Adult themes? Yeah, prolly...

Raunch culture draws caricatures of desire by Ariel Levy.

I quote:

The critic and author Natasha Walter noted after the publication of Naomi Wolf's new book last month there's "a general feeling that feminism had become tolerant of cultural sexism". And cultural sexism is linked to underlying political and economic inequalities that make it not so ironic or funny.
There is a widespread assumption that simply because my generation of women has the good fortune to live in a world touched by the feminist movement, that means everything we do is magically imbued with its agenda. But it doesn't work that way. "Raunchy" and "liberated" are not synonyms. It is worth asking ourselves if this bawdy world we have resurrected reflects how far we've come, or how far we have left to go.
Many women today seem to have forgotten that sexual power is only one, very specific, kind of power. And what's more, looking like a stripper or a Playboy bunny is only one, very specific, kind of sexual expression.
We have to ask ourselves why we are so focused on silent girly girls in g-strings faking lust. This is not a sign of progress, it's a testament to what's still missing from our understanding of human sexuality with all of its complexity and power. We are still so uneasy with the vicissitudes of sex that we need to surround ourselves with caricatures of female hotness to safely conjure up the concept of "sexy". It's kind of pathetic.
Sex is one of the most interesting things we as humans have to play with, and we've reduced it to polyester underpants and implants. We are selling ourselves unbelievably short.

*My bolds, btw...

Ahh, I could just quote the whole article here... It's fantastic.

Most of all, it's true. We're sort of getting this pre-packaged American idea of what sex is or is not thanks to TV and music and stuff like that, which presents a totally skewed view of all things sex (considering the almost phobia of the American public when it comes to that kind of thing). It's like sex is something that is to be scared of, so it has to be represented in a few ways that are non-threatening and reduce it all down to bodies (and "perfect" ones at that), forgetting about minds, reasons, interpretations, feelings, emotions, thoughts, desires...

Sex and sexuality is cut down to something sleazy where wearing the least means that at least you're getting male attention to stroke that ego of yours, like with the raunch culture, or made out to be something perfect and wonderful and connected where all involved leave satisfied and so on.

Raunch culture also takes away a lot of the "sacredness" and "specialness" of sex and sexuality, as well as their diversity. There are so many women who think that they have to do anything to please the guys they're with that just end up kinda demeaning them. I mean stuff like threesomes and so on. And the whole thing of, "Oh ya, I'm sooooooo bisexual" when it's like, "Right, and next month you'll be what according to what makes you think guys will give you some attention...?" 'Sides, it annoys people who are really bi who find that their partners automatically assume that they'll be up for a threesome with friend X, Y or Z (read a great article about that once in a Newcastle Uni student paper).

That's not liberation! Wake up and smell the low-grade lube! HELLO!? Why should it be all about pleasing the guys? It's like some kind of twisted version of what women used to be told about being lovely housewives so that they could please their husbands by having dinner on the table when he got home and never complaining about the kind of day they've had.

It's not liberation. It's stupidity.

Sex and sexuality is so much more. God-given and meant for us to enjoy (in the right kinda relationships), we should appreciate our individuality when it comes to all of that. It's not going to be perfect, we all like different things, the vast majority of women don't climax from penetrative sex alone, it's about feelings and emotions and connections with another person and that's really really really intimate, love, care, understanding, desires, quirks, blah blah blah.

Sexiness is in the mind far more than the body.

Okie, I've probably ranted enough, but yeah.

Just remember you don't have to be what society tells you to be. That changes all of the time. Just be honest to yourself and don't sacrifice personal integrity for some attention or whatever!

~end rant~

Adendum: refer to the Stupid Spoiled Wh*re episode of South Park with Paris Hilton and all of that sort of thing for a more amusing and twisted take on the matter :)
Good article by Emma Tom

Pondering of the day

What is it with really hot older men!? Oh my goodness *fans self* I mean unmarried ones, of course; the kind of ones who leave you thinking, "And you're not married why??" Although I guess them being single is a good thing, technically *lol*

Still, hot older guys are kind of rare. And by older I mean 36+. Usually once they hit 35, it all goes kind of uninteresting even if they're really smart and witty (ooh, don't I sound shallow). But then there's the occasional guy who is probably going to look fantastic even when he's like 90.

In conclusion: hot older men rock!

*gouges eyes out*

ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Again on Rage...

This music starts up and I think, "Hmm, this sounds like U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer..." and prepare myself for being traumatised.

Still, it was actually WORSE than that.

Yes. How could it be worse, you ask?

Superfreak by Rick James. Which has the same tune and stuff as the MC Hammer thing, but is about five times as scary. The leotards... his hair... the whole concept... ugh!

Thank goodness for Through Being Cool by Devo following it, or I think I would have run from the house screaming! :-p

Coffee&TV

They just had the clip for Coffee & TV on Rage. It's so cute! Still one of my all-time favourite clips for a song (other favourites include Bohemian Like You and pretty much anything that Rammstein's done). The little milk carton guy is my hero...

Don't you miss BritPop, though?

I kind of do. All that fantastic mellow kind of music that was great for the weekends and listening to on Sunday afternoons when someone somewhere was doing the mowing and you could smell the cut grass in the air on a warm Summery day.

Coffe & TV
Blur

Do you feel like a chain store?
Practically floored
One of many zeros
Kicked around bored
Your ears are full but your empty
Holding out your heart
To people who never really
Care how you are

So give me coffee and tv
History
I’ve seen so much
I’m goin blind
And I’m braindead virtually
Sociability
It’s hard enough for me
Take me away form this big bad world
And agree to marry me
So we can start all over again

Do you go to the country
It isn’t very far
There’s people there who will hurt you
Cos of who you are

Your ears are full of the language
There’s wisdom there you’re sure
’til the words start slurring
And you can’t find the door

So give me coffee and tv
History
I’ve seen so much
I’m goin blind
And I’m braindead virtually
Sociability
It’s hard enough for me
Take me away form this big bad world
And agree to marry me
So we can start all over again

So give me coffee and tv
History
I’ve seen so much
I’m goin blind
And I’m braindead virtually
Sociability
It’s hard enough for me
Take me away form this big bad world
And agree to marry me
So we can start all over again

Oh...we could start over again
Oh...we could start over again
Oh...we could start over again
Oh...we could start over again

Quote of the Day

"If you collect enough tokens from the back of Cocoa Pops, you too can send them away and become Prime Minister!" - Little Britain

Random 2 Q's

Two Names You Go By That Aren't Your Name:
Psh... I own all my names! *shakes fist*

Two Parts of Your Heritage:
1. German - including the temper sometimes *lol*
2. English - stiff upper lip side (eg: I fell through a bridge and tore ligaments in my knee and didn't cry, but gave instructions for getting a wheel barrow and wheeling me up to where we could meet the ambulance *lol*).

Two Things That Scare You:
1. Bushfires. They scare seven kinds of hell out of me! Stiff upper lip side goes out the window with that, actually. Heck, it's almost enough to make you go on the straight and narrow so as to avoid any possible future brimstone ;) (jk)
2. Reality TV.

Two of Your Everyday Essentials:
1. Breathing...
2. My mobile phone.

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. My uber-funky new grey pin-stripe flared pants :D
2. A ring from Diva that looks like some kind of engagement thing, and is great for warding off people who want to hit on you when traveling.

Two of Your Favourite Bands or Musical Artists (at the moment):
1. Rammstein (perennial favourite) :)
2. Vaughn Williams.

Two of Your Favourite Songs - at the moment:
1. Rosenrot (the clip for it blew my mind!).
2. Love Generation (yes, you can be shocked... I even have it as a ring tone at the moment o.0).

Two Things You Want in a Relationship (other than Real Love):
1. Money... oh wait... ermm... no, just kiddin' :) Fun - happiness, contentment, laughs... That whole deal, y'know?
2. Constant growth - learning, challenging, discovering, building...

Two Truths about you:
1. I'm as mad as a trumpet.
2. I usually do things in a mad rush at the last minute.

Two things you are attracted to (physically):
1. Ohh, this is difficult - mental attraction is so much hotter. But let's say: guys who aren't thin... I dunno, muscular works, cuddly is hot... *shrugs* and...
2. A great smile :)

Two of Your Favourite Hobbies:
1. Art - all kinds, must do more.
2. Blogging. It's addictive!!! I think I'd inject/snort/smoke it if I could o.0

Two Things You Want Really Badly:
1. To pay off my home loan ASAFP.
2. To make the garden at home look half way decent at least.

Two Places You Want to go on Vacation:
1. England :)
2. Germany :)

Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die:
1. Travel around a whole lot of interesting places :)
2. Write a novel. I live in a house that should inspire me! It's like a writer's retreat... we shall see what happens. Something pretentious, long-winded, odd and all of that other stuff that Australian novels often are ;) With soul-searching characters added, natch!

Two Ways that you are stereotypically a Chick/Guy:
1. Shopping. I luuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrve shopping!
2. I have gross-out moments with gardening, doing icky jobs, etc and if a guy's around I'll try to get him to do it instead *lol*

Two Things You Are Thinking About Now:
1. Why the computer doesn't do what I want it to!
2. Lunch... it's only a few minutes away and then it'll be time to be outside in the sun! :D

Two Stores You Shop At:
1. DFO - okay, it's cheating and is a whole lot of stores, but bargains kick butt!
2. K-mart. Just lately, they've had some uber-funky stuff there. Seriously! Got some gorgeous boots and shoes there recently, and funky lantern fairy lights.

If the messenger's smart, sassy and sexy, shoot her by Virginia Haussegger.

I found this article on the Sydney Morning Herald site this morning and found it pretty interesting. There's a lot of truth to the comments about we women judging other women for *being* women rather than looking at what they have to say first.

Sure, women need to discuss the meaningful things, but they also need to have fun and be able to take a light-hearted approach to certain things.

Quoting from the article:

Dowd's razor-sharp depiction of women who choose to parade their breasts instead of their brains (in order to enjoy the greater rewards), and who have ditched old-fashioned aspirations of gender equality for slut-culture supremacy, is just too much of an insult to delicate Australian feminist sensibilities. So what do we do?

Rather than poke at the provocation, unearthing its fundamental truth, we go for the girl. And we aim where we know it hurts most.

She's "single and childless", informs Salamon. She may be "smart, stylish, sexy and successful", but so too are plenty of other women, Salamon argues, who "have a partner and children and are fulfilled"...

...But perhaps nothing could be quite as pathetic in its moral grandstanding as the heart-stopper in The Australian, by Caroline Overington - an otherwise thoughtful journalist - who posed this question when playing with the title of Dowd's book: "But what about women who aren't married and don't have children? Couldn't we get rid of them?"

She goes on to poke fun at Dowd for living alone and being free to "pop out for a martini" every night. Then she turns a collective anger at women who are childless into a full-blown sneer: "Spending time with (a) child is vastly more satisfying - and takes more skill - than spending the longest night in the coolest bar in New York."

Overington's article isn't too bad really, and there are some giggle-moments, but I kind of got the "Oooh, I'm single and childless. I should go to my room right now and think about how naughty I've been to allow myself to be so!" feeling. Same for allowing myself to feel successful, smart, stylish and sexy. And then I should hunt me down a man! And then pop out a number of children! Psh... I dunno... people don't need to have produced loinfruit to be successful or happy.

There's nothing wrong with having kids and there's nothing wrong with not having kids. Depending on where you stand morally, there's also nothing wrong with being married or being unmarried (depending on what you get up to in both of those states).

Relationships with others are important, but we don't all have to have exactly the same relationships. We're not all destined to be the be carbon copies of each other and produce 2.5 kids and be friends with the neighbours and drive a SUV-style car that never sees the off-road it was designed for.

We're free to choose.

Or at least we were, last time I looked. And yes, kudos to the "Fab 4" as mentioned by Haussegger in the end of her article for standing up for choice.

Okie, so it's nutty to say this, but the apple I have for lunch today is FANTASTIC!!!

Lately apples have been so disappointing that it's almost been enough to make me break down and cry (dammit), but the Golden Delicious apples at the store today were so gorgeous and crisp-looking that I had to buy some and they haven't disappointed :D

There's almost nothing worse than floury-textured apples.

Other than soggy bread.

Ugh, must not think of that while eating! *lol*

New Jacket :D

New boots and Tom Cruise

These are my new boots!

And I'm watching the episode of South Park with the Scientology thing. SOOOOOOOO funny! Definitely a lot of *gigglesnort* moments.

"Dad! Dad! Mr Cruise won't come out of the closet!"

Now, if Tom Cruise wore my boots, he might be taller!

*teehee*

Your Say - John Howard Archives.

I'm not the only one who wants Howard to be unelected! And I'm not the only one who thinks Australia is worse off for having him as a Prime Monster. Still fail to understand why people are so idiotic as to forgive him for his insane policies on social structures like university education, health, etc for there being a "good" economy, which really isn't caused by him.

Economic wealth but social poverty... think about it. Good in the long term? I think not!

Anyhoo...

This really makes me think that we need a decent opposition party. As someone posted on the comments, you're only as good as your opposition. The current opposition party would be much better off under Julia Gillard's leadership. Currently it's got all the power of an anorexic cream puff. High time for the Labor party to grow some bollocks, become a decent opposition with strong policies that reflect the interests of Australia and its people (we can but hope that they're paying attention to what people hate about John Howard's policies) and get focused on winning the election next year!

Oh, and Labor? Please don't forget to do something about our social systems. And focus on the climate change issue. And saying "Sorry" to the Aboriginal people. And not lying about everything like the current Prime Monster does. PLEASE do something to make us proud. I mean, I'm still traumatised by the fact that I once thought that the Liberal party wasn't too bad!!! Mind you, I was young then. But that memory has to go *shakes head*

And on another note, why doesn't the GG do something like what happened to Gough Whitlam to the current government? I mean, look at the Tampa stuff, children overboard, WMDs, AWB, deporting Australian citizens, human rights abuses, etc...

Oooh, and also check out http://www.polichicks.org/, mmm'k? :D

*flourish* I have returned!

Whew...

Weekend...

*slumps in chair*

Ummmm, Friday was a day of shopping! And I mean a day. Went to the DFO, bought mountains of stuff (I *heart* the DFO), went to next shopping centre, bought two things, went to last shopping centre and bought lots and did the grocery shop as well.

Mmmm, my bank will just lurrrrve me!

But it was fantastic!!! I cannot use enough exclaimation marks on this... well... I can. But the main thrust of it all was that I finally found a gorgeous pair of knee-high leather Winter boots that are gorgeous and sleek and perfect and oh-so-very-num-nums and are now ALL MINE!

Plus a funky military-style jacket, two pairs of fantastic pants that are a bit too long in the legs department but there's nothing a few hours on the rack won't cure and most importantly they don't make me look like my ass has fainted (because it most certainly hasn't!!! *dances*), cute tops, makeup, cute skirts, stuff, stuff and stuuuuuuuuuuufffffff, can't remember the rest.

Booyah!

*dances some more*

*giggles like a girly girl*

Oh and then I did the gardening on Sunday for like two and a half hours and FINALLY got most of that hideous root system out of the garden bed. Whoever put that in there is in for a serious thumping with my Winter boots (around the noggin, methinks) for doing that! Evil, hideous plant thing! ARRGHH! But yeah... so now I can plant my various bits and bobs and start to make the herb garden to end all herb gardens (and that's cullinary herbs, not 'errrrrrrb, man... I don't want the neighbours raiding the garden after all *frownie moment*).

So ya. Good weekend.

Build It Up/Tear It Down

I read a comment about God from someone today who was using a statement to attack another person's perspective on God. Okay, so the writer actually was quoting from the Bible when he said God is harmless (Hebrews 7.26), but it still bothered me, and I felt like saying, "You know what? God *isn't* harmless."

God could do anything He wanted. He could annihilate us all in this very second. He's a "jealous" God. Of course, He's slow to anger, but His righteous anger is something that's not petty or a "go to your room and think about what you've done!" kind of thing.

Sometimes I think we like to imagine God is harmless or some beatific thing that sits on a cloud and dispenses fairy-floss on golden sticks to the "worthy." Then it excuses us so much more easily when we sin. We've created God in our own image, rather than God being our creator and us being in His image. Or we like to think that God only has issues with those that we ourselves think are deserving. Or that He will just love us all forever and ever and not really be serious about that judgement thing or the living righteous lives stuff.

BUT... and this is important, kiddies, there'll be a test on it later...

God isn't harmful.

He's not someone to be afraid of. He's not going to annihilate you totally, because actually does He loves you - enough to send his only Son to die for us. That doesn't mean that we should be ignoring Him or pretending that He's some kind of "tame lion" (thinking the Beaver's description of Aslan here) who we can make do what we want.

By limiting God, we're limiting ourselves and our interactions with Him and our understanding of Him. I think God can be anything. He's different to each person who believes in Him. And none of us have it right or have a monopoly on what God is or isn't. Our human imaginations can't even comprehend how totally magnificent He really is. God's not a "tame God." He's both establishment and anti-establishment. Creation and destruction. The beginning and the end. Alpha and Omega. He begins where He ends. Perfection. Everything.

So maybe we need to start listening to what other people find God to be and what He means to them. We don't have to agree. We don't have to change everything we believe in. But it might expand our own perspectives :)

London Fashion Week

Hmm... not a London Pigeon... (note Black Books reference). But it's nice to see more elegant works in the world of fashion. Although that's a trend that's been around for some time... Think tweed. Think 1920s. Think the revival of Victorian-style shirts. Think A-line skirts. Think the gorgeous shoes *kicks up heels.* Think of the general glamour!

But this dress... Lovely. Somehow Grecian, somewhat 1920s, somewhat Edwardian, utterly gorgeous.

*goes to happy place*

Okay, so this is rant.

If you don't like rants, move right along.

But have you ever had a day where you get a major slap in the face from someone you'd respected and thought was a pretty decent person? I did today, and I have to say, it annoyed me, but disappointed me more.

The story? A guy sent an e-mail to my boss today complaining about alterations to his written material. Really ranting and pointing fingers. And then he got on to attacking my work. I quote: "This is totally incorrect. They are NOT volunteers, but full-time employees, as anyone with a little knowledge would realise."

Hmm. So sweet of him to go from criticism to insults.

And I was the only one he got stuck into with the insults. I wonder if it was because I was female, unlike the other people he was attacking? Strange how a lot of guys in the church, especially in administration, seem to think that they can treat women in any ways they want.

It's totally inappropriate. Criticism has its merits, and yes, I realise that I had made a mistake with the work with ONE word, which I had consulted about with another editor. But to be told I was an idiot, or for my boss to be told I was an idiot, was not acceptable. Especially since this came from a person is in an official position. In a church, no less.

This is why I'm not surprised that 70% of young people leave the church.

You expect more of Christians, and although I know that we're not perfect, you don't expect Christians to go out of their way to attack you or others with personal insults. However, it's most often Christians who do.

So now that I'm less "GRRR!!!" about it, I plan to talk to my boss tomorrow and express to him that I really was insulted and although the criticism had its merits and I own my mistake, I found it inappropriate for someone in church administration to be making such comments about my intelligence.

Valentine's Day.

The day for romance, luuuuuuuuuuuuurve, spending way too much, getting paper cuts from all of the cards and all of that sort of stuff. Or for sulking, if you're that way inclined, because you're alone. Or just enjoying it like any other day, regardless of single or taken status.

Ohhh yeah, Barry White is in the house, ladies! Ohhh feel that fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine lurrrrrrrrrvin'.... mmmmhmmm... you know you wanna... mmmmmhmmmm...

*teehee*

Ermm... Valentine's Day on this end? One of my friends told me last night that he's getting divorced. Another friend is still in the middle of a rather traumatic kind of breakup. Two other friends who were dating each other are now in Splitsville. But hey, I guess all relationships come to an end...

Other friends are getting married soon, doing the couple thing, being single, etc, all with varying degrees of happiness.

Me? Well... the computer at work is being a son of a female dog... but other than that, I'm happy enough. I mean, my legs haven't fallen off, I haven't been abducted and probed by aliens and there's a heck of a mess to go home to with the garden *lol* Wait, I don't sound happy! I am actually :) I still like being single.

Maybe that'll change one day ~ who knows.

Methinks Valentine's Day should really just be about sharing the love with everyone. Oi, no, get your pants back on! NOT THAT KINDA LOVE! But yes, it's a good time for letting people know that we think they're fantastic, in a platonic way. Or non-platonic. Hey, take the opportunity to tell someone you think they're hot stuff :-D But yeah, tell people you care about them :) Because people, in spite of all the problems, are still amazing creations :)

Song of the Day: I Was Made For Loving You Baby by KISS. It makes me laugh *teehee!*

Vale 'on her own' over Muslim population comments.

Last night, Danna Vale almost had me choking on my dinner when she made utterly outrageous (and, I thought, highly discriminatory) comments about Australia becoming a "Muslim nation" if we continued with abortion (citing an abortion rate of 100,000 fetuses per year - I'm curious as to whether she means abortion as in induced or natural, though, seeing as miscarriages and natural terminations of pregnancy are counted as "abortion") and allowed the use of RU486.

So I'm glad that other politicians are distancing themselves from this absolute bosh. Particularly with Amanda Vanstone speaking out about it.

I wonder, whether there was a "threat" of Australia becoming a "Christian" nation whether there would be people getting their knickers in a knot about it? Or a Buddhist nation? Or Hindu? Or is it just that the Muslim religion is one that's "acceptable" to pick on at the moment, possibly made that way by our Western reaction to terrorism, the "Other" and so on?

Muslim/Islam is a religious choice, just like any other religions (although some places allow more choice than others). In a free and supposedly tolerant society like Australia, people should be allowed to choose their religions and not have to worry about others harassing them because of it. Being Muslim isn't confined to being of Middle Eastern origin - Indonesia has a huge Muslim population, for example.

Going back in history in Australia, we have always had a fear that the "Others," "outsiders," "people who are different" would "out-breed" us and take over. It was once anyone from Asia when we had the gold rushes. It used to be the Greeks and Italians. Then the Vietnamese. It's all ridiculous, racist, xenophobic, discriminatory and annoying. Most of all, it's divisive - just more reasons for people to fear and hate and distrust.

The most worrying thing? At the moment, 32% of people think Danna Vale has a point, according to a SMH reader poll (at 11.59am).

Tolerant nation my foot.

We may become a Muslim nation: Vale (the Age's take on it).

Abortion will lead to Muslim nation: MP (SMH's take on it).

Arrghhh!

You ever get those moments where you just want to do something but have no idea what, but it's either going to be something destructive or something constructive... Maybe not chopping off butterfly's wings, but you know what I mean.

It's either time to kill some things in the garden or sit down and do some art :)

In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey

The overweight are the latest putting the boot into fat people by Jane Willcox.

Thank-you to Ms Willcox. This is why I won't be watching The Biggest Loser. And it's not just because I'd like to smack the trainers in the teeth with a Christmas ham.

It's the whole discrimination thing. Maybe if we were in the 1940s, there would be a show of a similar ilk for black people to become the whitest black people they could be (oooooh, politically incorrect, go to your room...) (and no, I'm not condoning racism, just making a point about discrimination and what it can do to people). Or maybe in the Victorian era, something about how women who spoke their minds were really quite as insane as a trumpet and got to work towards the coveted title of being the "least insane" of the lot (and thereby avoid being locked in the attic).

Everything is looks! The other week I was unfortunate enough to catch a few minutes of Extreme Makeover and was appalled, quite frankly. And in this era of media bombardment with appalling lots of things, it does take a fair amount to appall the general person. But I was appalled!

This show's all like, "YOU! You, yes, you! You are UGLY! Good LORD, how can you be LET OUT OF THE HOUSE, you hideous harpy! Let's take you away somewhere and cut off this, jam this bit of plastic into you, strap your breasts up around your collarbones, tell you how hideous you truly are FOR YOUR OWN GOOD, darling. Because you are so horrible! But we can make you look beautiful! YES! WE CAN! Only us! We are God!! *muahahahaha* There will be no ugliness! Our vision is to be the only one that can exist!"

What the hell is it with society and its need to degrade people constantly??

Especially degradation for "entertainment."

It makes the Romans with gladiatorial games look humane.

This...

This isn't quite it, but the idea is there. I love the traditional oriental-style back tattoos, particularly the koi-descending-from-upper-back ones. So... in some ways, I'm tempted to get a tattoo as a reward for weight loss (when it happens!), probably one on my back where it's not visible to everyday people, but I know it's there :)

Pain for pleasure or pleasure for pain, I guess you could say, but sometimes you just want to get some kind of permanant mark for something that's been achieved. Like some kind of Student of the Week award, but not.

Thanks to BME for that pic...

Weekend Soundtrack

Hmm, weekend music... This is my weekend soundtrack *teehee*

1) Bust a Move - Run DMC
2) Disco Inferno - whoever that's by
3) Staying Alive - Bee Gees
4) A Groovy Kind of Love - Phil Collins
5) Little Red Riding Hood - Steppenwolf
6) Hung Up - Madonna
7) Way to Go - Rogue Traders
8) I Was Made For Loving You Baby - KISS
9) Sort It Out - The Caesars
10) Make a Move - Joey Negro
11) Wonderland Avenue - White Horse
12) I Don't Want to Love On The Moon - Ernie
13) Mad World - Gary Jules
14) Listen to Your Heart - DHT ft Emdee
15) Love I Don't Have to Love - Bright Eyes
16) Daydream in Blue - I Monster
17) Turn on the Music - Roger Sanchez
18) Love Generation - Bob Sinclair ft Gary Pine
19) One Hand in My Pocket - Alanis Morrisette

Note the total lack of Rammstein? Shocking, isn't it!? But sometimes on the weekend you need a break... although now I'm watching the clip for Rosenrot *teehee* Rammstein video clips never fail to blow my mind :) (if you haven't seen Du Hast, do it now. Right this moment. Yes. Now!)

Where Is My Mind...

There's a guy I know who has this amazing ability to make my brain just switch off. And no, not out of boredom or whatever *lol* It's just that every time he appears in life, suddenly I forget about all other guys even existing and I'm just like, "Wow..."

*teehee* *girly giggle* *twirls hair around finger*

Ya, ya, it's prolly a crush or whatever! *lol* But the most annoying thing? Nothing's ever going to happen with it. He's hands down the most interesting person I've ever met, and hands down the most unavailable (and not just because he's more than a decade older than I am *lol*) (and the age thing ain't never stopped me before *lol*).

So in some ways, it's nice to go months and months without hearing anything from him. Because when he reappears, it's like, "Ohh, there goes my mind again, why is he so fascinating!?" all over again.

What we can't have always seems more interesting, I suppose.

Susan Sarandon said something I that really grabbed my attention on Parkinson tonight about religion (Catholicism for her), which was something like:

"I was always told I had an overabundance of original sin, so I always felt like I was on the outside praying hard to fit in."

Hmmm...

We had a training thing yesterday at work.

It was surprisingly less boring than I'd thought it would be, but then the guy who presented it was also fantastic eye-candy *lol* (and no, he had a partner and kids, so let's not go there *lol*). It was weird, though, because he looked quite a lot like a taller version of a friend's boyfriend :)

Sooooo exhausted after last week that I slept until 12 today. Yikes!

Just finished watching Iron Chef, which was cool. They had a noodle battle today, which should give me ideas for using up the varieties of noodles I have in the cupboard *lol* I think there's udon, flat rice noodles, Singapore noodles, rice vermicelli and that's about it... hmm!

Can never have too many? :-p

More wrongful detention of Australian citizens, with the ombudsman investigating "about 200" cases of wrongful detention.

*imagined inner thoughts of Amanda Vanstone*

Ohhh, just about 200... aren't you glad we don't just execute them on sight... Yeah, only 200 or so, no biggie, you'd think the people would be GLAD to be locked up... A genuine Australian experience - you can't say you're an Aussie until you've been locked in a detention centre for years on end, really... They should be thanking us!

Why, I was locked up for seven years in my formative years. They called it "boarding school" then, but we all knew what it was! Did me no harm at all, though!

Don't see what all the fuss is about anyways. Well, apart from having that new Missing Persons show snooping around Detention Centres now, with all of those people convinced that their husbands or wives have been locked up in there rather than them really having nicked off with the lady from down the street.

No, this is a positive move for Australia. Give 'em something to tell their grandkids, I reckon. Maybe we should think about giving them a medallion or something. Hmm...

Please note: not actual thoughts of Senator Vanstone. We are not psychic here at Random Black Heart Glitter Moments.

Concentrated sleep.

I'd buy that if it were for sale.

A few hours for a few dollars. Yeah, I'd so buy that.

-.-

PapparazziPuppy

Okay, so I use Advil and find that it works very well for me with killing off migraines. So I've found it interesting that there's a feature on the 7.30 Report tonight about iboprufen, which is the main working element in Advil.

Apparently one in five people will have adverse effects due to taking pain killers with iboprufen in them. Freaky rashes, eye bleeding, death... oh goodie! I often find that although they kill the pain, I always feel extra-tired afterwards for the next couple days.

So, technically, iboprufen has more of an impact than RU 486 has in terms of "dangers" to those who take it. And there's not some kind of political uproar about ibuprofen either having the Federal health minister control its usage or not. Hmmm...

Then is it really relevant to say that RU486 is not an issue entirely related to abortion rather than the actual drug itself and its elements, impact, etc? Really this is down to the abortion side of things. But such is life, I suppose... It'll be interesting to see what happens tomorrow.

*poke!!* Oh, wise guy, eh!?

A pokie in the eye for big clubs.

Okay, so there's a sadistic side of me that enjoyed reading that article and the comments accompanying it!!!

I worked with a local newspaper for a while in NSW and had to cover the introduction of the new tax system to cover the pokies there, which involved talking to local club owners (some of the clubs, such as the RSL, had over 50 machines), government people and so on. The local club owners were claiming it would see the ruination of everyone in the town - small businesses wouldn't be able to be supported because the clubs wouldn't be able to spend as much money on them, etc etc.

I felt like saying, "Don't you mean that small businesses would be supported because people would no longer be chucking all of their money into a pokie machine slot and could spend it at the shops instead?" Personally, I was all for the new taxes (hoping that the new laws would encourage clubs to install less of the dratted things so as to avoid paying loads more tax), but the editor of the newspaper forbade me from going with the angle of it being a good thing that the club owners wouldn't be raking in as much money from the machines. He sided with the local club owners.

Of course the governments aren't going to ban pokies. They make far too much money, even though they cause some horrible problems for the people who end up addicted to gambling with them. I remember when I still lived in South Australia, there was a little old lady I overheard in a conversation with a friend on pension pay day morning. She'd already spent all of her pension playing the pokies at the local club.

Australia needs more Nick Xenophon style politicians! :-p

...and a blueberry Danish...

I wonder how much this: Downer sounds WMD alert is an attempt to distract from this: Deputy PM linked to AWB scandal?

Or am I just becoming too politically cynical in my old age?

But it's just that every time the government gets mud all over it with some scandal or another, they wheel out tired old terrorist threats and try the scare tactics in an attempt to divert us from them being involved in some rather appalling behaviour.

Honestly, there seems to have been more of a threat of people going nuts and bombing things, blaming the Danish cartoons from FOUR months ago (reaction time a little strange to anyone else..??), than there is from Osama and Co. Who would have thought that some drawings would end up causing that much of a pathetic over-reaction? *sigh*

Conversation between a friend and I... He's in Italics.

About conscience ... inspired by a comment at church that our conscience is instinctively right..... ...
ooh...so what's your take on that?
like, no way! We're sinful people in a sinful world - if you listen to the Holy Spirit, then yes, but you can't assume all conscience is correct.... something along those lines
true, you can't just say everything that you "feel" is right IS right
spot on(and somewhat hedonistic)
I'm kind of sick of this touchy-feely religion that takes EVERYTHING feeling-oriented over head-knowledge of the Bible and so on
Hedonistic christianity? Or should I say hedonistic moralism?
hmmm, both
....christianity suffers shocking PR.....
it does

... Blah blah...

MUST think more about this. It's true. Getting really tired of people not looking more at Christianity from a perspective that doesn't involve Hillsong-style, touchy-feely, who needs theological debate sides. And no, I don't mean a return to the Spanish Inquisitions, Dark Ages rubbish!

Need sleep, will think later.

Gillard challenges minister's abortion claims courtesy Sydney Morning Herald.

So tired of Tony Abbot's whingey-whingey-I-know-what's-best-for-women-in-the-country-even-though-I'm-not-a-woman-and-don't-live-in-a-rural-area thing when it comes to the RU486 abortion drug.

Nothing like claiming that allowing doctors to use it would cause a "black market" in the drug to try to create some anti-RU486 hype, without considering that continuing the ban on it would actually be far more likely to encourage a black market where it's used in dangerous, non-doctor-supervised ways. Oh, and that if Australia is populated by unscrupulous doctors who'll peddle this drug, as according to Mr Abbot it is, shouldn't there be something done about that ASAP..?

So thank goodness Julia Gillard has made some sensible comments about the whole thing (when will she be Labor leader PLEASE!?). Doctors are not encouraging women to have abortions willy-nilly, so it's highly unlikely that it will change if RU486 were to become available.

Why shouldn't the Therapeutic Goods Administration handle the RU486 matter, like they do with all other drugs? What makes Tony Abbot god on this matter? I mean, ibuprofen, found in many painkillers, increases your risk of having a miscarriage and that's available in all kinds of forms in supermarkets around the country.

Hopefully the politicians doing the "conscience vote" later in the week on the matter will think reasonably about it and see that it's something for the TGA to decide about.

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday tooooo you
Happy biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirthday dear Kristin
Happy birrrrrrrrrrrthday too-oooooo-ooooooo you!

VERY odd dreams last night.

The only one that really stands out was being in a vineyard, dressed in a wedding dress and clutching a samaurai sword.

I was running through the vineyards, looking for someone I was really obviously going to give an ass-whipping, or had given an ass-whipping or something.

Not finding them, I climbed up onto the trellises the vines were on and held onto tendrils to balance myself. Didn't spot them, so I got down and looked down at the dress, which had changed into jeans and my white Summery top, both of which were really dirty.

Somehow I then found the person I'd been looking for or whatever, and they'd been killed already.

Hmm! And no, I haven't watched Kill Bill for months! *lol*

And my friend Metty, the non-dream-non-interpretation-non-guru said of the dream, "Hmmm, looks to me like the dream can symbolize..you not wanting a marriage and will slay anyone wanting to marry..or something, hence the sword. and the summery top and jeans..means you prefer being..yourself..i guess."

*LOL*

There is seriously nothing better than a nice long Saturday afternoon walk! :)

And we wandered past the place where the bushfire that was around here had been started. It was MUCH closer to home than I'd thought it was... And gave me a new appreciation for fire fighters! I think it's time to start some kind of Hug A Firefighter Day thing or something, just to say thanks for the fantastic work that they do :)

What gorgeous weather today, though!

I found a line in a poem that I really liked last night.

Even in your Zen heaven we shan’t meet - Lesbos by Sylvia Plath

The finality to it is oddly fascinating.

In other news, The Marriage of Figaro was enjoyable to see again!

Kristin's comments on my AWB WMD post made me think about the government not liking what people have to say.

Here in Australia, we have a democracy. Democracy came to us from the ancient Greeks in Athens, and the word itself comes from the words δημοκρατία (demokratia), δημος (demos) the common people and κρατειν (kratein) to rule + the suffix ία (ia), literally "the common people rule."

All Athenian citizens were free to vote and speak in the Assembly. Sure, they didn't have it perfect then, not allowing women, slaves or non-residents to vote, but they were on the way to having some good ideas about the way governments should work.

Modern-day democracy is about you. It's about me. It's about the person next to you. The people you see in the streets. Working for all of us and our common good. The old by the people for the people thing. The society controls the government, not the other way around. A democratic government is in place to serve the people.

Of course, there are some constrained freedoms that are there to make sure that the public good is furthered. We have laws and don't run around being anarchists or whatever.

As a consequence, laws and policies should be based on what the citizens of the democracy want and need. Leaders in politics should make arguments for their cases, listen to those of others who oppose them and make changes as or where necessary, rather than just ploughing along regardless. I mean, take, for example, the huge protests and majority public objection to the Australian participation in the invasion of Iraq. The Prime Minister said that those who objected were "unAustralian" and that they didn't know what was good for them.

We're not China with no real democracy (where I'd already be in a labour camp for expressing political thoughts and being a Christian, where I could make nice Christmas lights for you all), and we do have a lot of freedoms. However, it's seeming to be silly that the current government doesn't seem to like people expressing opinions that are contrary to their own.

Of course, we're not going to like what every single person we meet has to say. This is just a fact of life. But it's important that people are allowed to have a voice, even if it's just so that discussions can be had, growth can be made and so on.

"The governors have nothing to support them but opinion. It is therefore on opinion only that the government is founded; and this maxim extends to the most despotic and most military governments. The emperor of Rome might drive his subjects against their sentiments and inclinations. But he must at least have led his praetorian bands like men, by their opinion." - David Hume, Essays, Essay 4: "Of the First Principles of Government.

Our opinions should count more to the government in power. After all, they're the things that are actually keeping them in power for the time that they are in.

Taking the last few sips of the coffee that I'd allowed to get cold somehow remind me of evenings at my grandparents place, sitting up with them watching TV, talking, the slight cool of the night tinging the edges of the room's warmth, having a cup of something to drink on the floor next to the chair...

The pigeon's blood red carpet, collection of comfortable chairs, Nanna saying, "I was just resting my eyes..." when Pappa and I woke her up when she was sleeping (and starting to snore).

For some reason, those sips of coffee put me right back there. I could literally see it. Just for a few seconds, it was like I was sitting in the lounge with them.

Rather an odd feeling.

Perhaps my house reminds me a lot of the style of my grandparent's house. Maybe that's why I developed such a sentimental attachment to it from the moment I first set foot in it. Who knows.

Maybe there was just something hallucinogenic in the coffee.

Or the joys of having a really strong sensory-memory connection o.0

La Reina - Pablo Neruda

Yo te he nombrando reina.
Hay más altas que tú, más altas.
Hay más puras que tú, más puras.
Hay más bellas que tú, hay más bellas.

Ero tú eres la reina

Cuando vas por las calles
nadie te reconoce.
Nadie ve tú corona de cristal, nadie mira
la alfombra de oro rojo
que pisas cuando pasas,
la alfrombra que no existe.

Y cuando asomas
suenan todos los ríos
en mi cuerpo, sacuden
el cielo las campanas,
y un himno llena el mundo

Sóló tú y yo,
sóló tú y yo, amor mío,
lo escuchamos.

Lovely One by Pablo Neruda

Lovely one,
Just as on the cool stone
Of the spring, the water
Opens a wide flash of foam,
So is the smile of your face,
Lovely one.

Lovely one,
With delicate hands and slender feet
Like a silver pony,
Walking, flower of the world,
Thus I see you,
Lovely one.

Lovely one,
With a nest of copper entangled
On your head, a nest
The coloUr of dark honey
Where my heart burns and rests,
Lovely one.

Lovely one,
Your eyes are too big for your face,
Your eyes are too big for the earth.

There are countries, there are rivers,
In your eyes,
My country is your eyes,
I walk through them,
They light the world
Through which I walk,
Lovely one.

Lovely one,
Your breasts are like two loaves made
Of grainy earth and golden moon,
Lovely one.

Lovely one,
Your waist,
My arm shaped it like a river when
It flowed a thousand years through your sweet body,
Lovely one.

Lovely one,
There is nothing like your hips,
Perhaps earth has
In some hidden place
The curve and the fragrance of your body,
Perhaps in some place,
Lovely one.

Lovely one, my lovely one,
Your voice, your skin, your nails,
Lovely one, my lovely one,
Your being, your light, your shadow,
Lovely one,
All that is mine, lovely one,
All that is mine, my dear,
When you walk or rest,
When you sing or sleep,
When you suffer or dream,
Always,
When you are near or far,
Always,
You are mine, my lovely one,
Always.

It's strange, I was looking up Sylvia Plath poems and suddenly something reminded me of this poem, although I hadn't looked at it for at least four years (I was introduced to it by a guy who kinda-romanced me back then). It's weird how the mind will spit out memories after years and years of never even registering the old memory on the surface. Something about the queen bee marrying the winter of something that reminded me of it all... So thanks, Sylvia :) Although you met your end in a gas oven, you helped me out today in 2006!

New Placebo album coming out in March. I'm not looking forward to it yet ~ although they're a band that I love, there are still always moments of hesitancy with their new albums, like, "Will I like it? Okay, that song's okay... I guess I will buy it."

(Unlike Rammstein, where the announcement of a new album on the way is heralded with the wish to sell one's future firstborn to get hands on a copy ASAP...)

Yes, yes, blah blah you can download it for free, I DON'T CARE! I'm old-fashioned... if I like a group or an album, I still really like to have the whole thing in my hands. The album art on the cover insert thing, on the CD, all of that. Not so fussed about their thanks to mum, dad, the goldfish, BigEars, the Nafftilator, the studio, rah rah, more names of a who-cares-but-them value.

Here's hoping Placebo doesn't disappoint.

...sick and tired of Maggie's farm... she's a b!tch with broken arms...

WMD AWB?

What I find awfully clever about our Prime Minister and the rest of the government is that they "KNEW" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein was giving Osama bin Laden full-body massages, wads of cash and support for his terrorist network, that Iraq was oh-so-very-obviously a terrible, awful, scary big danger to the democracy of the Western world (ermm... maybe there were some issues in the original Gulf War, but oh puh-lease!), etc.

BUT...

They know NOTHING about the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) paying bribes to the Hussein government (or BHP doing some dodgy dealings with said government, incidentally, which was also reported last night). Years and years and years of cash kickbacks, government involvement, memos to government ministers, government involvement in the AWB, Australian diplomats in the US trying to bribe people to cover up what the AWB were doing and so on ad infinitum!

Amazing how they can know things that aren't at all true or are far more aligned with fiction than reality while TOTALLY IGNORING THE THINGS THAT ARE REALLY HAPPENING!!! *ahem* Well, not ignoring them, but pretending that he knew absolutely nothing about them.

Maybe he just meant AWB instead of WMD, you never know. I mean, the letters could look somewhat similar when you look at them, squinting, from 50 paces, in the dark through seven pairs of dark glasses.

I am so very, very, VERY sick of our Prime Minister being such a lying, grubby, horrible little slug of a man that I simply cannot wait for the Federal election in 2007 when I am hoping that the rest of Australia's population will also be sick of Honest Johnny's lies (Just for a start, Tampa, anyone? Children overboard? WMD? AWB?). If John Howard wants to talk about how Australia needs to be a more polite society, perhaps he should start by doing the polite things of appologising for mistakes, owning up when said mistakes are made and not lying.

I think this photo was an AP one and is from the Halls Gap area following the bushfires last week.

There's something to it that I just find amazingly beautiful, even though it's an image of utter devestation to the area. It's like the world has come to an end and all that's left is you, a deafening silver silence that's reflected in the water and makes you want to tear your skin off, and the burnt plants.

Everything else is totally gone...

But then there's something elegant about the silence and the destruction that says "Come back in five year's time... This exact spot. See me then. Then you'll find out what Australia's about. Although I don't think you'll understand it even then."

Inciden'aly, this record is available in the foyer after the film...

Because today is just really making me feel "GRRR!!!" I thought it was time for...

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
Monty Python's The Life of Brian

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

So always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breath

Life's a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

And always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the right side of life...
(Come on guys, cheer up!)
Always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the bright side of life...
(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)
Always look on the bright side of life...
(I mean - what have you got to lose?)
(You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!)
Always look on the right side of life...