Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Troubles have been brewing (in the past month particularly) over proposed reshuffling of resources throughout Fairfax Regional Media, the company I am employed under which predominantly covers the eastern states.
They have proposed large 'sub hubs', where sub-editors for a large number of papers within one area would work in a large workspace. Dubbo has a small example of this, where our office also sub-edits the papers for smaller towns in NSW's western region including Nyngan, Cobar and Lightning Ridge.
About a fortnight ago, jobs at Launceston and Albury were cut while Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) union representatives held a meeting with chief executive Allan Browne as part of a consultation process. Literally during discussions.
But yesterday the news emerged that the Illawarra Mercury in Wollongong, Newcastle Herald and seven associated community titles would have their sub-editing staff cut (that's 66 positions) to make room for offshore production. In New Zealand. After we'd been told there wouldn't be transferring between countries.
Today at my office we held a stop-work meeting where a resolution sent through by the MEAA was read out and discussed. We unanimously voted in agreeance with their statement, namely that we are "angered and dismayed" at the proposals.
We are still in the dark about what happens from here. Dubbo is already technically a sub hub, yes. But it came to me very quickly that no job is safe, and what they're doing is not right. What is more worrying that further action is now being taken - I found out as I was writing this that journalists from all the Sydney, Melbourne, Newcastle and Wollongong are on strike from now until Friday morning. Read the situation in a nutshell here.
Rival News Limited also published this story about predictions for further losses.
As a union member and (journalist/)sub-editor, it is important that word gets out there of the mess being made all to save a few dollars. Toying with livelihoods is not the way to go guys.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
A year ago today I was in Granada, Spain, still recovering from a horror day that included this fountain.
Getting into Granada the morning before, after an overnight train, I decided to try and buy a five-trip ticket on the bus. I knew I was saying it right and I knew the bus driver was saying 20 Euros which was the 10-trip one that I didn't want. Perhaps it was that I didn't understand but he was saying I couldn't buy it. He then took my money and kept 20 Euros worth and gave me the 10-trip. I tried saying no and asking for my money back but he just kept jibbering at me without trying to listen.
I was so frustrated I actually turned to the full bus and shouted 'Does anyone speak English'. In Spanish of course, doing my best with my phrasebook as I had since entering Spain. And do you think ANYONE even murmured an answer? No.
Then I realised it was about where I thought I was meant to get off and I felt so exasperated. A middle-aged woman and a senior woman were trying to ask me something, then realising I couldn't reply spoke to each other as if to figure out what was going on. I managed to get the words for "I'm here two days" and they both went "ohhhh". So even THEY knew I got ripped off and there's nothing I could do.
THEN after getting to my hostel, waiting around and explaining that I wanted to try and sell the ticket to someone to get that 20 Euros, the walking tour I wait for at the fountain never shows. No-one else, no tour guide, nothing. Later in the day I put that ticket to use to find out tickets for the Alhambra castle are usually sold weeks in advance. I had to go that night, missing the Champions League final (with Barca FC) I was so keen to go to a pub and watch, having been in Barcelona the day before.
Overall, I felt so emotionally frustrated I walked around in tears for most of the day. And when I wasn't I looked and felt like I was about to.
Day two was a bit better. The ticket wasn't used up but did come in handy somewhat. It was just so frustrating that I was trying so hard to speak the language and it was STILL impossible to evoke any sort of help for people, especially after the Barcelona episode.
***
The next two days, in Sevilla, were surprisingly better. It didn't come without its own example of language/emotive barriers though... I went to the renfe information room at the train station on arrival after the man didn't understand my ticket query at the general counters. I ask if they speak English (again in Spanish, it was always in fucking Spanish because I'm not ignorant enough to assume English is the world's only language and I TRIED) and the chick just looks at the guy, they turn their heads back and just snigger.
Actual SNIGGER.
I seriously was so frustrated at yet ANOTHER negative welcome/response from people in the transport industry I actually gave them a big 'Fuck you' and stormed out. It was there I seriously considered going straight to Madrid and changing my ticket to fly out a week early. Atrocious.
Having said that I came out of Sevilla with a new Aussie friend, and from both places with some great sightseeing under my belt. Take a look.
Granada...
Sevilla...
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*I have two photos entered in the current Qatar Reflections competition. Please show your support for me by voting for either photo! Short backstory and links here.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Sorry it's late! Eurovision weekend was pretty hectic!
Men In Black III 3D
Long waits between sequels are generally difficult to pull
off well; unless it’s some sort of reboot, the audience often disenchants
itself with a series as time passes. That’s unless it’s something that sparked
a phenomenon of course, but the Men In Black films never garnered that sort of
attention. As a result, the decision to bring a third film (in as many decades)
to the screen comes as a bit of a surprise.
Sharing 2012’s alien bill with soon-to-be-released Prometheus, Agent J (Will Smith) and
Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) have another extra-terrestrial invasion on their
hands, but different to their previous adventures. They are at the hands of
Boris the Animal (Flight of the Conchords’
Jemaine Clement) after he escapes from Lunar Max prison, who wants to bring his
species back and take over Earth.
J is forced to time-travel back to 1969 because Boris has
altered history by killing K. But a quick exit doesn’t go to plan and J crosses
paths with Young Agent K (Josh Brolin). He takes the chance to team up with the
younger version of his steely partner and find out more about his past.
This instalment, with much less fanfare than its
predecessors, goes about its way with more character growth and less alien
shootings. Slime and guts are never forgotten, but this invasion comes as a
direct threat on the partnership. A villain seeking redemption is this series’
way of re-establishing itself, showing that there is a (slightly) serious side
to these guys. They’re a bit older and a bit wiser - but they do still throw
wisecracks around as they always have. Even when K is forty years younger.
There’s not as much played on the throwback to 1969 as the
idea would suggest, although their use of pop art king Andy Warhol is amusing.
The film moves into the present just as much as returning to the past; the new
decade brings subtle digs at Lady Gaga and presents former Pussycat Doll Nicole
Scherzinger as a prostitute, but the most effective is J’s oh-so-casual
response to ill treatment by police for his skin colour that borderlines
irritating.
After an underwhelming start, the film picks up once J
realises history has been altered. Smith remains an entertaining watch around
the stern faces of Jones and Emma Thompson as new leader Agent O. Even Young
Agent K seems amused by him. A lot of the charm with the film’s stronger
character focus is that Brolin does so well as a younger Jones; it’s uncanny
how effortless he appears in capturing that privateness but with more warmth.
This one comes out as a bit of a surprise overall, and not
just because of the decision to return in the first place. The franchise has
grown up a bit and is smarter for it - Smith even hands over the theme song
reins to rapper Pitbull. Steven Spielberg returned as executive producer for
this one, as did Barry Sonnenfield as director and it’s a fun outing where
nothing is taken too seriously. When Clement’s the bad guy, there’s not a lot
else that can be done.
Rating: 3/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 26/5/2012
***
Marnie (1964)
Alfred Hitchcock is still the master of suspense fifty years on from the bulk of his films, even managing to keep those best at guessing the plot surprised. Every time what’s exactly going on in his head appears clear, Hitchcock pulls out the real secret from under the carpet and gives you something better.
Marnie is no exception. Although not as widely known as the Psychos and Vertigos of his catalogue, the life of Marnie (Tippi Hedren) is no less a problematic character than any other of Hitchcock’s protagonists. While she steals from her employer, gets found out, and does it again with her new employer some time later, the discovery there’s something not quite right with her makes sense. It’s what messed her up that’s a bit more difficult to decipher.
Mark Rutland (Sean Connery) is just as curious as anyone watching, becoming involved with Marnie as a form of pleasurable study as much as love; he wants to work through her issues but does so through extensive means. It’s a twisted game where tension rises above enjoyment amongst the clues leading towards the ultimate truth.
Hedren and Connery work well under Hitchcock, respectively successful after The Birds and James Bond. Uncomfortable scenes still shock and remain questionable regarding actual occurrences, while the final blow off the lid puts everything to rest. That the movie ends with relative closure is perhaps the biggest surprise from this venture of his.
*Published in the Mailbox Shopper (Dubbo) from Wednesday 23/5/2012
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEWS? See what I thought of The Dictator and Aguirre, The Wrath of God.
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Sunday, May 27, 2012
It's all OVER! Can you believe it? I'm going to feel all sad now taking everything down and having to wait another year. I've never decorated before!
I tweeted this to @SBSEurovision to say that it was Julia's first Eurovision experience so I wanted to make it one she wouldn't forget. The amount of actually great songs in the final made that job a little bit easier! And she really enjoyed herself :)
To spare you from reading (and myself from writing) recaps of most of the songs, you can look at my wrap-ups of semi-final one and semi-final two. For now, my thoughts on hearing the Big Five and host nation's hopefuls.
UK - Love Will Set You Free by Englebert Humperdinck - The only song I'd heard in full before any Eurovision coverage. And I didn't mind it then. But since hearing the other songs, it's a shame that there was such strong competition. BUT: he hit the notes right and like Julia Zemiro, I REALLY liked it.
- Liked 49 per cent on the SBS Eurovision website after the song's completion.
France - Echo (You and I) by Anggun - This chick reminds me of Crystal, someone I used to work with. Almost a dead ringer. What I'd seen of the preview sounded better... I like her, but the chorus was the best. Great use of the wind machine. "Anggun: Queen of the Desert." - Julia.
- 39 per cent
Italy - Out of Love by Nina Zilli - Liked this much more than expected, especially for the fact it's Italy. Nice and poppy, with a bit of attitude. She looks like a trashy (or better?) Amy Winehouse.
- 77 per cent
Azerbaijan - Love Come by Sabina Babayeva - The effects hologrammed on her dress? A bit weird. The whole thing's stuck in the 90s jst a little bit - and all the feathers... too much below the shoulders. The song's not too bad though, and she's beautiful.
- 51 per cent
Spain - Paedora zoler - Cat eye makeup did not work, sorry hun. The song was a really safe ballad. Someone tweeted she'd look like the Statue of Liberty if she had a torch... fair call.
- 42 per cent
Germany - Standing Still by Roman Lob - Goodness me, how amazingly good-looking he is, really casual but great *sigh*. However, the name Roman immediately makes me think of Days of Our Lives. Thankfully there's no actual resemblance. Oh the song? Pretty great actually. Mainstream - but not strong enough to win.
(TWEET: "If the ladies of Europe had their way we'd be back in Germany in 2013. With Lena's farm and small dogs of course)
- 71 per cent
***
Julia Zemiro and Sam Pang highlights:
- Julia with Anggun - what Julia knew in Indonesian, somehow: "I'm going to the market to buy a chicken". Excellent.
- Sam in the blue wig to go with Nina Zilli, looking like her brother apparently.
- Julia telling Ivi Adamou is a mix of Anne Hathaway and Liv Tyler and the poor girl doesn't know who they are. She WILL google it later.
- Sam to Kurt Calleja asking about his time as an airline steward. Hilarious.
- Sam still annoyed with the lack of trombonist in the Romanian song.
- Julia convinced Tooji jinxed his results for not doing an interview with SBS.
Also: costume changes... the Penelope Cruz looked pretty doll-like (re: gorgeous) in every change. Nice different dresses that show off how incredibly teeny her waist is.
White count - only four or five I think. Terrible.
And hottest guy award goes to *drum roll...* Germany! I think I knew that long before, but he had some real decent competition this year. So well done Roman, you're now held in very high esteem.
***
The interval act... Amin(?)...
TWEET: Oh for God's sake, I could've gone to the toilet this whole time...
- Azerbaijan president's son-in-law. Of course he is. Longest wait for an entrance possibly ever. But he was okay actually. Better looking then he did sing... a Shannon Noll correlation from Julia and Sam totally made sense.
***
The voting...
So SO disappointing. For possibly the strongest overall final I've ever seen, I'm as confused as Julia with Denmark and Norway's disappointing results. Especially Norway!!! That was one of my top three on SBS Eurovision (with Greece and Sweden in a tough choice). And although the UK's used to languishing these days, I truly feel sorry for Engelbert Humperdinck. The Hump deserved better than that.
AHAHAHA Leila was trying not to laugh when Lordi tried being smart about Finland. The changing nature background, taking three minutes longer than everyone else... boooo.
We saw a clapping Mrs Doubtfire and a redux of Tony Manero's white suit among the spokespersons, and the whole thing generally ran through pretty quickly.
***
The win...
Euphoria by Loreen. Excellent club hit from Sweden.
Sam called it at about the three-quarter mark. He wasn't wrong. This was a LANDSLIDE. We knew the song was good. But this year was damn strong. I didn't even really have a standout favourite! I truly think this year deserved to have a close result more than any other contest I've seen. As much as I'm cool with the win I'm a bit disappointed with such a skewed result.
So Sweden 2013. Julia put it first: will ABBA come out of retirement for a special performance?
***
Well! That's it! I've been busy blogging Eurovision steadily over the last few weeks and it's done! If you want to have a read about my love for the song contest in the time I've watched, catch up on the rest of the My decade of Eurovision series.
My decade of Eurovision: the beginning
My decade of Eurovision: the Greek affair
My decade of Eurovision: repeat offenders
My decade of Eurovision: whitewash
A year ago today: Dusseldorf, Eurovision Song Contest
My decade of Eurovision: wailing for Wogan
My decade of Eurovision: special guests
My decade of Eurovision: 2012
You don't buy shoes, that's for sure.
I LOVE shoe shopping, but when it comes to investing in a pair of boots I'm really antsy about it. I can't bring myself to invest in an expensive pair of black flat boots, I just can never be settled on wanting a certain toe (round or point, definitely not square, had a pair of those once and never again), and finding nice mid-calf ones is difficult.
I did manage to find some, but not in my size. I'm hoping to actually get a call when they come in. And they're much cheaper than a real leather pair worth $170 I tried on and liked but was unsure about (whether I would over anything else).
But I walked through the door back home in the afternoon with a bag in hand...
So these are clearly not shoes. And living close to the Outback as I do (now)... why on Earth would I need snowboarding pants?
I'VE NEVER TOUCHED REAL SNOW.
Funnily enough, I'd only had a discussion with Jess last week about a possible weekend away to the snow, Thredbo or somewhere, after she expressed wanting to go again. When I saw these in a travelling warehouse sale that had just opened (as part of a break from shoe-hunting, yes), I had to try them on. With three other pairs.
I realised when I got home that they are Quiksilver. Not Roxy. So I've bought male pants. I DID know they were a teen size (16 FYI), but they were more loose than the others. Learnt snowboarding pants generally are over skiing pants which makes sense with flips and such.
But I liked these, even if they are a tiny bit loose up top (there's velcro and belt loops there though so an easy fix). They were more comfortable, and a great neutral colour. AND because they're a kids sizing they were a LOT cheaper. The only pair of the sort, I scored these for $45! I'm looking at this as a possible future investment. I told Jess and she informed me she would be looking for trips by day's end. Win.
I had better luck with my Shoe of the Week, a delay warranted by the weekend's Eurovision Song Contest. So much luck I really wanted to share two with you. Just look at these!
Shoe number one is straight out of The Wizard of Oz/Wicked. Glinda the Good, hello?! I can't imagine how I'd wear them, unless it were with a flowy/poofy pink or white dress. They ARE generally more wearable than the other shoe I've shared here. In Eurovision week, I got a few kooky shoes on my fridge to go with it, and this is the best example of that. A flower in a clear heel? Ah, now I've seen it all.
Shoe of the Month's in the next instalment :D
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Saturday, May 26, 2012
Still on the Charlie Pickering thing, Sam Pang was critical of the lowness of Eldar's tie. My mother thinks Eldar's scary, but I think he's just nervous so that's why he fixes his smile. Leila's maroon dress was beautiful.
Serbia - Love Is Not A Thing by Zeljko Joksimovic - I like this guy. Love that the Serbs keep choosing native-language songs, this is a decent ballad. And I'm always more for the Eurotrash stuff.
- 61 per cent yay from #SBSEurovision viewers following the song's completion
FYR Macedonia - Crno i Belo by Kaliopi - in Macedonian, a black pantsuit. Operatic ballad, simple stage. Until the... TWEET: "Her pantsuit was appropriate until the rock music began. There's no glitter leotard to be revealed underneath? #SBSEurovision". Hand over face and "I love you" to end to ruin ending.
- 45 per cent
The Netherlands - You and Me by Joan Franka - Surprised her feathers aren't on fire from the that surround her to go with the theme of 'light your fire' to beat any pyrotechnics display. WTF? That was horrible, country-style and really not with lyrics worth caring about.
- 25 per cent
Malta - This Is The Night by Kurt Calleja - Skinny pants with suit jacket looks great, the song's definitely catchy enough (except the female vocalist, she's a waste)... and woah, putting on the MJ - no wait, Elvis moves on. Go Malta!
- 66 per cent
Belarus - We Are The Heroes by Lightsound - Elijah Wood gone blonde, taller and metal on us. That's Belarus. The guy was alright... the song was boppy, but too much with the graphics in the background... of what, machine parts?
- 47 per cent
Interview with the lady running the wind machine... genius. The hosts giving roses - nice, but random. Lighting guy: "Is the hug for free?" Aw, bless.
Portugal - Vida Minha by Filipa Sousa - It sounds like there should be some dramatic tussle between a couple, montages thrown in. It's a movie song. And someone tweeted she was channeling 34
Ukraine - Be My Guest by Gaitana - TWEET: Miss Universe on the catwalk there with the start of Ukraine, turning into an 'I Will Survive"-esque power pop tune. Weird dress for backup dancers. Only words I can remember are 'be my guest'. But finally - WHITE.
- 66 per cent
Bulgaria - Love Unlimited by Sofi Marinova - THIS is what I'm TALKING ABOUT. Euro-dance gets me up like nothing else. Her outfit (white, yesss) looks like a superhero gone wrong but at least there weren't any dancers to clash with her on stage.
- 41 per cent
Slovenia - I Believe by Boto - Only 16 years old, looks old to Sam and me too. But more white and native-languageness... I didn't mind it at all actually.
- 41 per cent
Croatia - Neno by Nina Badric - Another ballad? They said it was the power ballad semi, and this was good in Croatian. But I need more Euro-dance...
- 62 per cent
Sweden - Euphoria by Loreen - Yes, the one everyone raved about. The song - amazing. The choreography not so much. Comfy being barefoot for sure, but the MC Hammer and Karate Kid mix was just a bit too weird for me. But she'll do well.
- Missed it because of damn Twitter running slow. But Australia's going gaga. 83 per cent afterwards.
Georgia - - Crazy lace suit from the dancer. Hard act to follow, and it was so-so. Lots of backup dancers, not a lot of substance (well duh, but just stating the obvious).
- 37 per cent
Turkey - Love Me Back by Can Bonomo - Turkish indie apparently where the singer's voice changes from high to low and high again. Come on Sacha Baron Cohen, reveal yourself.
- 39 per cent
Estonia - Kulla by Ott Lepland - Won Estonian Idol and was in their High School Musical (dubbing?) Has nice teeth. And a really nice voice. But I'm kinda over the ballads because there were so many. He was a nice guy - cute blonde with a sweet-sounding song but not a standout.
- 61 per cent
Interviews: what a rocker Max from Slovakia is, trying to pick up Julia like a total, well... rockstar. Meanwhile, Sam's discovering a girly Lena (much better, she looks gorgeous) wants to have a Eurovision 2013 with baby animals and a farm.
Slovakia - Don't Close Your Eyes by Max Jason Mai - back to the 80s, Van Halen style. He can pick me up too if he wants. The song was a nice change for the night.
- 71 per cent
Norway - Stay by Tooji - beautiful hair, great outfit (love that look). Don't know if he hits the high note very well. But TWEET: Oh this lights my fire alright... come over to Australia and stay. Please. #SBSEurovision
- 72 per cent. A winner (w/o knowing Sweden's).
Bosnia and Herzegovina - I Know Your Steps by Maya Sar - Channeling Adele with dramatic black but hair hasn't been straightened properly. Nice, but not enough this year with all the competition.
- 36 per cent
Lithuania - Love Is Blind by Donny Montell - His eyes are the dealbreaker looks-wise... and for a while he's in a glittery blindfold so makes it difficult. An okay end to the show.
- 32 per cent
***
The aftermath:
AHAHAHA Julia Zemiro: "Penelope Cruz, Charlie Pickering and another lady". I'm still trying to figure out who she is too.
I think black's the new black this year, not nearly as much white as normal. Maybe they've realised a lot of Aussies drink off that...
LOL Julia with the Norwegian dancers was the BEST presenting I've ever seen. Why I'd love to present one day...
Hottest guy award tonight's much harder... I think Tooji of Norway's taking it out with that photo I've got up. But close was definitely Estonian guy, and even the Turk and Slovakian rocker. All had something about them. However, thinking I'll be heading to Germany if Roman sticks around.
And seeing Dima Bilan again... swoon. Line up of the last five winners was great - until they butchered Waterloo. HOW DID NIKKI NOT KNOW THE WORDS? They did rehearse that right?
***
1. Lithuania 2. Bosnia 3. Serbia 4. Ukraine 5. Sweden 6. Macedonia 7. Norway 8. Estonia 9. Malta 10. Turkey - WHERE'S BULGARIA?? Fail. And Slovakian rocker missed out too :( But this is a good mix. Tomorrow night's going to be extremely difficult, a winner cannot be picked at this point.
Tomorrow night: I'll bring you a brief wrap of the final - excitement!
Friday, May 25, 2012
From the top, this is my first Eurovision online - and the Twitter feeds from #SBSEurovision viewers are just hilarious. But a quick wrap-up of the songs...
***
Montenegro - Euro Negro by Rambo Amadeus - everything ending in -matic and lines like "monetary breakdance" and "change to refinance", this was RANDOM. Loved his interview comment to Julia: "I don't suppose I have any fans in Australia... maybe one. Hello."
- Rated 60 per cent on SBS Eurovision immediately after the song
Iceland - Never Forget - I usually like Iceland. Cool epic violins, but the guy's stare was just uber scary. Ended with a pyrotechnic bang.
- 62 per cent
Greece - Aphrodisiac - She's as hot as Helena Paparizou... and the song was alright! Loved the little tastes of Greek dancing there... Think she'll do well. If Sakis Rouvas offered her a job she must be good.
- Missed rating. People were more concerned with her costume...
Latvia - woman struggled with tight dress and heels a bit. OK. Thought Julia got it spot on with her "canteen mums" analysis.
- 67 per cent
Albania - Oh oh. Oh oh oh. Oh oh. Weird dreadlock bun and Gaga-inspired for a soft ballad are not good fits. Can hold a note alright though.
- Missed rating
Romania - Mandinga - One couldn't get on stage (only six at a time). Satin undies. Warbling. Lots of wind. Made Greece's dress look tame.
- 58 per cent
Swtizerland - Unbreakable by Sinplus - Nickleback but turns into a real rock sound. Like U2. Vocals like World Idol winner's back in the day. Hottest guy award goes to the lead.
- 69 per cent
Belgium- Would You by Iris - At 17, young. Not good. Wavered, nervous maybe.
- 59 per cent still though. Hm.
Finland - Nar jag blundar - Mullet dress, someone tweeted a suggestion she'd gotten confused with being Scottish. Realised Finnish language sounds really strange, hypnotic.
- 61 per cent
Israel - Time - Upbeat, got a 70s look happening. Hebrew and English. Lol at Sam's David Mathieson remark.
- Ooh, only 27 per cent.
San Marino - The Social Network Song - Pretty much, if you wanna be seen by everyone... go on YouTube. Or Eurovision to log into a glittery laptop on stage. As you do.
- 45 per cent
Cyprus - La La Love. almost Lena-like with a weird deep voice. Short skirt and glitter themes continuing. But it was good from them for a change. Go default team two!
- 63 per cent
Denmark - Should've Known Better - Julia and Sam LOVE this girl. And while the sailor thing's a little weird she's good. Can sing. And play guitar. A mix of Jewel and Michelle Branch. Artiste. I like.
- Better than the 56 per cent
Russia - Party for Everybody - Influenced by Rihanna? WOW. Just turned into a total dancefest on the stage. I just wanted to baboushka them, fit one inside another.
- 81 per cent. My God.
Hungary - Sound Of Our Hearts by Compact Disco - Not much white by this point, disappointing. This is a safe song, but better than some of what's been up already.
- 44 per cent
Austria - Trackshittaz - Yes, that's what they were called. Inspired by rappers such as Eminem and Lil Wayne but it's club rap. Like what Pitbull might sound like in German. There were pole dancers and his hat fell off for not being able to see through all the strobelights. Rave.
- 38 per cent
Moldova - Lautar - Folky. As to be expected from somewhere in the east at least once. Uhh, the flapper music was okay? He could hold a note too, and it was more bearable than Albania.
Ireland - Jedward's Waterline - As someone tweeted, confusing but fabulous. Space Gaga suits, crazy hair rivalling the Swiss man's, waterfalls. Liked it. Wet ending. Excellent.
***
Albania is the shock of those that got through. Greece AND Cyprus through too though so I'm happy, although I freaked out for a minute there. Disappointed Switzerland missed out. WOAH and Jedward went nuts with cartwheels. At 2am local time, I don't know how they managed that.
God, what fun that was. Seeing a snippet of Germany in the Big Five preview has me excited too. Ohhh, the next two nights I'll still be beside myself. Stay tuned for my wrap-up of semi-final two same time tomorrow.
If you need more Eurovision for the brain, read through my reflective blogs. Look for the 'My decade of Eurovision' tag! And let me know what you think, about those or this year, through here or on Twitter (@Katiinkaa) :D
Thursday, May 24, 2012
A year ago today I was in Barcelona, Spain, on a wild goose chase for an open police station after a 10-hour trip from France.
Why? Because I had a bag stolen as I was buying my ticket for the Metro to get to my hostel.
Picture this: a bag about 15 kilograms was between my feet but within eyesight for it was about to break. On realising quickly it was gone, it was gone. And it took endless minutes and a disappearing act from the station controllers to realise I was trying to find police. I was given Google frickin' Translator on the woman's iPhone so I could tell them that. Hopeless.
I went to where the above photo said. But at Espanya station, the guard there thought I was misinformed but wanted to be clear. So we asked the few wanderers around after 11pm if they spoke English. Luckily one young woman did and acted as translator. I was informed I would have to go elsewhere AGAIN. But it was almost 11.30 by then so it had to wait until the next day.
I was buggered. With my suitcase feeling heavier behind me with every step I was defeated. What a shit start to my Spanish fortnight that was.
What was stolen? Media kits of all sorts from my week in Cannes. No laptop in that laptop bag mate, sorry to disappoint. And what's worse is that my press badge was in there and I kept thinking to transfer it to my handbag. MORAL OF THE STORY: trust your gut.
***
Thankfully I had a nice enough few days in Barcelona to follow, sans the evil hostel woman who had the nerve to tell me to go to an internet cafe down the road when I asked to stick a USB into one of the supplied computers' hard drives. Bitch. The worst feeling of hopelessness was yet to come, but that's for next time. For now, the good stuff.
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| Las Ramblas |
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| La Sagrada Familia - I actually cried on walking in... |
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| Olympic Museum is a must |
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| More Gaudi magic - Casa Batllo |
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| The beginnings of a worldwide movement |
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*I have two photos entered in the current Qatar Reflections competition. Please show your support for me by voting for either photo! Short backstory and links here.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
A year ago today I was at Monaco-Ville, Monaco on a daytrip.
It was the day after the Cannes closing party which was full of amusing pretentiousness and epic dancing - a great end to a crazy week at the festival; having arrived back at my Nice hostel about 7:30am (or around then) I thought a couple of hours sleep would suffice and I'd still have most of the day in Monaco as I'd planned.
I woke up five hours later.
I questioned whether it was worth it but felt shit with the idea I'd waste the afternoon. I got there and wandered for a few hours, which ended up being plenty of time as I only wanted to go through Monaco-Ville and see the castle.
I'd been to Monte Carlo in 2010 but I still found myself at the Grand Casino at one point. I somehow figured out the buses perfectly the whole time, saw the room where Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier were married in a civil affair, perused the prince's car collection and appreciated some more amazing French Riviera views.
That night back in Nice I had an amazing spaghetti pizza (yes, blending the best of Italy/southern France in one) and more gelati to boost my energy. To be fair, I didn't drink at the Cannes party (it wasn't an open bar and way out of my price range) but I'd been tired to the point of feeling a bit drunk. Even so, I was with two new-found friends from across the week and was sad for my time there to be just about over.
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I wanted to also show you what I saw of Nice and also St Marguerite, an island off Cannes that has an interesting chapter of history to it.
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| In St Marguerite: the room where the Man in the Iron Mask was kept for five years. Actual. They still have no clue who he is... |
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| This stunning view was from the side of the castle in Monaco. I just wanted to stay there. |
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| Nissa socca joints like this one were chockers with people sampling the Nicoise specialty. |
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*I have two photos entered in the current Qatar Reflections competition. Please show your support for me by voting for either photo! Short backstory and links here.Monday, May 21, 2012
This is the eighth post in a series about the Eurovision Song Contest. If you don't know what that is I strongly suggest you follow my posts. You'll learn a lot.
Dubbo got its own taste of Eurovision glory when Eurobeat: Almost Eurovision had a short run last month. I went along with Julia, a friend who is relatively new to the greatness of the contest and the reason behind this blog series.
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I'm unlike most Eurovision tragics in that I don't generally go out of my way to listen to the songs ahead of the contest. I much prefer the element of surprise, and now that we have semi-finals I get to listen to half of them ahead of the final anyway.
Having said that, I was curious of Engelbert Humperdinck's entry purely because of the seemingly strange choice to appoint him the UK's 2012 hope. And as one of the favourites, it's not a bad song. It's a ballad, which generally doesn't fare that well with me, but it's a song that I think a lot will like.
When I actually went to Eurovision, I had no idea then either. People were asking me who I liked best and were surprised I hadn't even heard Jedward's Lipstick. Haven't heard their follow-up for this year either. I WAS going to change my mind and seek out some more of the songs but I decided that could wait another year.
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I will do my best to get reviews of the three nights up during the week - I am SO excited btw, it's EUROVISION WEEK, but before then take a look at some of the good, bad and the ugly. This... is Eurovision.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Before I tell you about what I did out at the Annual Dubbo Show on the weekend there were a few days of madness in the lead-up... taking a long weekend anywhere always ends up feeling that you need two weeks to catch up to everything else in life. Unfortunately I've found that very difficult. Especially because I've had cakes to make.
I decided to enter myself as a baker in two cake categories for the show this year, in the basic butter cake and banana cake categories. The banana cake I was really unsure about entering for because I was unsure of how much time I would have when it came to it. But I did.
Wednesday morning wasn't smooth, as any of my Twitter followers may have realised on my feed. Got out of bed after an hour of being half-awake, realised castor sugar was at a horrendous low so had to make an early trip to buy some, then ran late to work without having done icing OR watched my weekly film for Shopper (Marnie, to be seen in next week's Review of the Week).
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I got home after work and dinner, put Emiliana Torrini's Me and Armini on for the first time and got down to it. Cakes had turned out pretty good, so a lot was riding on this icing to make them real contenders.
Cake number one: butter cake. The icing was runny and hadn't thickened all that much. This happened on a previous cake I tried to make, and here I got a baaaad result.
Cake number two: banana cake. This one was better. Only problem was that I ran out of icing sugar with just over half a cup to go. The consistency looked more like icing and while it tasted as lemony as gelato it just managed to spread all over and look okay. For me personally anyway.
Went to bed all done, put on paper plates and feeling okay about it. On a totally different note I wasn't impressed with Torrini. Jungle Drum was really the only up-tempo song on the album, not what I'd felt like listening to at all.
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Thursday. Cakes in by 10am to the pavilion. I WOKE UP AT 9.38AM. I somehow made it just before 10am (literally clothes on and out the door), and felt like a failure when I saw the icing and recognised others in the line-up who'd clearly done better with champion cakes and the like. Ugh.
Did I win? Hell no. Jess managed second in the biscuits and slices though which was excellent. We went to have a look on Friday night before I began my official volunteering duties. Saturday saw me help out with one of the horse rings by signing vouchers and writing winners' names for about four hours before a luncheon where we girls were the ones handing out food to sponsors (still got some so that was alright).
The official opening had us standing on a ute with Primary Industries minister Katrina Hodgkinson, who bravely offered to sing the national anthem after people were asked to stand only for there to be no music. Then Showgirl winner Kennedy, Teen Showgirl Sarah and I went around the track on a red glitter trike to wave to the adoring fans. Interesting day.
Sunday: Only official duty was helping judge Mr and Miss Tiny Tot 2012. The kids were absolutely adorable and it was a really hard decision all around. They were so excited to get presents just for entering. I got myself a strawberry pancake before and went on a ride after (yes, one that twists and turns as you go around upside down, I like those). There was also a dinner for the Show committee that I was invited to which was nice.
It was a really fun weekend :D
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