The Fillet Skillet

Stream of Consciousness

2009-12-02T02:42:00.001+10:00

I'm not quite sure what I want to write in here. I've become paralysed by bloggerly inaction.

I failed NaNoWriMo and I'm a little depressed by that, but happy with what I actually created during that time. I passed this semester with flying colours (Two Ds and a HD) and that means I'll be getting my testamur for a Bachelor of Communications in the mail in January. I decided not to go to the graduation ceremony because of how little money I have right now. I wasn't worried about it up until now, but as it turns out there are a bajillion things I need to pay for this week, making all the saving I've been trying to do completely worthless. Well, I know that's not strictly true, but that's what it feels like.

Anyway, I know it worked out last time, and this time it will work out as well. Last time I had more things I needed to pay for and the money came to me. I just need to be patient and creative and this time it will be the same.

I'm off to Darwin for a few days very soon. My friend Jesh is getting married and I'm a groomsman. I'm going to see so many people I love when I'm there. It's going to be the absolute bomb. I'm not looking forward to people asking me when I'm getting married though, and believe me it will happen. Jesh and I are the same age and we grew up together and did everything together, so people are just going to assume that I'm ready to get hitched too. I mean, what do you say when somebody asks (however jokingly) "So! When are YOU going to tie the knot, Rohan?" I have no response to that. I don't even have a girlfriend. Good grief. I'm 21.

I mean, I'm not saying that I want to be single forever, but let me go to Peru first.

Oh look! I'm listening to Derek Webb and he has something to say!

Baby when I put my eyes on you
I follow the curves of the moon
The oceans rise and come crashing down
Onto the shore

But your love is a noose around my neck
I give up and I know I will regret it
Your love is a weight around my legs
But I don't know who I am unless you're holding me

That's from his song I Love/Hate You, by the way.

Basically I have nothing left to add, but I'm reluctant to finish this blog on a downer because that's not how I feel right now at all. Okay how about this:

That's hardcore. Admit it. You wish you could do that, but you won't, because you're a pussy. But not these guys. These guys are the real deal. I wouldn't mess with them. Nobody would.

Awesome. Well, I'm going to go to sleep now because tomorrow I am going shoe shopping. Not even joking.

Recommendation: Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne. Be careful with this book because reading it will ruin your life. I mean, it will ruin it in the best of ways, but it will be ruined all the same. I cried all the way through the first half. It changed the way I look at the world.

Wanderlust

2009-11-12T01:48:00.000+10:00

It's safe to say the wanderlust has found me again
They say, "Don't look on it in this place--
Don't dream of it in this place."
But I say, " 'Fore the dark and dust can claim me again
With wings, I'll journey fast to your face
Seas, country, mountains--your face."
It's safe to say the wanderlust has found me again.
- "Wanderlust" by Shawna Howson

You guys I think I need an Agony Aunt. Or like, I need my circumstances to be different in that I need an Agony Aunt but I - Already! Know! What! She! Will! Say!

Please excuse me while I watch the videos for sad/lovely songs that I have favourited on YouTube.

Recommendation: The ever-lovely Shawna Howson and her blog full of poems. She's publishing a book of them very soon in time for Christmas. More on that later.

I don't know what this is.

2009-11-10T23:17:00.000+10:00

Okay so I'm doing a few things, and procrastinating-blogging is one of them.

First, look at this picture.

Isn't it lovely. (Notice the full stop indicating a statement rather than a question? They used to have a mark for that, but it got cut AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHY - more on this later)

This is the point in the blog where all my female friends start to feel uncomfortable under my lecherous male gaze. Poor things.

Another thing: I actually bought my plane tickets to New Zealand and Peru today WOOHOOZOMGZOMGNOWAI. I actually have next-to-no money now, which is rather sad, but that's how it goes.

Oh snap I need to email Dan and let him know when I'll be arriving/leaving etc. Later.

HEAVENS ABOVE I have not even thought about NaNoWriMo in three days. Well actually that's a lie. I am living in a constant state of guilt. My life is a misery why oh why did I ever decide to do this I am never going to live this failure down. Look, I'm even using run-on sentences. I'm that upset about it. This is an actual problem, you guys. What am I going to do?

Thing is I really believe in the story I'm trying to write. I'm trying to express an idea that I've been ruminating on for a while now and I think it's completely possible to do within the realms of a fictional story. It will be amazing: rich in metaphor, compelling characters with a strong developmental arc; I can already see the final product in my mind and the (completely justified) international acclaim it will receive upon its immediate publication.

But I am not writing that book right now. Right now my book is largely a self-obsessed one-dimensional fanfic of my own life. HOORAY! I am a hack, you guys.

Thing is (Yes! Another 'thing is'!) I think all authors feel this way. I need to keep reminding myself that NaNoWriMo is about creating a rough-rough-rough draft which will then go into several years of editing and rewriting. It would help if I could do word wars with people. That way it's all about the words and not about trying to write an internationally acclaimed novel which will be turned into a blockbuster indie-hipster movie starring Ellen Paige.

Another thing I'm supposed to be writing is my essay about distributing ideas on social networks via digital video. It's supposed to be 2000 words long and currently I have a rough outline of what I would like to write about should I ever start. I think this is going to be a GREAT WEEK.

Onward I move from strength to strength!

Recommendation: I am running out of off-the-top-of-my-head recommendations for books. I'm casting around my room and all I'm seeing that's worthy of recommendation bookwise are books that I know are good but which I haven't read. Instead today I will recommend a CD, A Collision (or 3 + 4 = 7) by David Crowder*Band. This is probably one of my all-time favourite albums in the world. It's like, a story? Kind of? But it definitely isn't a story. And there are themes! And... a Sufjan Stevens cover... and some bluegrass... with some rock... and a phone conversation at the end! Underneath the phone conversation is the violin solo from The Lark Ascending which, by the way, is what I want played at my funeral. So yeah, basically you should just track it down and listen to it because it is fully awesome. Kthx.

Quick short update. You know how it is.

2009-11-06T00:28:00.000+10:00

As I write this short blog post I am listening to David Crowder Band through one ear because my headphones decided to stop working on the left side just now, tonight. I'm rather upset by this actually because it means I now have no possible way to descreetly listen to things on my laptop through more than one ear.

I'm thinking that I might just have to go ahead and buy an iPod shuffle (which comes with earbuds) because my iPod battery has been on the decline for the past two years as well. I can't really listen to it unless it's plugged into the wall. I got it for my 17th birthday. Hey, I don't like to just frivolously upgrade my technology okay? There are people starving in the world.

I'm kind-of-sort-of on track with NaNoWriMo in that there are periods of surprisingly efficient writing punctuating my general mood of artistic dispair. Still, I have a sense that Things Are Getting Better, and for that I am very thankful.

Everyone at work has apparently been saying that I look better with black hair than I did with my normal-coloured hair. My friend Alex told me at work today. She's got my back. That's good and bad, I suppose, because I was worried I would look silly with black hair and everyone would just be polite about it and not tell me. Well apparently they genuinely like it, but now they like it more than the actual hair my body is capable of producing, which leaves me with this uncomfortable feeling of inadequacy.

Please everyone leave comments suggesting what I should ask to get engraved into my iPod when I order it tomorrow. If nobody actually suggests something usable then I will just put an emoticon on the back, like: <(^^,)>

I feel bad spending $100 when I obviously need to be spending it on plane tickets and travel insurance for next year, but I freaking need headphones and a portable music player that actually works.

Not spell checking this. Feel free to laugh at my silly errors.

Recommendation: Matilda by Roald Dahl. This was one of my very favourite books growing up. This little girl bought it today while I was working in kid's. "They say books are better than the movies" she said to me, very earnestly. "Yes," I said, "I often feel that way too." Matilda the movie was OKAY but good grief why would you move a story so CLEARLY set in England to America? Usually I don't get all thingy about movie adaptations but that movie would have been better set in the UK. Just saying. Anyway, Matilda made me want to be smarter so that one day I would be able to make objects float around the room. It was the first book I ever read that actually convinced me that education was cool.

NaNoWriMo - The Problem With Hayley

2009-11-03T00:02:00.004+10:00

Well I'm two days in to my NaNoWriMo journey and it's all going okay. I'm not exactly on track for winning exactly, but I am writing every day which is something that doesn't usually happen. I'm still trying to figure out what this character does exactly, what his problem is that he has to overcome. I've written about half of what I'm supposed to, but considering I had an essay due today that I'd only done half of yesterday I think I've done pretty damn well.

There is, however, one problem.

Hayley Hoover.

Currently Hayley is on over 8000 words and I am green with jealousy. How can a person write that much in just one day? I even got a 10 hour head start on her because of my time zone and I'm already exactly 6500 words behind her. Can somebody just sneak into her dorm and take her out for me? Nobody will know it was you, her dorm is haunted.

BUT SURELY ROHAN YOU ARE OVERREACTING you say. Well no! No I am not! Why? For on her blog she airily declares:

I really like it [my story] so far. It's awesome that I didn't plan AT ALL, and wouldn't even allow my mind to wonder into the territory of plot before last night, and yet I've organically met this really fleshed-out character and I can already see where the story will probably go. I love writing, guys.

Quite frankly it has become clear to me that she is not actually human, but some sort of genetically engineered cybernetic writing machine. Sure I could be using this time and these words to try and catch up to her, but I thought as a public service this was very important information. You have to know the danger we are all in. If she wins NaNoWriMo this year she could become so powerful as to write us all out of existence.

Ha. Well, only a total loon would tie his self-worth to beating the person who has currently got the highest word-count out of everyone in his buddy list. But I, Rohan of the YouTubes, am that loon.

So now you know. Just so long as I keep within spitting distance of Hayley's word-count I'm going to be happy. Right now I'm not happy. Please excuse me this is going to take a little while.

Recommendation: Reading? Who has time for READING?! I'm a writer now!

Tightassery

2009-10-31T23:08:00.001+10:00

So the response to my thing was generally pretty positive both here, on DailyBooth and Tumblr. But, like, who's really going to say "I can't believe you dyed your hair black! It looks so silly!" to my face?

Oh wait. My mother. My mother said that to my face.

Still, I'm sure that's to be expected right? She's my mum and generally she prefers me to stay au naturale. Just wait until I get a tattoo OH WAIT SHE WILL NEVER FIND OUT - I AM A NINJA.

Currently I am sitting on a half-completed assignment due the day after tomorrow at 5pm. Tomorrow I will be working all frigging day and yet here I am, blogging away because I love you. This bodes well for NaNoWriMo which starts tomorrow because, even though I'll have yet another 2000 word essay and a screenplay due, I'll use my novel as a procrastinating technique. My blog, however, may suffer.

This year I. Must. Win.

All winners get 50% off Scrivener which brings the cost down to about US$20. I desperately want this program but I want to pay as little as possible because I am half-Scottish and therefore I want my money's worth. Interestingly this is also the reason why I chose permanent dye over temporary dye for my hair. Yes, some people genuinely practice this brand of tightassery; I didn't believe it either until I realised I was one of them.

Today I went to work dressed as Harry Potter because it was Halloween. I mean, never mind that I've never celebrated Halloween before in my entire life, THERE WAS DRESSING UP TO DO. Thus, I came to work with black hair, round glasses and wearing an academic robe. I was voted best-dressed by the staff and I had more than one customer tell me that I was totally awesome - in those words. And good heavens! The girls! I don't know if you know this, but if you want nerd girls to flirt with you then all you've got to do is pretend to be Harry. Why I've never thought of this before is beyond me.

Now if only I could get such a reaction when I am playing myself.

Do not fret. I know in the picture I do not have the lighting-bolt scar but rest assured I got that sorted out once I got to work where there were girls with makeup pencils. I swear they forget to draw it on half the time in the movies anyway. Someone should look into that.

If you have decided to undertake the madness that is NaNoWriMo then please add me as a writing buddy. Oh come on! It will be such fun! I have only the faintest of ideas for a plot AND YET I WILL PERSEVERE! MY TIGHTASSERY DEMANDS IT.

Recommendation: Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick - not because it is actually good, but because, like Twilight, it is outstandingly lolsome! In fact, if the two chapters I read on my lunch break today are anything to go by, it is EXACTLY LIKE Twilight in EVERY SINGLE WAY! Even down to the little things! The monster and the moody-yet-ultimately-useless girl meet in biology class, for example. And the monster is at first standoffish but is set to develop an abusive-yet-for-some-reason-desirable relationship with the aforesaid girl. In fact, the product description on Amazon is a dead ringer for Twilight if you change just a few names here and there. Oh! But it's not like Twilight at all! The monster isn't a vampire, it's a HALF-DEMON HALF-HUMAN! A Nephilim! Isn't that catchy?

U GUIZE

2009-10-31T00:03:00.003+10:00

U GUIZE I DID A THING

Procrastinating

2009-10-30T00:01:00.000+10:00

It is 11:22pm and I haven't actually written anything for the assignment I said I would write stuff for yesterday. I have it right here and I have all my materials. I even wrote a paragraph last week. Now I just have to finish it off! Just another 1750 words to go!

Ahem, so I sat down to write it and I was like I MUST DO A QUICK BLOG OR I'LL FORGET THESE THOUGHTS THAT JUST SUDDENLY SRUNG INTO MY HEAD SUDDENLY JUST NOW.

Basically I want to say two things and then I'm going to write a solid 500 words about the celebrification of Myf Warhurst. Okay.

Thing one:
Today I finally beat out the particulars of what I'll be doing next year. I'll definitely be going overseas to Peru for six months or so. This is happening. The particulars are decided. All the particulars besides when I come back, but I'll do that tomorrow after I do my sums. Anyway, I'm going again and I'm stopping off in New Zealand for a month in February. That is how it will go down.

I was talking to Mum about it and also talking about my more far-flung future. She asked me what my ideal job would be. I thought I was going to say working in television on the ABC but I searched myself and found that I actually want to use the online skills I have learned in the past few years to help charitable organisations better connect with their donors à la The Uncultured Project. I don't see myself out in the field the whole time, but I want to enable other people to go as well.

Um, there's also this thing that I won't actually publish online because it's a little early, but when I told Mum she was actually visibly impressed and said "that's exciting!" That doesn't happen very often. Usually she'll play devil's advocate to make sure I'm not getting ahead of myself. The first time I told her I was going to Peru she actually laughed. I don't want to give you the impression that my mother is not supportive of me, because that's far from the truth. It's just that her way of looking out for me seems to be by asking How are you actually going to DO that? Are you SURE that's really what you want?

So yeah. Pumped.

Thing two:
I made a video of me singing. I know. It must be the end of the world or something. Those horsemen are not far off. I don't actually sound GREAT in this, but it's actually better than I thought it would be. Plus I'm pretty sure that the things that weren't good can be fixed. Like, I can see where I haven't done a good job but I'm pretty confident that I could do a good job next time. Result: increased confidence. Thanks YouTube! (And Paige, who is wonderful and brought my idea into reality.)

Okay. So now that's done I can do this assignment. The mantra for this one is that it's my... SECOND TO LAST EVER SECOND TO LAST EVER SECOND TO LAST EVER.

I GRADUATE IN DECEMBER I GRADUATE IN DECEMBER I GRADUATE IN DECEMBER

I'm not spell-checking this, sorry.

Recommendation: These Penguin classics in gorgeous cloth-bound hardcover. Like, it's not just one book, and I may have talked about these before elsewhere but JUST LOOK AT THEM. Sometimes when I'm at work and nobody is watching I'll go up to the display table we have and just touch them. Because they are so lovely.

Punctuation Guide - Interrobang Tattoo

2009-10-24T00:04:00.001+10:00

This morning I got up after six hours of sleep and an hour later I got in my car to go to work. The thing about having to get to work at 9 is that you can't get to work at 9. The traffic means that you either get there at 8:30 or at 9:10, so obviously I got to work a full half an hour early. I took this opportunity to get a coffee and read the Penguin Guide to Punctuation. As a result I spent my entire shift on a caffeine high and all my coworkers began to realise that I am not joking when I say I am a nerd. I am a freaking nerd. I read books about how to use punctuation because I think it's fun.

So anyway I was behind the registers today and I decided that I would out-happy anyone who tried to be rude to me. It totally worked. When people got all uppity about having to donate 10c to Coastcare before they could get a plastic bag I would give them this manic smile =D with the crazy-eyes O.O and they would just be like whatever and wouldn't complain.

Then Ellie (who is one of the full-time children's book specialists at my work) walked past me with a book of typographical tattoos.
"Ellie!" I said, "Ellie what is that book?!"
"It is a book of typographical tattoos!"
"May I read that book PLEASE?!"

"YES YOU MAY BECAUSE IT IS VERY AWESOME"

Then, because business was a little slow, I got to look at that book of words tattooed on other people's skin. They had this page where someone had gotten an interrobang tattooed on their arm. The more I think about it the more I want an interrobang tattoo. But I will think about it some more before I do anything. Seriously though just look at it - isn't it awesome? Doesn't it just scream DISCOVERY and EXCITEMENT and THE OWNER OF THIS TATTOO IS IN THE POSSESSION OF AN ENQUIRING MIND?

I stood there behind the registers for a bit and marvelled.

Later, because we were feeling rebellious/wanted to improve our product knowledge, my coworker Kim and I had a chat about books that had different sorts of typefaces and odd layouts. Then we found them and showed them to each other. Then she saw the interrobang tattoo and was like YOU SHOULD TOTALLY GET THAT.

All this put me in a euphoric sort of mood so every time a customer would come near I would try and spread the interrobang spirit. I think I was pretty successful.

I'm doing it all over again tomorrow.

Um, I have a few things to blog about in the next few days:

Role models
Derek Webb

They might actually just be one blog post together. Not sure yet.

Recommendation: The Thirteen and a Half Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers. It's my favourite book out of, like, all the books. It's also one of those books that use different sorts of typography to better convey the story. It's about a blue bear who wakes up one day nestled in a nutshell floating in an ocean. Then some minipirates adopt him and teach him how to talk, then he gets stranded on an island of ghosts who feed off his tears... it's just the greatest book in the world okay?

Wrangling

2009-10-22T01:55:00.001+10:00

I'm reading Looking for Alaska at 1AM while listening to Sufjan Stevens, and that leaves me susceptible to a particular kind of melancholy. I haven't even reached After yet. What am I going to do once Before comes to its inevitable conclusion?*

The thing is, I'm not capable of collecting my thoughts tonight. Collecting is completely the wrong word to describe how I form arguments by the way. Everything I produce is an argument. Like, I'm trying to get you to feel what I feel. That might be outrage at my country's inhumane treatment of its indigenous people, or it might be that I was pretty stoked to hang out with some friends a couple of days ago. You might think I'm just telling you something, but really I'm arguing with you - trying to persuade you to come with me to where I'm going.

And so collecting is completely the wrong word, but it's the cliché that makes the idea easy for you to digest. In reality I've had this image that plays through my mind whenever I'm trying to make an argument. I'm not collecting my thoughts, I'm pulling them together. It's like each idea is a bird flying in its own crazy direction. Each bird has a long piece of string hanging from it and I'm wrangling them all together to make some kind of flock. The flock strains against the strings in a huge ball of feathers, but there it is. It is a complete thought, not a thousand individual ideas.

Wrangling. Wrangling is the word.

So I'm completely incapable of wrangling my thoughts into some kind of order tonight but I'm still possessed with this fervent need to blog something out, because maybe that'll make me feel... I'm not sure what— at peace I suppose. It doesn't help that something awful happened to someone I know, but I can't blog about it because it's all over the national media right now and publishing it online would be a massive breach of trust. I'm not great at dealing with other people's grief. I've never truly grieved over anyone.

Things I decided today:

The title of my screenplay will be The Sixteenth Minute
Tomorrow I will try my very hardest to revise said screenplay and email it to my lecturer
I will go to work on Halloween dressed as Harry Potter, even though everyone seems to think that is an outstandingly unoriginal idea. Well far out you guys I just look really hot dressed like Daniel Radcliffe dressed like Harry Potter. I don't want to deny you that privilege. You'll thank me for this.
I am going to buy Scrivener in time for NaNoWriMo and while I can still claim the education student/teacher discount. I could just use the 30 day trial during the November writing frenzy, but that feels really lame. And besides, if it's good enough for Maureen Johnson then it's good enough for me right? Plus, Craig from my church swears by it and specifically told me that I'd like it - twice. If Craig from my church says so then it must be worth it.

I get to sleep in tomorrow for the first time in a couple of days. You know you've got it easy when you can say that, but whatever. I'm going to sleep in and then revise that screenplay and then go to work and I'm going to enjoy it. Hopefully I'll be able to unite someone with a book they'll like so much they'll read it more than once. Or maybe they'll decide it's their favourite book. You can only hope.

Recommendation: Blue Like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller. I can't exactly express what each book is about, specifically, but I can attribute Donald Miller with making me think about God and Christianity differently than I did before I read his books. He writes with such vulnerable honesty. I know you can probably pick up Blue Like Jazz for about five or ten dollars in mass-market paperback because that book has been such a big seller. I read it again every year or so and think to myself this guy is on to something.

*At this very moment I am so painfully mainstream-indie I will greatfully accept any scorn you have with a nonchalantly cocked eyebrow.

Machinarium

2009-10-18T02:33:00.000+10:00

I was going to do another blog today, but this game called Machinarium distracted me.

It's a point-and-click adventure game - remember those? It's a pretty straightforward, logical sort of puzzle game, and there are plenty of hints if you need them, so you never really get stuck. The soundtrack is nice too. Sort of ambient, but really good. It's interesting, but never intrusive.

The main thing for me are the graphics, though. Just look at them. I downloaded some wallpapers from the site and quickly realised that they are basically just screenshots from the game itself. Now they are gracing my desktop.

It is gorgeous!

Recommendation: This game! I know it's not a book, but c'mon give me a break here. You can play the demo before deciding if it's worth forking over the US$20 for the full game. I thought it was and I wasn't disappointed.

Manic Pixie Dream Characters

2009-10-17T01:14:00.000+10:00

I have spent the past three days sitting around the house feeling sorry for myself because of SICKNESS. Yuck. This afternoon, for a bit of a change, I decided to go to the video store to get out Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. While I was there I saw Sunshine Cleaning had come out and Charlie Bartlett FINALLY made it to Australia (straight-to-DVD release, I'm afraid). I quickly devoured Nick and Norah and Charlie Bartlett (cannibal!) but I've decided to leave Sunshine Cleaning for tomorrow when the parents are in Brisbane.

Instead I will blog here in the dark, on my MacBook, listening to Relient K. Delicious.

Actually I'm having trouble concentrating on what I want to write because I'm rather awkwardly flailing my arms around in time with the music. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true.

AMAZING NEWS: I've reached 100 followers on this blog. Surely that means I'm set for a book deal right? Right? And guess who the 100th follower is? MY HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH TEACHER! Hello Mr Schwartz!

Charlie Bartlett was a great film, did you know that? You should watch it. If you've been following for a while you'll know I've been ruminating on the character archetype of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Well! I would like to argue that Charlie Bartlett is a Manic Pixie Dream BOY. Watch out, ladies, for he will RUIN YOU for real men. I am genuinely intimidated by him and one day I will go out and buy a suit coat so I can wear it over t-shirts just like he does. Then maybe if I keep my mouth shut I will be mistaken for him! I am certainly skinny enough! HELLO EVERYONE MY NAME IS ROHAN AND I AM NOT ALONE! DADDY I THINK I AM SLUFFING!

What a flighty character he is, and bad, but not too bad! He defies authority so he can help people, kind of like Robin Hood! And he makes friends with his enemies! And he is rich! And he is a good listener!

I mean, I think he works really well as a character, and the movie is great. I just want to point out that Edward Cullen isn't the only unreasonable character crush you could have. I mean, I'm pretty sure John Green summed it up better than that... something about that Edward Cullen is an idea and falling in love with an idea will not keep you warm at night. I spent an hour or something looking for that video, but do you think I could find it? *Sigh* Anyway, I think Charlie Bartlett is an idea, just as much as Edward Cullen is an idea (although Charlie actually has, you know, a personality and is, uh, actually likeable).

Maybe all characters in fictional works are simply ideas, and although emotional attachment is what gives them the power to move us, we should be careful about how much power we allow them to have.

I'm seriously considering exploring this idea in a NaNoWriMo novel. I wasn't sure if I was going to do it this year (I'm yet to win it) but Hayley, with her wily ways, convinced me to go through with it. I'm imagining a scenario where two Manic Pixie characters duke it out in a battle royale. WHO IS THE MOST FLIGHTY? WHO CAN MOST EFFECTIVELY UNDERMINE AUTHORITY? WHO WILL GO OUT IN THE BIGGEST BLAZE OF GLORY?

Now you will have to excuse me for I'm off to read Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Recommendation: Looking for Alaska by John Green. I've decided I don't like it as much as Paper Towns, but my word it's a close call. I'm reading this one for the second time and I am just as in love with Alaska as I ever was the first time around. It's just such an intricate book, and the characters are so personable. It has attracted some controversy, but the controversy completely misses to point of this novel. This is a book I'll probably own forever, just because I'll buy it again and again so I'll always have a copy on hand.

Family Things and Script Evaluations

2009-10-13T00:38:00.001+10:00

I feel kind of obliged to blog again today, if only because I can only imagine that for the majority of you, coming to my blog only to find a somewhat-lengthy summary of the Biblical view of the treatment of women within marriage would be bitterly disappointing. I'll tell you about my weekend. Huzzah! And what a weekend it was.

Well! Last Wednesday my cousin Sam got married in a small beach ceremony involving only immediate family, but on Saturday the couple put on a wedding reception in Brisbane for extended family and friends. I love going to family things because my cousins are all made of awesome, and I don't get to see them all that often. I did some filming during the reception, but once that was done I was able to join in the general frivolity.

There where lots of people I didn't know there, I was wearing a name badge that said "Courtney Love" and there was the biggest bowl of Mexican food I will probably ever see. There was also a whole roast lamb, a hell of a lot of vegetarian curried salad things, two pavlovas, stacks of cake and a bar full of beer and various wines, including champagne. Considering the whole thing got started at 1PM and didn't finish until about 1:30 the following morning, it's safe to say a good time was had by all. I love that my family gets on so well with each other, and we have our own in-jokes. If I have kids and they follow the obvious genetic trend, they are going to be some of the best people I'll ever meet.

The next day we all had to get up early and help my sister Jenny and her husband Jaco move (I know right?) We where all exhausted and some of us where nursing hangovers, but we managed to get pretty much all their stuff out of their apartment and into their new house. It's a partially-renovated Queenslander - such a cute place, and it has one of the best decks I've ever seen. I think they have big plans for it in future.

Oh oh! In other news I had my screenplay for my screenwriting class evaluated today. Generally my assigned evaluator and my lecturers liked it, and they all fell in love with my characters, but told me I needed to better demonstrate how my protagonist had grown through his experiences. The moral of the story is that people should do things for the sake of being awesome. Nerdfighters has had an obvious impact on it. I should probably submit it to the Ning when I'm done.

It occurs to me that I haven't done my sign-off recommendation thing for my past TWO blog posts, meaning I owe you three recommendations right now:

Recommendations
The Man in the High Castle by Phillip K. Dick - A fascinating book about what the world would be like if the Axis powers had won the Second World War. It's one of the best sci-fis I've ever read, proving that Phillip K. Dick really is the master of that genre.

Jesus for President by Shane Claibourne and Chris Haw - The title makes it sounds like those Evangelicals are trying to establish a theocracy again, but this book is really a look at the early church and how its rocky relationship with Rome can and should be replicated in the world today. It's probably the best book about how Christians should relate to the political world I have ever read, and contextualises the New Testament in the culture in which it was written. You're likely to be surprised by what it says.

Devilish by Maureen Johnson - I didn't much like 13 Little Blue Envelopes (sorry Maureen!) but I enjoyed this one quite a lot. Set in a Catholic school, it follows a girl as she begins to discover her new friend is actually more sinister than she first appears.

Biblical Marriage

2009-10-12T23:42:00.000+10:00

Okay so just to provide a bit of context, my friend John posted a tweet, I found it absurd, John was adament that at least one Christian academic took this stance and posted the relevant quote to Tumblr. I was still unconvinced and said I would write a blog about it. Here it is.

While I understand your tweet was supposed to be provocative, and wasn't entirely serious, I still think there's a general feeling around that agrees with your original tweet - that Christians are anti-feminist, or that we just generally do not consider women to be equal to men, especially in marriage. In some cases this is a fair assessment of how Christians treat women, but it would be unfair to say that all Christians - or even most Christians - act this way. I feel this behaviour is wrong and lacks Biblical support.

Richard Holloway's quote is interesting, but I don't think he was actually generalising the Biblical view of marriage. He was talking about the Law in the Old Testament, and the sentiment expressed in the quote was reflective of the culture of Mesopotamia at the time. Women are treated very poorly in the Old Testament, and there is no denying that. However, taking the culture of seventh century BC and broadly applying it to modern-day Judeo-Christian thought is absurd. Perhaps that is what you where going for. However, I get the feeling you aren't very familiar with the writings of Paul in the New Testament, which is where Christianity derives its views on marriage.

Ephesians 5: 21-33 is the main passage on this topic. Ephesians is a letter written by Paul of Tarsus and was addressed to the church in Ephesus. Interestingly, the church in Ephesus was largely administered to by Priscilla and Aquila - a married couple.

A quick glance at the passage will reveal that it contains things that have been used to put women down for years. However,"Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord" isn't the end of what Paul had to say. He continues, "Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her". This is incredible and powerful. Christ died for the church (referring to the body of believers) and put himself last in all matters.

People have (and do) use this passage to disempower women, but I feel it is clear that Paul did not intend for that to be the case. Instead, we are to "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." This stance on marriage is incredibly empowering for women considering the culture of the time it was written in - Rome, AD 62 - when women had almost no rights in regard to owning property: thus making them vulnerable to divorce and subsequent poverty. Rather than showing marriage as a husband domineering over his wife, Paul paints a picture of two people working together for the greater good of each other and the greater body of believers.

So, far from Biblical marriage being about "women-as-property", I think (and I am certainly not alone in this thought) that it is actually much more ahead of its time, and functions well within a modern context.

You and Life Remain Beautiful

2009-10-09T00:56:00.000+10:00

I told myself I wouldn't blog about love here anymore. I have a diary for that sort of thing. Oh hell. Maybe I'll never post this anyway.

In musical terms, my week has been incredible. Two new CDs from two of my all-time favourite bands came out in Australia and I just couldn't be happier. David Crowder*Band's new album Church Music is epic in every sense of the word. Seriously. There are 17 full-length songs on there, and some of them are longer-than-usual, and pretty much every song is a winner. I'm not sure if it's better than A Collision (or 3+4=7) or not... I don't know. I really don't.

Then there's Relient K's new album Forget and Not Slow Down which has taken some time to grow on me. It all sounded very same-y at first, but I'm settling into the album well. One song, I Don't Need A Soul, was stuck in my head this arvo after listening to it in my car. I was kind of singing it to myself without knowing all the words and then I went and looked in the lyrics book (which is beautiful, by the way - a perfect example of how to reward people for buying physical CDs).

Turns out it's a song about lost love, but life going on. The chorus goes:

I don't need a soul,
No I don't need a soul to hold
Without you I'm still whole
You and life remain beautiful

I'm not saying I go around moping over things that never eventuated, but I guess it's time I let go of some things. I've been thinking about this for a while, but you know how sometimes other people sum up how you're feeling better than you can? This was like that.

In light of the rather spectacular non-event that is my love-life, I've often thought about singleness. I actually don't mind being single - it's really liberating being able to just go off and do whatever you want. I have friends who are in long-term relationships, and in December I'll be attending the wedding of my good friends Jeshua and Corinne. Sometimes I look at my friends in relationships and I'm consumed with jealousy. Still, they're the people who are settling down into stable careers, or wondering how they're going to be able to provide for their future families.

Maybe I'm just not mature enough for that yet. I graduate in November and I still don't really have any direction in my life - and I quite like it that way. It's how my life has played out so far: one step at a time, never really knowing what's ahead. It's all worked out wonderfully so far, but my friends in relationships just can't live that way. Sometimes I wonder if being single is what I'm supposed to do, but I struggle with that because sometimes I'm so lonely. And yet... I don't believe I need to be with someone to be whole. I am my own person and I will enjoy singleness as long as it lasts, even if it's longer than I'd like.

Yeah, this is directed at more than one person so... sorry it didn't work out. Sorry if I was too forward or not forward enough. I'm going to do my own thing for a little while and be happy. Actually, I have been happy, but I intend to continue on that way. I really hope you and I don't fall out of contact because you're a really good friend/I really respect you/I'm totally in awe of you.

Ha. This makes it seem like all I've done is mope over lost love in the last however long. No, that's not me. It's more like unreasonable flights of fancy have potentially been distracting me from the road ahead. Or something. Or maybe new music is making me write things that I'll later regret saying on the internet. Perhaps you shouldn't read too much into this.

Harry Potter

2009-10-04T23:19:00.001+10:00

Today was my first day as children's book specialist at my job, and it went pretty well. Nothing over-the-top happened - mostly I was just reorganising the children's DVD section, but it was nice to be there y'know?

There was this one customer who was looking for recommendations for her advanced-reader daughter, and I was pretty stoked about it. Advanced-reader children are easiest for me to recommend for because I can basically take what I read at their age and tell them to read it too. Her daughter was ten or eleven or something. Anyway, this lady wanted me to find this other book she'd seen in the newspaper first so I went and did that. In the meantime one of the other women who works there suggested she give her daughter Harry Potter. No! the lady said. You can't expose my daughter to that! That is witchcraft!

My actual thoughts upon hearing about this where Oh wow I thought all of you guys died out about six years ago. Harry Potter used to be controversial in the churches I went to growing up, but now they don't even register. I was such a rebel for reading them back in the day though.

Anyway, then the mother went on to tell me that SOME books are just marvellous for children to read (she pointed to some fairy books in the early-reader section as she said this) but others are JUST DROSS. I was a little bit offended by her high-handed manner as she said this, never mind that she was actually right on this one. (There is more to reading than vamp lit!)

Thing is, I don't think she was really prescribing books that where too easy for her daughter just to protect her from the evils of Harry Potter. She was actually after a book that recommends other books for children, and was obviously looking to expand the things her daughter was going to read. It's just that there's such a missed opportunity there. My dad actively gave me Harry Potter to read as soon as he found out about the series (this was sometime during 1999 when I was 12). Instead of "protecting" me from the dangers of witchcraft by never, ever speaking of it, my parents actually used Harry Potter as a way to have a frank discussion about it. I was able to air my questions, they were able to express their concerns and I was able to make up my own mind.

I love the Harry Potter series but I wouldn't touch a ouija board with a ten-foot pole. I have my parents to thank for that. This goes for other topics that tend to get books banned too. Letting kids read about them (so long as the parents know what their kids are reading, of course) is actually better than locking away those topics forever and ever because it opens up the way to a real discussion, which leads to informed decisions.

Ignorance is weakness okay?

Recommendation: Harry Potter, duh. I mean, recommending Harry Potter is like saying HEY HAVE YOU HEARD OF THIS BAND CALLED THE BEATLES? but seriously c'mon. If you haven't read them yet, you are seriously missing out. Just freaking read them. I don't care for your excuses because they are lame. Even people who "hate reading" love Harry Potter. Just read them. Read them. Just read them. Stop being so proud and read them. Read them okay?

Screenplays (and the things they reveal)

2009-09-30T02:13:00.000+10:00

Permit me a smidge of cryptic (or not-so-cryptic) blogging please?

Today, my filming day became my scripting day, and tomorrow my editing day will become my filming day. I shouldn't stress about this so much. I should just make a crapload of stuff and have fun. If it doesn't get used it doesn't get used and I can get on with my original plans. I have some pretty awesome plans, and if they go through they will make for some pretty epic blog posts, I can tell you now.

Also, last night I had a vivid dream we met IRL and you told me you didn't like me and we would never be together, but then we danced. What was up with that?

Thank you.

So. Screenplays. I finished that screenplay I was talking about previously. I really like the dialogue, but I'm unsatisfied with the ending. If you're a script-doctor I'd really like to hear from you. Of course I mean really like to hear from you in the way that implies as little academic misconduct as possible.

Writing screenplays is not what I usually do. I struggle with the three act structure (thus the lame ending). I script my YouTube videos but they are like informative soap operas. Everything kind of drags on in these story arcs that are pretty obviously made up on the fly. I'll talk about the news a little bit, and then one of my splinched personalities interrupts me and somebody gets angry. There's no three act structure there. The actual structure of a story is something I'm still getting to grips with.

A new experience with the screenplay was scripting dialogue between people of different gender. I thoroughly enjoyed that. When I script for my YouTube videos I can't get too sassy or people begin to talk, but with my screenplay I could make my female character be as smartass as I wanted; but alas, another problem I have is she became a typical Manic Pixie Dream Girl, and that's bad because it contravines my Number One Rule For Writing:

NEVER MAKE YOUR CHARACTERS PEOPLE YOU WOULD IDEALLY SLEEP WITH

The same goes for constructing alternative personalities online. When you see those 40 year old men masquerading as 16 year old platinum blondes on Second Life you think two things:

You have no imagination when it comes to girls
Stop being such a SLEEZE

So in light of this my Manic Pixie Dream Girl character in her current state just will not do. She needs to be more flawed and less like those girls in the so-called indie films that are all the rage these days. If for nothing else, this has to happen for my sake. I've got to learn on a deeper-than-academic level that those indie Manic Pixie girls do not exist. At least, they do not appear to exist.

Wait that's a lie. I met one once but she was older than me and also taken.

I need to learn that idealising the Zooey Deschanel Indie Princess stereotype is actually just as unimaginative as the aforementioned Second Life gentleman pretending to be jailbait. Curiously, none of the girls I have ever had a crush on looked anything remotely similar to Zooey Deschanel, but I'm talking about Zooey Deschanel as a composite set of abstract ideas sourced from the roles she typically plays.

Book Recommendation: The Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. I've read these from about the age 13 onwards and I will still buy them when a new one comes out. I'm just not done with the pre-pubescent (but now well-and-truly-pubescent) evil mastermind turned good. They are funny and have seriously engaging characters and Oceans 11-style plots, and when I am extravagantly rich and famous I want a Butler like Artemis has.

Videos

2009-09-29T01:10:00.001+10:00

First things first, images rock. I used to use them all the time. Once again I will not hesitate!

I like it because it looks like the chicken is talking

What did I promise you I'd write about this time? Screenplays. Lame. I'll do that later or something won't I. What was the next thing I said I'd blog about? Videos. Win! Okay let's go.

I need to step up my video production! I'm not ENTIRELY sure I can say this online, but I will say it here because I love you!

As you well know, I applied for a job with the ABC earlier this year. I did not get the job, but my marvellously sexy friend Chris did. The show starts this Wednesday at 9pm on ABC1 and you had better be there or I will disembowel you. I'm so excited for this. You have no idea.

When I say "I didn't get the job but my friend Chris did" I usually get people going "Aww that must be so HARD FOR YOU!" as if I'm secretly bitter that my friend could be more successful than me. I actually do not comprehend this train of thought - he is truly my friend and so I am really, really stoked for him! Jealousy doesn't even factor into the way I think about that whole situation. Plus, there is what I am about to REVEAL!

Even though I didn't quite get the job, the producers have been letting me know that there is an opportunity to submit audience content and that they would like to see what I can make so please would I make something? The thought of being able to do this is very exciting. I can do anything I want and submit it to proper, actual producers for their consideration. Hello! Yes please!

You can do this too by the way, so long as (I presume) you live in Australia. You can submit on the site starting from the 30th of this month.

So I am sitting here trying to think what thing I am going to pull out and submit the very second after the site goes live. That way I will look KEEN! Those producers will be all "Hey we have seen that young man's face before! We interviewed him! And now he is submitting things to us! LET'S PUT HIM ON TELEVISION!"

Rest assured, YouTubers, that this extra video production will not mean I will stop making things for my RoboFillet channel. That, after all, is what got these producer-types so interested in me in the first place. There are a number or video projects on the go right now so do not fret.

I cannot garauntee that you will actually SEE the extra videos though - at least not right away. If they don't get picked up by the bigwigs I'll be able to put them on YouTube as a bonus video (or if I'm feeling like a holiday, instead of a Poultry Press video) but if they DO get picked up for the show (and I'm hoping that at least one will, or why am I going through with all the effort?) I'm not sure I can actually put it on RoboFillet any more, because it will no longer belong to me. However, if this is the case and you are an Australian then you are in luck because it will be on television and you will be able to see it there.

Finally, in a comment on my last post I was asked to share my specialist knowledge of a specialist here online. Well, although I normally get paid for this sort of thing I'm beginning to think I'll make an exception because I love you. I'll make one book recommendation at the end of each post. Glorious.

Recommendation: The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. You might begin to question the meaning of life there in the middle, but persevere because the ending is WORTH IT! I cried several times and felt more alive than before I had started.

Okay that's enough. Let's try and write something like a script so I can jump right in tomorrow.

News about Work

2009-09-26T23:33:00.000+10:00

I've decided it's okay. It's okay if I don't update every day, so long as I update a couple of times a week. I'm not going to beat myself up over leading a busy life. Still, blogging is the bomb, I know this from past experience, so I am going to do this gosh darn.

Still, having said that, it has been some time since my last post. After perusing my previous update I can tell you the following news:

I have been sideways "promoted" at work
I got that screenplay written
I am going to (have to) step up my video production

I will address each in its own blog post. Today: sideways "promotion" at work.

At work, the largest book store on the Gold Coast, I've been given the opportunity to become a children's book specialist, which basically means that I get to spend the majority of my time in the kids section under the Magic Faraway Tree and in the Young Adult fiction section. Sure, it also means I have to deal with the snotty children (as well as the nice ones) but I can totally handle that. I kicked some kids out of the store a few weeks ago after I got some customer complaints. I was all ALRIGHT GUYS WE'VE GOTTEN SO MANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT YOU... GET OUT!!! Like a boss.

Truth is, I feel best when I'm at work. I'm in my element there, surrounded by books, and people come in and ask me assorted questions about things. It's like being PAID to do pop quizzes for HOURS ON END! Why YES madam I know where Beowulf is and NO it was not written by Shakespeare! The Bro Code is over HERE sir, although I cannot guarantee that it will really help you pick up women and also did you know that the actor who plays Barney is GAY? Why YES small child we have MANY vampire books in store because they have been the latest thing for the past three years, let me show you some!

It actually rocks. Whenever I get depressed about having to go to work I think about how I'm going to be working with people I actually like, and that I will probably be able to recommend books to people that day. Recommending books is seriously the best, because I know how awesome the book that I'm recommending is, and I get to share it with other people. I'm confident there because I know stuff about what I'm doing and can actually help people. Plus I try and flirt with the nerdy girls who come in. I'm all HI WOULD YOU LIKE SOME HELP TODAY? and they are like no I'm just browsing thank you and I'm like OKAY NEVER MIND. Like a boss.

The downside of this, of course, is that I'm exposed to a MOUNTAIN of books that I'm DYING to read but that I'll never get a chance to. You've probably all seen that giant pile of books hanging around in the background of my videos. That's my To Read pile and I'm telling you it just does not shrink. Plus, buying books is expensive, even with the staff discount.

So anyway, this children's specialist job doesn't actually pay any extra, but it's likely I'll be able to keep my hours up even if most other employees get cut because I have the special skills of a specialist. Plus I can push all my literary tastes on the upcoming generation of readers. We will have a world of Rohans and Rowenas! THEY WILL ALL HAVE GOOD TASTE IN LITERATURE OMG!

No wonder my dad became a school librarian this is freaking awesome.

I know, librarian's son works in a bookstore - predictable right? Well save it, I've heard it all before.

ZOMGIGETTORECCOMENDJOHNGREENALLTHETIMEZOMG

University Life

2009-09-16T00:19:00.000+10:00

The old paradox - that I have time to blog but nothing to blog about, and then no time to blog because I have plenty to blog about - holds strong.

In the days I did not blog, I was busy editing videos, going to awesome-but-all-too-short Relient K concerts and meeting up with YouTube friends up in Brisbane. I know right? Blogging gold. But time stops for no man (or something like that) so neither will I.

Today I went in to the uni for my weekly consultation with my lectuer about my videos and he was only kind-of happy with what I've been making. Like, he was pleased with how the videos turned out, but thought that I'm just repeating myself stylisticly. He's awfully hard to please. He's wanting some crazier non sequitur sorts of things I think. Things that people would pass on to other people going "hey look at this!" which isn't really the sort of thing I'm making now. I guess I'll work on it.

In telling me this he said "I just get this feeling that you've got this crazy, outlandish person inside of you, but he's all imprisoned in a straight-laced conservative shell."

Ever get the feeling someone has summed you up in one sentence? That's me right there. I know when I'm being lame and boring, but I can't help it sometimes. If I'm relaxed and with like-minded people then I can banter with the best of them. I guess I should freewrite more or something.

Meanwile, I can't stop listening to this:

Sound the church-bells,
Let 'em ring! Let 'em ring! For everything
Can be redeemed
We can be redeemed
Oh all of us
Oh happiness!

Thank God.

Finally, my procrastination is reaching critical levels. That screenplay I'm meant to submit next week? I only have a rough story outline... in my head. Strictly speaking it's not my fault, because I was paralysed by writer's block, but even strictly-er speaking writer's block is only for lame people, and not really an excuse at all.

Tomorrow harbours a lazy day because my lectuer is part of some kind of tertiary education union that's going on strike, so there are no classes. That's a win. Win all 'round.

Today's Adventures. Bullet-form.

2009-09-11T00:56:00.000+10:00

Seeing as I got ALL POLITICAL just before I'll just do today's regular blog post in bullet-points.

Today I:

-- Got up at 6:40, not getting my required eight hours of sleep. I had dreams about living in alpine regions where two people played piano for each other as a sort of call; calling each other from the opposite sides of a valley. I awoke reluctantly, but felt surprisingly robust.

-- Got to work 25 minutes early to avoid sitting in traffic. I used the 25 minutes to get a coffee and then pimp Justine Larbalestier's book How to Ditch Your Fairy to my workmates during the morning meeting. They should recommend it to girls, I said. And boys. Well, the ones who won't mind if a book has a fairy in it.

-- Served approximately 20 customers during the entire five hours I was there, then went home and put a frozen pizza in the oven. Nutritious.

-- Went out for takeaways with my parents. NUTRITIOUS! Nearly bought my MacBook after learning my pay just got put through today - I had more money than I thought. Went home disappointed because my bank hadn't deposited it in my account yet. Will it happen tomorrow? WHO KNOWS?!?!

-- Redacted

-- Watched Q&A on the ABC. Finished the programme feeling that John Marsden has a better grasp of the way things work than most self-proclaimed social commentators. It appears my faith in the capable insight of Young Adult Fiction authors remains unshaken.

-- Decided to address a Chicken's request for me to talk about the American healthcare reform. Thinking I might make that post into a video after all. Maybe. Afraid that video would explode. Maybe that's what I want. Conflicted.

-- Listened to Owl City for the first time while I wrote this blog entry. I've decided I like his music in the same way I like The Postal Service's music.

Now it's time to go to sleep. I've got a Relient K concert to go to tomorrow night and I am pretty stoked about it. I've got to do that exam and a video tomorrow too though. I've been avoiding that exam. DONOTWANT! =(

Healthcare Reform in the United States of America

2009-09-10T23:52:00.000+10:00

Today one of the Chickens asked that my next video be about the American healthcare reform debate. I'm rather reluctant to follow this idea, considering the last time I addressed America as a nation in one of my videos I got called a terrorist (and I was just trying to explain that I think they are funny).

But I figure, what the hell, I'll get some thoughts down here and see what happens. Nobody will care what I write here.

Something that the healthcare debate in the States has really highlighted to me, besides their obvious need for some kind of change in the way their health system functions*, is that their political process is WEIRD. I'm not just talking WEIRD as in I-come-from-a-different-place-and-you-do-things-differently-from-me-how-weird weird, but actually ILLOGICAL-WEIRD. It does not make sense. It is not conductive to the creation of good policy. It's clear that the future of the United States' healthcare does not, in fact, rest with President Obama, but with people (on both sides of American politics) who do not view government and policy as a means to helping people, but as a game that must be won AT ALL COSTS. It doesn't seem to matter how badly the truth gets mangled in the process, but so long as the other side takes a hit, whatever it takes is a good thing.

I'm not about to tell anyone that the same sorts of things don't happen over here in Australia, but some of the distractions that get pulled out in order to muffle the debate in the US are just incredible. Frankly I'm surprised nobody from the Republicans has stood up and said Well actually... euthanasia isn't really the issue we're dealing with here. We're actually talking about how we can best help the sick. Sorry. Surely that wouldn't lose them political points? That would show that they are demonstrably trying to help, or at least constructively criticise what the Obama administration is trying to introduce.

Similarly, I'm surprised nobody from the Democrats has tried to understand where the mainline Republican base is coming from. Instead all I hear over here is that Republicans are demons out to rape and pillage the poor for no reason than their own perverse sense of enjoyment. Surely Republicans can not be this way. What are the conservative thinkers in the party actually suggesting, OR why are they really suggesting that no change is necessary?

Instead of a heated-yet-ultimately-reasonable discussion about what form of healthcare best suits the USA, what we are left with is this political frenzy of noise and static and anguish. The shitty part about it is that in the end nothing gets done and the people (with and without insurance) don't get a better (and cheaper) healthcare system.

*I'm not just going off media hear-say on this one - I have a sister who is an operating theatre nurse in California.

Gossip

2009-09-09T23:04:00.001+10:00

I have such a terminally uninteresting life. Like, it's not that I don't enjoy going about my day-to-day activities, but posting them so people from the internet can read about them seems a little strange. What do you care if I meant to ring the tax department today but didn't because I overslept?

I don't know. You probably do, and I'm not sure how to feel about that.

I could have SWORN I set my alarm last night. No word of a lie. Tonight I'm putting my phone on the other side of the room. I HAVE to get up on time tomorrow because I am working. Come and stalk me if you're in the area! It'll be creepy fun!

The truth is, there's some MARVELLOUSLY juicy stuff that goes on that I hear about, or that I think about because it directly affects my life, but posting it to the internet is a level of wrong I just don't want to go near. Like, it's professional misconduct. Like, I'd never be hired for any job ever again if I showed such a gross lack of judgement.

I'll suffice by letting your fertile imaginations run wild. Alternatively if you know me IRL or talk to me on the Skype-tubes, I'll gossip about my things very freely. Well I suppose "gossip" isn't the term. More like, "gravely discuss my future employment prospects".

Heavens to Betsy I may have gone too far! Stop me now before I give the game away!

So anyway, if I want a full eight hours' sleep tonight I have to be unconscious in less than one minute. That's not going to happen because, well, I haven't even cleaned my teeth now have I. So, I must away!

PS: MacBook may be more than a week away. I received a MOST anticipated letter from Queensland Transport telling me I have to give them several hundred dollars to re-register my car. I'm going to stick it to the man and only register it for six months rather than a year because, well, I won't be keeping the car for more than six months if I plan to go overseas! Let the NEXT owner pay Felix's running costs I say; I've got a laptop to purchase!

A Cheque, A MacBook and My Tax

2009-09-09T00:37:00.000+10:00

I only got one comment on my last post, which, I suppose, is understandable. I didn't acknowledge how much I appreciated your comments on my other post there. I suppose if I don't acknoledge you then you don't want to talk to me, which leads me to believe you aren't reading, which means I stop writing. But the fault doesn't lie with you, dear reader, it lies with me. I am the only one who can break this Catch-22, and I intend to do so:

Thank you so much for your comments before!

I phrased that paragraph kind of strangely, and that makes it sound sort of inauthentic, but I really mean it. I like to read comments because I feel like they have been written especially for me (and really, they have been). My love languages, for those who know what I'm talking about, are words of affirmation and quality time, so comments actually fill both of those: you took the time to leave me nice words, thus filling all the desires of my needy heart; for that I thank you.

Today didn't go quite as planned. My appointment with my lecturer I was talking about yesterday got cancelled, so I had the whole day to amuse myself doing whatever I pleased. I'm not disappointed about not seeing my lecturer - I'll see him next week.

Instead, I deposited a cheque at the bank and went to the Apple Store to find out EXACTLY how much down to the last dollar I would have to pay to get my hands on a MacBook Pro. As it turns out I'll be able to afford it pretty much immediately, but I'll still sit on the idea for about a week so it appears I'm not being hasty about these things. I'm VERY excited about getting my own computer again because the computer I use at the moment is a PC desktop that is almost 7 years old. It struggles when editing large video files and doesn't have a firewire port. Also, it takes about half an hour to start up properly, like it's an old man rubbing life into his arthritic joints every morning.

Also this evening I finally did my tax. I'm pretty much finished now, but I can't submit it tonight because I have to ring up the Australian Taxation Office and check that Google AdSense income REALLY DOES count as "foreign income" and is therefore not taxable. If they tell me I have to pay tax on that I'm going to be pretty annoyed because I've pretty much escaped paying tax at all for the '08-'09 financial year. That makes my heart happy, because I dread the thought of my money going towards the running of our refugee detention centres or other things the government does that I have a moral objection to. I mean, that's kind of ironic, since I'm all for government supported healthcare and public education, which are supported by taxes, but hey if I want to flirt with Christian Anarchism then I will do so until I convince myself it's a bad idea. Give to Caesar what is Caesar's etc...

Speaking of refugee detention centres, how awesome is Liberal Senator Judith Troeth! When I heard she defied her party so Labor could pass the bill to scrap immigration detention debt I yelled "Oh THANK GOD!" at the television. The fact we used to charge illegal immigrants for the cost of their detention just irks every little part of me all the way down. At least now we won't be doing THAT any more.

I should probably go and study for an online exam I have to take at some stage during this week. It's for a subject I have very little enthusiasm for and the readings I need to learn are SO BORING. Then again I suppose that's what uni's all about.

Tomorrow...

Capitalisation is a WAY OF LIFE

2009-09-07T23:56:00.000+10:00

This evening I was listening to a song on Tumblr and my Mum clapped her hands behind me suddenly. I exclaimed "oh shit!" in front of my mother. I AM SON OF THE YEAR.

Today was a pretty ho-hum day in general. I went to uni and listened to my lecturers rant and rave about storytelling (IT'S A WAY OF LIFE! Oh you have an idea for what to put in this story? That's BRILLIANT. Just BRILLIANT. That is SO BEAUTIFUL!) Later I met up with my friend Mitto and we watched UP, which is probably one of my favourite Pixar films. It's just... I nearly cried several times. I'm not one for weeping in the cinemas but there you have it. They where old and in love; what was I supposed to do?

Luckily, it was dark and I was wearing polarised 3D glasses, so nobody could tell.

Tomorrow I'm meeting with my lecturer about the videos I'm making for my channel. You probably don't know this, but I'm totally making these videos as an assessable Advanced Screen Project for uni. Technically I'm supposed to be making a short film with a group of other third-year students but I didn't want to do that, so I convinced my lecturer this would be a good idea instead. As a result I get a special tutor who is helping me think through how I can use my videos to better help my future career. WIN.

I'm really looking forward to meeting with him tomorrow because the video I made this week stretched my usual style, and he's really been looking for me to do that. I'm going to be going up to the uni feeling all accomplished and stuff. It's going to be totally BOSS.

But yes... look at the guy who's writing in his blog with nothing to write about. I guess that's my cue to leave!

See you tomorrow.