? With our massively diverse population that includes many ethnicities, religions and racial groups, how can there be one thing that constitutes 'Australian'? Or are we going by stereotypes, and if so, wouldn't that mean to be Australian, you have to be a man who's white, sexist, narrow-minded, prejudiced against other cultures and races, slang-talking, blue singlet wearing, beer swilling, 'no worries mate,' sport-loving, hard working slacker, bush living and croc wrestler master?

I love Australia, I love being Australian. But there are things that I can see wrong with it, and I think that's an important thing. If you are blinded to faults in others or even your country, you run the risk of allowing a lot of serious problems to occur, get worse and perhaps ultimately destroy things, be it relationships, property or lives. To really care about your country is to be concerned about what it does, to be involved in it and to see its place in the world rather than thinking it is the world.

Thus, I thank goodness for this article, which I think is so important for the current times.

Monbiot has a fantastic ending to his article, which is as follows:
Two weeks ago, the London Telegraph published a list of "10 core values of the British identity" whose adoption, it argued, would help to prevent another terrorist attack. These were not values we might choose to embrace, but "non-negotiable components of our identity".
Among them were "the sovereignty of the crown in Parliament" ("the Lords, the Commons and the monarch constitute the supreme authority in the land"), "private property", "the family", "history" ("British children inherit … a stupendous series of national achievements") and "the English-speaking world" ("the atrocities of September 11, 2001 were not simply an attack on a foreign nation; they were an attack on the Anglosphere"). These non-negotiable demands are not so different to those of the terrorists. Instead of an eternal caliphate, an eternal monarchy. Instead of an Islamic vision of history, the one born of Britain's elite boarding school system. Instead of the Ummah, the Anglosphere.
If there is one thing that could make me hate this country, it is the Telegraph and its "non-negotiable components". If there is one thing that could make me hate America, it was the sight of the crowds at the Republican convention standing up and shouting "USA, USA" while Zell Miller informed them that "nothing makes this marine madder than someone calling American troops occupiers rather than liberators". As usual, we are being asked to do the job of the terrorists, by making this country ugly on their behalf.
I do not hate Britain, and I am not ashamed of my nationality, but I have no idea why I should love this country more than any other. There are some things I like about it and some things I don't, and the same goes for everywhere else I have visited.
To become a patriot is to lie to yourself, to tell yourself that whatever good you might perceive abroad, your own country is, on balance, better than the others. It is impossible to reconcile this with either the evidence of your own eyes or a belief in the equality of humankind.
Patriotism of the kind Orwell demanded in 1940 is necessary only to confront the patriotism of other people: the Second World War, which demanded that the British close ranks, could not have happened if Hitler hadn't exploited the national allegiance of the Germans.
The world will be a happier and safer place when we stop putting our own countries first.

Oh no! The big controller's on ecstacy again!

Nothing like a bit of late comedy *lol* I love the rip-off of Thomas the Tank Engine that they have on Comedy Inc The Late Show with the train who has a problem with 'stuttering at inappropriate moments' *teehee*

'You see, he's a dic, a dic, a dic, addicted!'

Sure it's tacky tasteless tat, but it's actually pretty well done *lol* And the guy who used to be on Hey Dad is on it, which just brings back happy Hey Dad memories (Betty liquid-papering the screen of the computer, making odd mistakes, etc).

Ah well, I turn 22 tomorrow. Which is scary.

*slathers self in anti-aging cream*

My Nanna's Bible and hymn book arrived in the mail for me today.

Leafing through the Bible, I found the rose petals that we'd pressed, bookmarks, little notes she'd written like a diary and a note at the end of the Bible, tucked into the back cover that said: "Saying farewell to people: say God be with you till we meet again." When I picked up the hymn book, it fell open to the two pages where the hymns Softly Now the Light of Day, Saviour, Breathe an Evening Blessing and Abide With Me are on.

*sigh*

Abide With Me
Henry F Lyte (1793-1847)

Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens: Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me!

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away:
Change and decay in all around I see;
O thou, who changest not, abide with me!

I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the Tempter’s power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me!
 
I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless:
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting, where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

...In life and death, O Lord, abide with me...

Quote of the day

If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

—C.S. Lewis

My Red Shoes

My Red Shoes
Originally uploaded by dellabella.

When the weather improves and this frightful cold chill that makes getting out of bed in the morning a chore is gone, I'm going to wear my current favourite shoes to work :)

I bought them a couple of months ago - it was love at first sight. Red... shiny... strappy... six and a half inches of heel... What more could a girl want, other than a chocolate and a nice lie down with cucumber slices over the eyes?

Oh, and world peace! And gender and racial equality! And... so many other things.

But occasionally, I can enjoy being caught up in appreciating the shallow things. Mmm, shoes... I mean, if there wasn't some time for silliness, I think my head would explode with the serious thoughts.

On a lighter note, I now have, 'Computer says no...' as the sound for when new e-mails arrive. YAY!

Computer says no...

I <3 Ramms+tein

Just checking out the music I've got on iTunes here at work (mmm, music at work... *swoons*), which is all of 1.8 day's worth (it used to be 2.0 days worth, but the computer had a spak about it and I deleted some of the stuff I disliked and never listened to).

Then I checked out the iTunes lists of some of the other work people on the Shared Music section...

Hmm!

One guy has all classical music and Christian pop. One girl has a lot of Beatles, world music, old radio comedies, 60s music and classical. Another has classical and gospel. All of them seem to have nice, sedate tastes (which suits them as people, really).

Then I look on my iTunes and feel like a heathen *lol*

What do I have? Rammstein, silverchair, NIN, Placebo, Blur, Frenzal Rhomb, Machine Gun Fellatio (and you know what the titles of their songs are on the Paging Mr Strike album!), Basement Jaxx, the Prodigy (as Maree said last year at uni, I'm the only person who would use Smack My B*tch Up to advertise the student newspaper), Scissor Sisters, Korn (from their Freak on a Leash days), Tool, Grinspoon, Queer as Folk series 3 soundtrack, Corvin Dalek (who pioneered the wet'n'hard sound, or so he says), Effigy, Gorillaz, Nirvana and Green Day... to name but a few!

But at least I'm a heathen with good taste in music ;)

Read this article!

I read the most amazing article this morning that really looks at putting faith into action in regards to social justice and making a difference as Christians (the article's A Journey and a March, btw!).

There's so much that's amazing about it (in positive and negative ways), and I have to admit that I had to break out the tissues by the end of the article. So be warned, you might have to have a hankie handy!

Let's be honest, Dior haute coture clothing is not always very nice. Neither is Chanel. Actually, most haute coture is uneasy on the eyes, but that's because of its experimental nature and its joyful impracticality.

I've never been sold on Chanel perfume.

However, I have to admit to totally adoring Dior perfumes (I currently own three and plan to buy more in the near future, particularly Addict 2, and possibly Miss Dior Cherie).

But I would give them all up for the amethyst and emerald Chanel Camelia ring.

I am in lust!!!

*faints*

Oh please, may I vomit now?

I just got an article (click on the image - it should enlarge it) forwarded to me about Rebecca St James, and that was so not a good way to start my Monday morning - there's only so much gooey, sickly sweetness that I can handle at one time, after all, and Monday mornings are times when I'm particularly intolerant to it (or anything, really. A pox on Monday mornings!).

It annoys me that she's classed as the 'voice for the modern Christian woman,' at least by the author of the article.

Yes, purity is great, and so is waiting for marriage to the right man (or woman, if you're a man. Nothing said on the gay issue, although I assume that it'd either be the same principal (if they were allowed to marry, but seeing as they're not... let's stop that thought there before my head explodes) or the old 'do not pass go, do not collect $500, pass directly to hell' position on things). I'm not disagreeing on the purity front (although I've heard a lot of criticism about her book on the subject from Christians). Purity is good, even though I find it a little odd that she says that she won't drive alone with a man. I'd say it'd be easier to engage in certain activities while the car is stationary, rather than while rolling down the highway, but hey, let's be puritanical about this...

It's other issues that bug me. Like her living a "protected" lifestyle (and still living at home with her parents at the age of 27).

That's one big thing that REALLY annoys me about Christians and Christianity, and maybe that's from my perspective of feeling like I'm on the margins of Christianity. The 'protected' lifestyle thing. It's so stupid. So many of us have this attitude of totally avoiding 'the world' that we miss the point of what Jesus told us about being in the world and making a difference in it. Instead, there's a fortress mentality where a select few are allowed in, like some sort of exclusive golf club or something like that. That is a totally, totally wrong attitude towards Christianity and most of all, towards Jesus and God.

Of course, "she is a voice of the conservative right," which also makes me want to puke. How on earth can anyone have unquestioning faith in Dubya after all of this time? "...they believe (he) will lead them back to a time when everything was safe and good and simple..." Errmmm, yes... riiiiiiiiiight *insert appropriate lashings of sarcasm* Honestly! The world has really gone to hell in a handbasket since he became President, and with his idiotic foreign policies and lack of attention to pertinent social and economic issues in his own country, I don't think that things will improve there until there's another President (Go Hillary!) who has a better grip on foreign policy and how democracy actually works.

And then there's the perpetuation of the myth of the Prince Charming riding up on his white horse to whisk you away for a happy marriage and a happily ever after, which she says is what she believes all people know is the 'ideal' that they 'long for.' Blah blah blah BLAH! Fairytale pish tosh! Yes, it's a nice idea, but personally, I can't say that I've ever wanted the Prince Charming thing. Maybe it's because I grew up with a love of fairytales by George MacDonald, where women weren't the weak, simpering, passive semen-receptacles that they are in many other tales. They helped to kill giants (The Giant's Heart), they went on quests (The Golden Key), they hated the prince when he first arrived, but got to know him over time and appreciate him for who he was (The Light Princess).

Add to that all: She 'giggles', "I'm preparing for when I meet the man who will be my husband. I'm reading books about how I can be the best woman that I can be, becoming a great soul mate for somebody. That's exciting. That's fun." So what about someone loving you for yourself, rather than yourself with the additional changes thanks to some self-help manuals and a dose of a Christian Dr Phil (if there is one)?

*sigh*

Little wonder I feel marginalised as a Christian woman.

Another pic of the flowers :)

Some flower photos :)

I thought I'd take some photos of the flowers I got today, and I'll prolly blog some more of them later or something.

It's been a gorgeous day here :)

Although I think I've had a bit too much Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds *lol* Definitely a rather hippy relaxed kind of day, which has included playing ball with the neighbour's dog, Blue. He's such a serious kind of dog, but really lovely. Buddy got jealous, though *lol* He's the other dog next door, and it far more outgoing (as far as dogs can be outgoing, I suppose).

There should be more days like this :)

"The only thing worse than a smug married couple? Lots of smug married couples..."- Bridget Jones's Diary.

Hmm... This is the third time I've seen this on TV in about 10 months, I think. Bizarre! Channel 10 seems to be having a thing with the Bridget Jones, but hey, it's amusing and a better option than anything else that's on, so why not :)

Had something to say earlier, but then my mind went on holidays so perhaps the thought will come back later *lol*

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered,
and that my life is fleeing away.
My life is no longer than the width of my hand.
An entire lifetime is just a moment to You;
human existence is but a breath.”
We are merely moving shadows,
and all our busy rushing ends in nothing.
We heap up wealth for someone else to spend.
And so, Lord, where do I put my hope?
My only hope is in You.
Psalm 39:4-7

Water is represented by any wavy shape... so if you can't afford a fountain, install a salt and vinegar chip on your patio

It freaking rains through the hole in the bathroom roof now! ARRGHHH! I really, really hope my landlord organises something to fix it soon, because I don't want to try to get up on the roof myself to find the original cause of the leakage (although legally I can't do any fixing of the stuff myself as a tennant!).

Hmph!

Oh well, I've always heard that it's good feng shui to have a water feature in the home, so I guess this will have to be it for the time being! Well, combine that with the 'water feature' that's thankfully outside of the main bedroom where the gutter has been mangled and there's a waterfall and I have TWO water features! Lucky me! :-p

Stupid stormy weather! *shakes fist at clouds*

Well, to work, where I shall do things, and earn money, and finally get around to replying to the e-mails that I have left over to do from this week. Hurrah!

Behold, I send you out as sheep amidst the wolves...

Listening to the Hilltop Hoods' album The Calling at the moment and The Sentinel (last track on the album) made me think of being back in South Australia last year, which was my Hilltop Hoods and heartbreak year in a strange sort of way.

The Sentinel reminds me of when my ex picked me up one evening from where I was working for a couple of weeks and this was the first song that came on the radio when I got in the car. We both really liked the Hilltop Hoods and knew the lyrics to this kind of unusual and slightly disturbing song. We drove around some of the back streets near where I was working in Prospect to check out a retro store, which was really expensive but all of the items were of an insanely good quality.

Yeah, those were the days... Well, they weren't really. I wasn't happy, he wasn't happy, it was the Winter of our discontent.

In many respects, I think Matt and I should have just stayed friends rather than dating.

Still, he's a cool guy and I can say that now a year out from when things totally went to hell in a handbasket *lol*

Other than that, it takes me all the way back to January last year when we went to the Semaphor Beach Party where heaps of bands and DJs were playing, including the Hilltop Hoods. That was one of the best times in my entire life, even though I saw people there from high school who I'd never liked and who I'd figured would be dead by that time. Perhaps they are by now...

Walked to the bar as the tender looked right through me I said
"Excuse me", then he replied in tones as if he talked about me not to me,
He said: "Welcome to the Sentinel, I hope your stay here's perpetual,
We serve drinks and broken dreams but no edibles..."

blog-o-rama

I saw this cartoon yesterday and thought, I have to put that on my blog *lol*

And then I read this comment about blogging today: Forget your blogs. No one reads blogs. (Never before has so much been written by so many to be read by so few).

Perhaps that's true. Maybe blogging is the new, great waste-of-space thing that's just about batting ourselves off. Maybe it's cheap therapy. Maybe it's just for killing time. Perhaps it has a point (to some combination of the id, ego and superego *lol*). Oh well. Blogging isn't too bad, I guess. Keeps me entertained :)

Or helps me procrastinate.

Meh! :D

>^_^<

You know the world's different to how it was 10 years ago when...

You hear Nine Inch Nail's song Closer playing on the 'easy listening/Top 40' radio station that plays at the local supermarket and the f*ck you like an animal bit isn't even blanked out *lol*

Rather an amusing moment, and of course, it was definitely a time for singing along because when the hell else will you be able to sing that song in a supermarket whilst getting some groceries? That just rocks way too much *lol* How bizarre!

And I think NIN is going to be out here later this year in September or October or something like that. Although I'm not interested in them. I WANT RAMMSTEIN! Dammit! When will they ever come to Australia again? Don't tell me I'm going to have to go to Germany to see them live! Not that I'd complain about that :)

Freedom of speech vs responsibility of speech

There was a rather interesting item on the news last night about how Macquarie University in New South Wales had suspended one of their lecturers for racist statements that he had made (and potential racist lectures, too, I think). The lecturer, Andrew Fraser, had written to one of his local newspapers early last month about what he saw as the need to prevent non-white people from immigrating to Australia. Oh, and not just that, but he says that African migration increases crime, HSC results point to a ruling class of Asians, criticises the government for allowing 'thousands' of people who 'can not assimilate into society' into Australia, that black people are not as intelligent as white people, and that all of this 'threatens' the social, political and economic interests of 'ordinary' Australians (who I have yet to meet one of - we're a mighty strange bunch, diverse as they come, so please let me know if you find an 'ordinary' Australian so that I can pay an admission fee to see them!).

At first when I heard him commenting on immigration on the news last night, I thought, 'Oh, another idiot American.' But no! I read this morning that he's Canadian-born, which just doesn't seem right - Canadians are meant to be tolerant and nice and like the New Zealanders of the Northern Hemisphere! But no! This is not so for Professor Fraser (which punctures my dreams about Canadians really *lol*). This guy has been lecturing at Macquarie University for 29 years, has lived in Australia for that time and should know that Parramatta has *always* had issues with crime, no matter who's there.

Anyways! Just when you thought that the Australian government was getting too much criticism for being far too tough and evil towards people who seek refuge here in our wide brown land, up pops someone to say, 'No, no, you let everyone in and that's BAD! Only white people should be allowed to live in Australia!' (which is ultimately what people who support such an ideology are saying). He went on to stand by what he'd said in the letter to the newspaper on the news last night, which disturbed me greatly - how can people honestly believe such things anyway? And why on earth was he saying them publicly? I know one or two people who think similar sorts of things, but would NEVER say so publicly.

Since this all came to light, Macquarie University suspended him from lecturing (I don't blame them, really, especially considering that he used their name and his position there when signing off on the letter - something that would make it seem like something more of an academic thought than an extreme right-wing opinion). Insanely enough, Macquarie University has been coping more flak for suspending him than he has for expounding such racist and vilifying opinions!

Far from being criticised for holding these opinions, he's actually being supported for using freedom of speech and expression! WTF? Supporters of Professor Fraser are saying that Macquarie University is penalising him for expressing his views (if he was just expressing his own views, he shouldn't have signed the letter with his position and the uni's name, simple as that). Others are saying that he's 'just starting a debate' that's healthy for the community to have. Hmmm, nothing healthier than inflaming racial hatred, is there not *cough, cough* Dr Brendon Nelson, Federal Education minister, also supports the push for Professor Fraser's reinstatement to lecturing (although he said that he does not support that view - just that the professor should be able to express them without risking his job!), and the way that the Sydney Morning Herald has reported on it makes me wonder about their position on the matter.

Okay, I may sound bizarre saying this, but Professor Fraser is getting way too much sympathy! I don't believe that he should be verbally bashed or something like that, but to give him support for voicing opinions regardless of their content and potential impact is irresponsible and hurts freedom of speech. Of course we argue strongly for freedom of speech and expression (which actually aren't part of Australia's constitution), BUT... come on! There has to be a point where you draw the line. If this was just some average Joe Blow on the street spouting forth such opinions, people wouldn't hesitate to call him a racist. However, Dr Nelson says, "But (they should) nonetheless respect the fact that he, as an academic, has a right to express it."

Being an academic does not free you from the responsibility of caring for the community and those around you. In fact, it gives a greater responsibility. It's important to have freedom of speech, but in and with that freedom we also have responsibility. Responsibility to others around us, our community, our world. A responsibility to not hurt or harm, or cause that to happen. We have a responsibility to be thoughtful and careful with what we say, and think through things in a balanced manner. An academic, or anyone else for that matter, shouldn't going around slandering other races and religions under the guise of 'expression.'

As Professor Di Yerbury, Vice-Chancellor of the university, told ABC radio, "We're an international, multi-cultural community... it's about tolerance, harmony, cross-cultural decency. It's about my students knowing that whatever race or origins or cultural backgrounds or religion they are they have a right to feel as safe and as comfortable and as respected and as free from abuse as anybody else on our campus..."

Thank God for the opinion piece, Speaking out of turn is not free speech by Gerard Henderson that appeared on the Sydney Morning Herald's website today (http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/08/01/1122748579322.html). It starts out: "The concept of academic freedom is in the news again. And again, civil libertarians are stepping forward to say academics should be entitled to say absolutely anything they want to say - irrespective of how inflammatory, offensive or false their comments may be..." and part of its final words are as such: "The concept that the existence of modern democracies depends on the unfettered right of academics to free speech is a myth. It is also a myth to suggest that universities were ever a sanctuary for pure intellectual freedom... Academic freedom has often been invoked to protect the incompetent and the unsuitable."

(The article also gives a bit of history into the matter, and how the letter to the local newspaper appeared nearly a month ago. And, as Henderson points out, it probably would have just been taken as the rantings of another right-wing conservative. Considering that Fraser said that the entry of migrants into the Parramatta-Bankstown area had caused the 'distinctive national identity' of 'Anglo-Australians' to be eroded, and that black people and Muslims weren't anything like the white people who settled and built this country (having stolen it from the black people originally here...), it'd be easy to assume that he was just another off-his-rocker old fart who had a passion for John Laws and Parliamentary Question Time when John Howard's talking.)

When will they ever learn? *lol*

This morning, I read an article called Cinemas slash ticket prices to revive sales in the Sydney Morning Herald. Apparently a number of cinemas around Australia have decided to cut their prices dramatically in an attempt to get more people to see movies, as lately things haven't been going all that well for the cinematic industry. For example, The Island only made around $A1.3 million in its opening weekend here. And that's something that's been happening for all of the other 'blockbusters' that have been coming out lately.

Are you surprised? I'm not. Honestly, how pathetic have movies been lately? I can honestly say that there has not been a single movie that I've wanted to see in cinemas since... hmmm... My Big Fat Greek Wedding in 2002. Well, I have wanted to see a whole heap of arthouse stuff, but never get anywhere near an arthouse cinema, so there goes that desire. Although I can't wait for the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe *lol*

But lately? Ha! All we're getting at the moment are movies made from old movies or TV shows that utterly desecrate the old movies/shows. Considering that there's a Smurfs movie in the pipeline, I hate to think what dreadful things are going to be done with one of my favourite childhood anti-Communist American propaganda pieces (yes, it seriously was) *sigh*

How many remakes have there been recently? Hmm... let's think about it, and in no particular order, we have had...
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
War of the Worlds
Bad News Bears
Dark Water (another rip off of a Japanese horror/thriller)
Bewitched
The Longest Yard
Fever Pitch (stolen from a Brit movie staring Colin Firth I do believe, and all about soccer)
The Amityville Horror
Assault on Precinct 13
The Manchurian Candidate (altho wasn't that last year or something?)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Starsky and Hutch
Garfield
Thunderbirds
Vanity Fair
The Grudge
Alfie

And let's not forget the follow-up flicks, like Batman Begins, Miss Congeniality 2, xXx, Fast and the Furious, Chucky, Herbie, Star Wars, Exorcist, The Mask, National Lampoons Going The Distance, National Lampoons Gold Diggers, Scooby Doo, Spiderman, Princess Diaries, Blade blah blah blah!!!

And coming up we have... Drum roll please, Wilfred...
Batman vs Superman (yes, indeed - WTF!?)
King Kong
The Smurfs
The Dukes of Hazzard
Oliver Twist
Pride and Prejudice
Fun With Dick and Jane

More follow-ups with: Jurassic Park IV, Spiderman 3, Superman Returns, Indiana Jones 4, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, Saw 2, Batman Year One, Legend of Zorro, Harry Potter, Big Momma's House 2 etc, etc, etc... hmm!

The problem with remakes is that they lose the context of the original movies or shows. Political situations have changed and something that made a statement in the past now sort of hangs limply, in need of serious movie Viagra.

And it's a shame that the arthouse cinema mentioned at the end of that article is going to close. However, I don't think that the man who owns and runs it blaming a lack of good arthouse work being out there at the moment is quite right. In fact, I'd use the words of Bernard from Black Books: 'RUBBISH! Absolute rubbish!' There's been some fantastic stuff out there. It's just that people are generally wary of arthouse and it's basically never promoted well enough, if at all. Which is a shame, because I think it offers so much more than Hollywood ever could offer, and that people are missing out on the opportunity to be inspired, challenged, uplifted, puzzled or whatever else they might feel after seeing something different.

Oh well, the movie industry will probably never learn :)

Another joke :)

One of the Archbishop of Canterbury's assistants runs in breathless and says to him, "I've got some good news and some bad news. Which do you want first?"
The Archbishop says, "Give me the good news."
The assistant replies, "I've got Jesus on the phone for you."
The Archbishop says, "And the bad news?"
"He's calling from Salt Lake City."

14 things...

*teehee* My friend Frankie sent this on to me over the weekend, and I thought it was rather amusing! Particularly the second one... which was funny, because I had a kick-a$$ day yesterday in terms of getting the house and yard cleaned up, wood chopped, food cooked, clothes ironed, blah blah blah. Yay me! *lol*

But there are plenty of other reasons to split up with a 'beloved,' so bah humbug to the cleaning thing *lol*

Anyways!

14 Things You Really Should Have Done Before Getting Married

1. Watch yourself eating in front of a mirror. If you're put off, that's the view your future partner will have...

2. Live on your own. It's important that you find out what a hopeless slob you are before your beloved tells you. And then leaves you...

3. Go out with your friends for a "quick drink" and stagger home three days later...

4. Have a holiday romance with someone who doesn't speak a word of English. Who needs conversation?

5. Women: Take the soft toys off your bed. Nothing turns a man off more than performing in front of an audience of beady-eyed teddies...

6. Men: Get rid of those "How to Get Girls Even Though You're Poor and Ugly' books. They never work anyway...

7. Gobble the last slice of pizza without having to go through the 'No you have it, no really... Are you sure you don't mind...?

8. Walk about the house naked, without having to hold any bits in...

9. Have friends of the opposite sex. After marriage, it's too much effort to keep saying: "No, I really don't fancy them"...

10. Men: Enjoy that wardrobe space while you can! You will not believe the vast number of shoes that one woman needs...

11. Women: Fill in silly magazine quizzes with titles like 'Are You Seductive', without having to listen to loud laughter from your partner (who then runs off with the magazine)...

12. Men: Get rid of anything inflatable and female-shaped...

13. Relish clipping your toenails straight onto the carpet...

14. Remember that your best option with in-laws is to marry an orphan...