Despite having what some like to call an "ideal face for radio", I was devastated to learn today that I have NOT been nominated for this year's "Hottest Radio Babes" competition, being run by that bastion of feminist thinking and progressive social discourse, Zoo Weekly.
According to this article, I have failed to make the cut, and am not one of the women who "make Aussies twiddle their radio knobs". You can't imagine the shame, the ignominy, the disgrace this brings to my family. I can remember my father, when I was but a slip of a girl, raising me onto his broad shoulders, and promising one day I would reach the far greater heights of men's magazine stardom.
What do I do now to impress my dear Dad? Start some sort of share portfolio? Jeez.
And who are the faces behind the voices with the behinds that Zoo Weekly wants?
Well, glamourous blonde Jackie O of course, ex-Home and Away star Kate Ritchie and her Sydney Nova colleague Bianca Dye, and recent commercial convert Myf Warhurst, who'd have the quirky alternative vote all sewn up if Marieke Hardy from Triple J wasn't also nominated.
Flying the Brisbane flag are Nova's Emily Jade O'Keefe, whose teeth are so pearly they're at risk of being poached by Malaysian fishermen, bubbly ex-Big Brother housemate Camilla from B105, Sami "By the way did I mention I'm single?" Lukis from Triple M, and even classy Laurel Edwards from Classic Hits 4KQ.
Now where oh where is the commercial talkback representation here? I cry inequality. It can't be age - I'm younger than many of the nominated hot radio babes, and yet I was still snubbed. And it can't have been my fresh-faced-4am-weekend-starts looks.... no, of course not. It must be demographic bias.
So I hope you're happy Zoo Weekly. You've taken this Z-grade radio personality's hopes and dreams and trod on them as harshly as you would tread on a Germaine Greer opinion piece on catwalk models. I tell you, your decision to exclude me from this list has made me seriously consider pulling my entry from next month's Booty Bank.
May 27, 2008
Fat Cat
One of the great people I met during the March MEAA freelance journalists' convention was Toni Case, the editor of an online shares magazine called compareshares.com.au
After a successful pitch session, Toni brought me in as a contributor to her new sister site: www.fatcat.com.au
The site - which officially launched today - is all about money management, and features articles, tips and hints on how to be more canny with your cash.
So far I've submitted two articles, one on frequent flyer schemes and the other on tips to tackle credit card debt.
Writing for this site has been great for me: I love things to do with budgeting, but have always been fuzzy with details. This work forces me to learn more about those details, then write them in a way to ensure they're still easily digestible and relevant. Best of all, Toni is proving to be a great editor, and I'm very happy to learn from her and build a good working relationship.
I'd encourage you all to check out the site - you can also subscribe for free. There's also an accompanying social networking site if you're interested in that sort of thing!
After a successful pitch session, Toni brought me in as a contributor to her new sister site: www.fatcat.com.au
The site - which officially launched today - is all about money management, and features articles, tips and hints on how to be more canny with your cash.
So far I've submitted two articles, one on frequent flyer schemes and the other on tips to tackle credit card debt.
Writing for this site has been great for me: I love things to do with budgeting, but have always been fuzzy with details. This work forces me to learn more about those details, then write them in a way to ensure they're still easily digestible and relevant. Best of all, Toni is proving to be a great editor, and I'm very happy to learn from her and build a good working relationship.
I'd encourage you all to check out the site - you can also subscribe for free. There's also an accompanying social networking site if you're interested in that sort of thing!
May 25, 2008
Mr De Mille, I'm ready for my close-up
Today I discovered the best job in the world: acting in a movie!
My own silly videos aside, the most film I've done is a NIDA short course, (a fair waste of $450) and my buddy Oisin's 2001 epic horror The Sheet! (The Sexy Detective guys still won't answer my calls - yes, I'm looking at you Mike Skillz)
But that all changed today. You see, a couple of weeks ago, through a combination of luck and Facebook, I was asked to be in a short film, being produced for this year's Courier-Mail Queensland Short Film Festival. I was very excited, nay, thrilled - and today's shoot surpassed all my expectations.
The film is called Well-Heeled, and it's a charming little romantic comedy by Brisbane-based writer/director Robert Braiden. I was cast as Oona, the lead character. But in a stroke of what I can only describe as sheer genius, Robert wrote the script without any dialogue. With the pressure of remembering lines removed, I was afforded a relaxed and delightful entry into the world of short film-making.
It was a small crew - Robert directing, Stewart behind the lens, with Chris on sound and taking the stills - and three other cast members. Everyone was very friendly and easy to work with, and the filming was efficient and painless. Sure, there were a few times I struggled to repeat my moves and actions in exactly the same way for second, third, fourth takes, and I did eat far more musk sticks than the script called for, but apart from that, it was just fun.
I believe the film's got a great shot at winning the competition - so I hope you'll all keep an eye out for it. Hopefully I'll be able to post it, or a link to it, up here soon.
But for now, I'm retiring to my trailer. See you on the back lot, darlings.
My own silly videos aside, the most film I've done is a NIDA short course, (a fair waste of $450) and my buddy Oisin's 2001 epic horror The Sheet! (The Sexy Detective guys still won't answer my calls - yes, I'm looking at you Mike Skillz)
But that all changed today. You see, a couple of weeks ago, through a combination of luck and Facebook, I was asked to be in a short film, being produced for this year's Courier-Mail Queensland Short Film Festival. I was very excited, nay, thrilled - and today's shoot surpassed all my expectations.
The film is called Well-Heeled, and it's a charming little romantic comedy by Brisbane-based writer/director Robert Braiden. I was cast as Oona, the lead character. But in a stroke of what I can only describe as sheer genius, Robert wrote the script without any dialogue. With the pressure of remembering lines removed, I was afforded a relaxed and delightful entry into the world of short film-making.
It was a small crew - Robert directing, Stewart behind the lens, with Chris on sound and taking the stills - and three other cast members. Everyone was very friendly and easy to work with, and the filming was efficient and painless. Sure, there were a few times I struggled to repeat my moves and actions in exactly the same way for second, third, fourth takes, and I did eat far more musk sticks than the script called for, but apart from that, it was just fun.
I believe the film's got a great shot at winning the competition - so I hope you'll all keep an eye out for it. Hopefully I'll be able to post it, or a link to it, up here soon.
But for now, I'm retiring to my trailer. See you on the back lot, darlings.
May 23, 2008
Temple of Doom
I was lucky enough to attend a preview screening of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull earlier this week - and oh! how exciting it was. The cognoscenti of Brisbane entertainment was there (read: radio and TV people who, like me, had scored free tickets).
Now I'm quite partial to the Indy films, but like Star Wars series, I never really had the opportunity to get obsessed with them. I remember The Last Crusade coming out in the cinemas when I was about nine years old, but I didn't see it until years later on the telly. It's somewhat weird, as unlike Star Wars, smart dudes in hats having awesome archeological adventures is really quite my bag.
But I'm inextricably linked to Indiana Jones for a somewhat bizarre reason - my father, to this day, uses the term "Temple of Doom" as a nickname for me.
It began with my childhood best friend - a young lad from down the street named Matthew Blake, whose father was pastor of the baptist church next door. We'd play together endlessly after school and on weekends - board games, dress-ups, shops, pirates. One day, there was some talk of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and my Dad, obviously seeing a comparison with our weekend adventures, began referring to "Matthew Blake and the Temple of Doom".
Eventually this became a nickname for me. Dad would yell "Temple of Doom!"at me when trying to attract my attention. There was always great emphasis on the elongated "ooh" sound in "Doom", and Dad would usually couple it with raised eyebrows and goggle eyes. It was always mystifying for onlookers, but then, most of my Dad's nicknames for me were (and still are).
I still get the occasional "Temple of Doom!" thrown my way, but generally Dad sticks to "Bert" these days. It was his first nickname for me - apparently I could be a narky child who was slightly anally retentive and a stickler for rules, and this reminded my Dad of the iconic Sesame Street muppet. Could've been worse; could've been because of my eyebrows.
As for Matthew Blake - well, there was an odd moment near the end of my Year Seven, where I came back from school camp, and Matthew never came over again. It was weird; almost like my childhood ended at that point. We'd been so close, and then all of a sudden nothing. I've never talked to him since.
So Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is out now, and while I don't want to give away any spoilers, I will say two things:
1. George Lucas should not be allowed to write dialogue; and
2. I wonder if the original title was "Close Encounters of the Archeological Kind"?
Now I'm quite partial to the Indy films, but like Star Wars series, I never really had the opportunity to get obsessed with them. I remember The Last Crusade coming out in the cinemas when I was about nine years old, but I didn't see it until years later on the telly. It's somewhat weird, as unlike Star Wars, smart dudes in hats having awesome archeological adventures is really quite my bag.
But I'm inextricably linked to Indiana Jones for a somewhat bizarre reason - my father, to this day, uses the term "Temple of Doom" as a nickname for me.
It began with my childhood best friend - a young lad from down the street named Matthew Blake, whose father was pastor of the baptist church next door. We'd play together endlessly after school and on weekends - board games, dress-ups, shops, pirates. One day, there was some talk of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and my Dad, obviously seeing a comparison with our weekend adventures, began referring to "Matthew Blake and the Temple of Doom".
Eventually this became a nickname for me. Dad would yell "Temple of Doom!"at me when trying to attract my attention. There was always great emphasis on the elongated "ooh" sound in "Doom", and Dad would usually couple it with raised eyebrows and goggle eyes. It was always mystifying for onlookers, but then, most of my Dad's nicknames for me were (and still are).
I still get the occasional "Temple of Doom!" thrown my way, but generally Dad sticks to "Bert" these days. It was his first nickname for me - apparently I could be a narky child who was slightly anally retentive and a stickler for rules, and this reminded my Dad of the iconic Sesame Street muppet. Could've been worse; could've been because of my eyebrows.
As for Matthew Blake - well, there was an odd moment near the end of my Year Seven, where I came back from school camp, and Matthew never came over again. It was weird; almost like my childhood ended at that point. We'd been so close, and then all of a sudden nothing. I've never talked to him since.
So Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is out now, and while I don't want to give away any spoilers, I will say two things:
1. George Lucas should not be allowed to write dialogue; and
2. I wonder if the original title was "Close Encounters of the Archeological Kind"?
May 19, 2008
Carry on Cannes
Ah, the Cannes Film Festival. Thousands of celebrities, movie people and journalists crowding the French Rivera town for two weeks of promotion and adoration. And yet, despite my cynicism, it still had the power to seduce me...
Back in May 2003, the Wah and I found ourselves in the nearby city of Nice, exactly at festival time. We were only in Nice for a night, but having discovered via a short walk that the beach was somewhat pebbly and required payment (!) to flap one's flabby buttocks onto, we decided, "Bugger it. Let's go to Cannes."
And here is my shameful Cannes story.
I had brought with me on this trip a small selection of make-up - which I had only used once in eight weeks, after realising that backpacking is never an attractive pursuit no matter how much you try, so it wasn't worth the time and energy.
But as we "freshened up" back at the hotel room, the Wah became intrigued by the longer-than-usual time it was taking for me to get ready.
The reason? I was busy applying make-up.
Tragically, pathetically, my subconscious mind (quickly followed by my red-faced conscious mind) thought if I looked slightly-less-like-shit, my chances of being "discovered" on the street would improve. I mean, how many stories have you heard of famous people being found in an amusing and ironic way, plucked out of a fast-food joint or hairdressers to become the supermodel or actor de jour? (Marilyn Monroe was found in a aircraft parts factory, for Christ's sake).
Despite my bushy, fuzzy hair, and standard backpacker uniform of worn jeans and black Bonds tee, I still fell for the dream - hoping a smattering of rouge would lift me from plain old clumsy Australian to still-clumsy-yet-stunningly-beautiful-and-famous Australian.
Of course, it didn't happen. I didn't see anyone famous, just a lot of old French dudes playing boules along the foreshore. But it was nice to wander up and down taking in the atmos - pointing at big flashy displays for "Terminator 3" and "Matrix Revolutions", and taking note of the billboards advertising French films (most of which seemed to feature Gerard Depardieu. I think it must be a legal thing in France).
The only vaguely film-related person we met was on the train back to Nice. We wound up sitting opposite an English bloke who claimed to have a production company working on a Very Exciting Project: a film version of cult sci-fi comedy "Red Dwarf", complete with the original cast. Having heard rumours of such a thing for years, and having not seen any "Red Dwarf" film since, I daresay the 2003 Cannes Film Festival was about as successful for that bloke as it was for my aspirations of stardom.
Back in May 2003, the Wah and I found ourselves in the nearby city of Nice, exactly at festival time. We were only in Nice for a night, but having discovered via a short walk that the beach was somewhat pebbly and required payment (!) to flap one's flabby buttocks onto, we decided, "Bugger it. Let's go to Cannes."
And here is my shameful Cannes story.
I had brought with me on this trip a small selection of make-up - which I had only used once in eight weeks, after realising that backpacking is never an attractive pursuit no matter how much you try, so it wasn't worth the time and energy.
But as we "freshened up" back at the hotel room, the Wah became intrigued by the longer-than-usual time it was taking for me to get ready.
The reason? I was busy applying make-up.
Tragically, pathetically, my subconscious mind (quickly followed by my red-faced conscious mind) thought if I looked slightly-less-like-shit, my chances of being "discovered" on the street would improve. I mean, how many stories have you heard of famous people being found in an amusing and ironic way, plucked out of a fast-food joint or hairdressers to become the supermodel or actor de jour? (Marilyn Monroe was found in a aircraft parts factory, for Christ's sake).
Despite my bushy, fuzzy hair, and standard backpacker uniform of worn jeans and black Bonds tee, I still fell for the dream - hoping a smattering of rouge would lift me from plain old clumsy Australian to still-clumsy-yet-stunningly-beautiful-and-famous Australian.
Of course, it didn't happen. I didn't see anyone famous, just a lot of old French dudes playing boules along the foreshore. But it was nice to wander up and down taking in the atmos - pointing at big flashy displays for "Terminator 3" and "Matrix Revolutions", and taking note of the billboards advertising French films (most of which seemed to feature Gerard Depardieu. I think it must be a legal thing in France).
The only vaguely film-related person we met was on the train back to Nice. We wound up sitting opposite an English bloke who claimed to have a production company working on a Very Exciting Project: a film version of cult sci-fi comedy "Red Dwarf", complete with the original cast. Having heard rumours of such a thing for years, and having not seen any "Red Dwarf" film since, I daresay the 2003 Cannes Film Festival was about as successful for that bloke as it was for my aspirations of stardom.
May 17, 2008
Irritable
My mother said something very incisive to me yesterday:
"I can't believe someone as intelligent as you still lets these things get you down!"
Damn mothers with their stupid superior motherly wisdom, opening a can of whoop-mothering on my ass.
Yeah.
...
Deep breath.
This, too, shall pass.
"I can't believe someone as intelligent as you still lets these things get you down!"
Damn mothers with their stupid superior motherly wisdom, opening a can of whoop-mothering on my ass.
Yeah.
...
Deep breath.
This, too, shall pass.
May 16, 2008
For the fiend (again)
Look, if someone accidentally leaves their LiveJournal open on on your computer, surely you're duty bound to pull a prank?
lol fiend
I seem to be picking on the fiend a bit this week. It's only 'cause I heart him. He did take me to the impro, after all.
lol fiend
I seem to be picking on the fiend a bit this week. It's only 'cause I heart him. He did take me to the impro, after all.
May 14, 2008
Freshening Up
Perhaps it's got something to do with finally recovering from a recent bout of the 'flu, but I felt like freshening up the joint.
The idea of a revamp has been perculating for a while. Every so often I would cruise free blogger template sites - there are a fair few out there. But the templates on offer would always be in the old "classic" format, or require far too much html knowledge for me to figure out. Or they just looked crappy.
But then I stumbled upon www.suckmylolly.com. The woman behind it designs and uploads gorgeous templates designed specifically for New Blogger. They're funky and original - and best of all, free.
So I chose this lovely green one - and I must say I'm very happy with it. I'm actually quite impressed I was able to follow the directions and change the header image to read "Girl Clumsy", as opposed to "Blog Title Here".
Changing templates did mean I lost various widgets I've been assembling over recent months - I'm particularly perplexed by the loss of the label cloud, but so far I haven't found a way of doing that in a non-blogger template. However, I was able to turn it into a drop-down menu, so all is not lost.
For someone who knows very little about web design and coding, I'm quite chuffed with myself. But I'm keen to hear any feedback - if it's hard to read, navigate, if links don't work, if you're sick of seeing photographs of me, etc etc.
(And yes, I know cosmetic changes are taking precedence over actual content at this stage, but give me a minute, I'll be back on that horse soon!)
The idea of a revamp has been perculating for a while. Every so often I would cruise free blogger template sites - there are a fair few out there. But the templates on offer would always be in the old "classic" format, or require far too much html knowledge for me to figure out. Or they just looked crappy.
But then I stumbled upon www.suckmylolly.com. The woman behind it designs and uploads gorgeous templates designed specifically for New Blogger. They're funky and original - and best of all, free.
So I chose this lovely green one - and I must say I'm very happy with it. I'm actually quite impressed I was able to follow the directions and change the header image to read "Girl Clumsy", as opposed to "Blog Title Here".
Changing templates did mean I lost various widgets I've been assembling over recent months - I'm particularly perplexed by the loss of the label cloud, but so far I haven't found a way of doing that in a non-blogger template. However, I was able to turn it into a drop-down menu, so all is not lost.
For someone who knows very little about web design and coding, I'm quite chuffed with myself. But I'm keen to hear any feedback - if it's hard to read, navigate, if links don't work, if you're sick of seeing photographs of me, etc etc.
(And yes, I know cosmetic changes are taking precedence over actual content at this stage, but give me a minute, I'll be back on that horse soon!)
May 12, 2008
For the fiend
This will completely mystify most people, but nevertheless:
You can visit the fiend's LiveJournal to watch his videos from a recent trip to Japan, the ends of which somewhat explain the Freaking Awesome Godzilla Hat.
You can visit the fiend's LiveJournal to watch his videos from a recent trip to Japan, the ends of which somewhat explain the Freaking Awesome Godzilla Hat.
May 10, 2008
Grudge Match
Shhh. Nobody tell The Wah I was blogging, OK? He'll get annoyed. I can see him now, sighing to himself, shaking his head, thinking "She's got a problem". I should be in bed, see - I didn't sleep much last night, worked eight hours, then wound up at state parliament watching the Liberals and Nationals get into each other's pants (politically-speaking of course, though you never know with conservatives).
I just wanted to let you all know that Impro Mafia's newest show "Grudge Match Comedy Football" has its first night tomorrow at the StageDoor Dinner Theatre. It's part of the Twelfth Night complex on Cintra Road at Bowen Hills.
The show is just $11. Doors open at 6:30pm, and it starts at 7pm.
This is a brand new venue for Impro Mafia, and we're determined to make it grow and succeed. The StageDoor Dinner Theatre is a brilliant, intimate space for impro - with this and the Arts Theatre we are becoming a truly professional company with two great home venues.
This show will be on the second Sunday of every month, and will feature a regular clash between two teams, with a referee overseeing proceedings.
It is Mother's Day, but any Brisbane readers should think about bringing their Mum along. There's food and drinks (including alcohol) available, it's right next to a train station, and it's going to be heaps of fun!
(Also, I've been mucking around with my title pic again. Does anybody out there want to design me a brilliant header, or perhaps even a whole new blog? I feel like this place needs a splash of paint. Perhaps I should just get my hair done instead.)
I just wanted to let you all know that Impro Mafia's newest show "Grudge Match Comedy Football" has its first night tomorrow at the StageDoor Dinner Theatre. It's part of the Twelfth Night complex on Cintra Road at Bowen Hills.
The show is just $11. Doors open at 6:30pm, and it starts at 7pm.
This is a brand new venue for Impro Mafia, and we're determined to make it grow and succeed. The StageDoor Dinner Theatre is a brilliant, intimate space for impro - with this and the Arts Theatre we are becoming a truly professional company with two great home venues.
This show will be on the second Sunday of every month, and will feature a regular clash between two teams, with a referee overseeing proceedings.
It is Mother's Day, but any Brisbane readers should think about bringing their Mum along. There's food and drinks (including alcohol) available, it's right next to a train station, and it's going to be heaps of fun!
(Also, I've been mucking around with my title pic again. Does anybody out there want to design me a brilliant header, or perhaps even a whole new blog? I feel like this place needs a splash of paint. Perhaps I should just get my hair done instead.)
May 8, 2008
Underkelly
This past week has marked a few notable events: the end of the two-week run of "The Truth" at the Brisbane Arts Theatre on Saturday, which was followed on Sunday by Impro Mafia's "Rule Britannia" show at the same venue. Both were extremely well-attended and equally well-received, which was brilliant. Congratulations must go to everyone involved, particularly The Wah for his marvellous directing of the most successful Pratchett play in the theatre's history. I know a few readers of this blog also came along to one or both of those shows - thank you so very much for your support, it really does means a lot.
I've also been struggling with a cold, which certainly made performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday interesting. I was actually forbidden to speak offstage on Saturday in order to preserve my rapidly dying vocal chords, and had to use a mic to MC the impro show. Still, I soldiered on, all the while working most days at the radio station (obviously sounding a bit like an emotionally-crippled drag queen while reading the news), and finishing a freelance article. Yes, I'm playing the martyr card. You may all worship at my crimson petticoats, goddamnit.
Seasons 4 of both Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica are progressing nicely, but in terms of quality drama, this week's gong goes to the finale of Underbelly. I really enjoyed the series, and after a quick YouTube search, couldn't believe nobody else had thought of my silly idea for a parody. So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Underkelly - a tribute to both quality Australian drama and an iconic bushranger:
I've also been struggling with a cold, which certainly made performances on Friday, Saturday and Sunday interesting. I was actually forbidden to speak offstage on Saturday in order to preserve my rapidly dying vocal chords, and had to use a mic to MC the impro show. Still, I soldiered on, all the while working most days at the radio station (obviously sounding a bit like an emotionally-crippled drag queen while reading the news), and finishing a freelance article. Yes, I'm playing the martyr card. You may all worship at my crimson petticoats, goddamnit.
Seasons 4 of both Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica are progressing nicely, but in terms of quality drama, this week's gong goes to the finale of Underbelly. I really enjoyed the series, and after a quick YouTube search, couldn't believe nobody else had thought of my silly idea for a parody. So ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Underkelly - a tribute to both quality Australian drama and an iconic bushranger:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)