Yadda Yadda Yadda

Hello to anyone who still read this.
I hope you have a wonderful and safe and prosperous and adventurous and exciting new year!
Much love to you all!
I hope you don't feel like this tomorrow.

It's Christmas time! Yay!
Tonight my family swapped presents. Yes, I know it's not Christmas yet, but we're all heading off to Whyalla, SA and for the first time my brother Luke isn't coming with us. It's going to be so weird having Christmas without him.
So presents I hear you ask?
Here is what I got so far.



In case you can't tell what everything is, from left to right:
Jane Kennedy's cook book, curb your enthusiasm season 4, Paul Dempsey's album, Pushing Daisies season 1, the first volume of the 'Glee' soundtrack, and a book by Dr Karl. Yay! I love all of them!

I probably won't blog again before Christmas, so let me take this opportunity to tell anyone who still reads my blog that I wish you a truly wonderful Christmas filled with life the way it was meant to be.

Has anyone seen the tv show 'Pushing Daisies'? I want to know what it's like. Is every episode a musical? It looks pretty awesome from what I've seen, but I've only seen a few clips on YouTube. Fill me in!

How cool is this?

I rediscovered this song recently.
Oh how I love it!

You want some giggles? Here they are!

I went to my 10 year high school reunion on Saturday night.
And it was absolutely fantastic!
I'm so glad it turned out so well. Because, I'm the one who organised it! And if it had gone bad then I'm sure people would have blamed me! But everyone seemed to have a great night and I've had a lot of positive feedback about how great the night was.
There were no weird dynamics, it was just people catching up with each other. I was so pleased. Everyone said they were so nervous, for a variety of reasons, but once we were there, all the old high school rubbish was such a non issue, and people just enjoyed themselves.
If you want to see photos from the night you can go here and check them out. There were too many to post, and frankly I'm lazy.

On Monday night Luke & I went to Readings in Carlton to hear Tony Martin do a reading of his new book A Nest of Occasionals. It was absolutely brilliant! Tony is not only very intelligent, but friendly and hilarious! His new book is a collection of stories that have happened to him over the years. He is a very gifted writer and the biggest nerd of all! In a good way of course. He also did a Q&A section at the end which was just wonderful. It was so good to be able to ask him heaps of questions we all wanted to know the answers to. Unfortunately he's been out of the media (largely) for the last 18 months or so (minus about 2 months) so there was lots to ask! Here are some photos from the event.

We also went dressed in capes! Well, bath-towels swirled around our necks anyway. It's a joke from the best radio show of all time, 'Get This' which Tony ran from 2006 - 2007, which he was axed for being too successful. Go figure. Anyway, one of the things they did was Capril. It's just a month where you wear a cape around for no other reason than it's Capril. So as a homage to Get This, we went caped! Got us some extra attention from Tony anyway :)



Hanging out with Tony Martin!


Luke hanging out with Tony.


Reading some of his book.


Reading some of his book.


Thanks for taking this awesome photo Luke...


More reading.


More reading.


Luke & I, capes donned!


He signed my book! The new one he just released.


He signed my other book! The first one of his I bought.

This is from an email about human trafficking and the chocolate industry. Good practical ways to do something and stand up for those with no voice!





The good news is that Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate bar in Australia will be Fairtrade as of Easter 2010! This means that there will be a significant increase in the sales of Fairtrade cocoa produced by farmers in Ghana. Fairtrade cocoa sales will increase for existing Fairtrade farming groups as well as opening up opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system.

Cadbury is the first mainstream chocolate company to announce that it will use Fairtrade certified cocoa for a main product line in Australia. Fairtrade certification sets standards by which the farmers growing the cocoa get a decent price for their produce and that exploited child labour is not involved.

Mars had previously announced that all of the cocoa it uses in its chocolate products will be certified as free of the involvement of trafficked people and slave-like labour by 2020 .

The bad news is by comparison to Cadbury and Mars companies such as Nestle have been unwilling to take adequate steps to address the exploitation of children on the cocoa farms and plantations.

Please write to Cadbury using the address below or through their on-line customer feedback at http://www.cadbury.com.au/Feedback.aspx:

Mark Callaghan
Managing Director Confectionary
Cadbury Schweppes Australia and New Zealand
PO Box 6134
St Kilda Road Central
Victoria 8008

Points to make in your letter or e-mail:
- Welcome the joint announcement of Cadbury and Fairtrade Labelling Australia and New Zealand that Cadbury Dairy Milk will achieve Fairtrade Certification in Australia by Easter 2010.
- Note that this will have the very positive outcome of significantly increasing sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana.
- Note that with this announcement Cadbury is leading action amongst the large chocolate manufacturers in Australia to address exploited child labour in the production of cocoa in West Africa.
- Request that Cadbury announce a timeline by which each of its product lines that contain cocoa will use only Fairtrade certified cocoa.

What you can do to turn the bad news into good news.

I left my copy of "Lolly Scramble" by Tony Martin on the plane a couple of weeks ago. Turns out someone stole it and I'm never getting it back. Sad face.

Go me! I have over 600 now!

Got a reply from my local MP about my letter I sent off (see last entry). Nice to have a personal reply, but it's not enough. I'm writing back. Here is my second letter:




Dear Ms. Macklin,

Thank you so much for writing back to me. I appreciate you taking the time. I understand that Labor is doing some good work in the area of fair trade and human rights. I applaud the government for taking measures to help see that all people have their basic rights met.

However, I don’t think the government is doing enough. We are a hugely resourced country, and therefore have the responsibility to help those less fortunate than ourselves. This goes for our own citizens as well as those overseas. I realise it’s not simply a matter of changing laws overnight to make this so. I know it is infinitely more complicated. There is personal responsibility involved as well as government intervention.

Your letter of reply did not address my main concern about trade issues. We still import countless products that ensure people are trapped in a cycle of poverty. This is equal to slavery. There is no excuse for this when we can redirect our resources to products that don’t abuse human rights. Once again I realise this is not a straight forward issue, but it is one that we need to address and act on! Complicated does not mean impossible.

Why do we continue to support multinational corporations that produce goods through ‘sweat shops’ and slave labour? Just because we aren’t the ones doing it, doesn’t remove our responsibility. We are responsible for the money we give to these corporations that encourages them to continue exploiting their workers. I wouldn’t wish those conditions on anyone and I am hugely concerned that as a country we endorse it through our actions.

We must do something about our endorsement of this behaviour. We must stand up for human rights and fair trade! We may not endorse the behaviour with our words, but our actions say otherwise. Something must be done!

Once again, Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I hope it will drive you to positive action.

Megan Orrin

This is something I have written. I would love it if everyone could either send their own version, or just cut and paste mine and put your name on the end. I think this is very important.

Go here to email the PM

I also sent it to Simon Crean the minister for trade.

Go here to email Simon Crean

However, we all know that a written letter is worth more than an email. I urge you to do both. It will take you all of 30 seconds.

The Hon Kevin Rudd MP

Prime Minister

Parliament House

CANBERRA ACT 2600




To The Honourable Kevin Rudd,

I am writing to you as a concerned citizen. In this time of increasing social awareness, specifically in the area of fair trade, I think it’s time that the Government stepped in and made some serious changes.

You are a representative of the people, and there had been a huge increase in the public interest of fair trade products. As a country we import countless products that exploit the poorest of the poor who are unable to advocate and stand up for themselves. This is unacceptable. The abolition of slavery was founded on these same principles. We wouldn’t dare endorse slavery in this country, so why do we support it through our trade practices? We freely import products that keep people in a cycle of poverty. This is unacceptable.

You may say I should choose to purchase things that are fair trade, but as a Government it is your responsibility to oversee our country’s conscience. We don’t allow people to have slaves if they so choose, so why do we allow people to buy products that effectively keep people in conditions that amount to slavery? Why is this part of our trade policy, supporting these conditions? There is nothing acceptable about this. There is no reason for companies to continue to exploit these workers other than greed and financial gain. People are always more important than money. Always.

This issue is particularly poignant for coffee and chocolate products. Even though things are starting to change, I still see it as the Government’s role to be involved.

Having said all this, I do realise it is a complicated issue. I know that there is no solution that will not be met with immense opposition. But did that stop those campaigning for the abolition of slavery? Should it stop us? I say no. And as the representative of the people, it is your role to ensure that our country is run with integrity, and that our trade practices are not something to be ashamed of.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I hope it will drive you to positive action.

Megan Orrin

CLICK ME!

Yes, I am talking about the sweet talking, blood sucking, piano playing vampire from Twilight, Edward.

I am not in love with him, which appears to make me stand out against millions of girls around the world. And this is a fact that concerns me.

Yes, he's hot. We get it. He's hot, and he's utterly and irreversibly in love with Bella. But is love enough? I say no. I have nothing against love, and passionate love at that, but when it becomes an excuse for inexcusable behaviour there is a problem. He is controlling beyond reason. He tells her what to do, where she can go, and who she can be friends with. And because she loves him, she lets him control her. He even kidnaps her a couple of times, forcing her to be where he thinks she ought to be. All under the guise of keeping her safe. I do not doubt the lovely motives, but does that really make it ok? I say absolutely not!

This perfect ideal of Edward sets up a whole generation of young girls to get in abusive, controlling relationships. If he loves me, it's ok. He controls me because he cares. Then it's a slippery slope, from control to abuse. I'm not saying all controlling guys end up abusing their girlfriends/wives, but it lends itself to going in that direction.

Yes Edward never hurts her physically, but does that make it ok? Not in my book. Not that I have a book... you get my point though.

Love is not an excuse for poor behaviour. Controlling relationships are not ok and should not be set up as an over-romanticised ideal. Bella constantly gets mad at Edward, then forgives him as soon as she sees him coz he's so hot and she loves him! That is not ok! Girls need to be taught to respect themselves and expect men to respect them too, not offer up excuses for why they are not being respected.

I may be a little late jumping on the internet bashing band wagon, but I find it's still a topic I feel passionate about.
Someone asked me what I thought about it the other night and I still fired up about this issue. So here I am, back on the blog, my little virtual soap box!

I'm talking about the Kyle & Jackie O 'radio stunt' that 'shocked a nation'.
Side note: I'm so sick of the terms 'radio stunt' and 'shock jock'. Let's just ban them now. And stunt is not a strong enough word for what they did.

Whose fault is it? It's everyone's.

The mum is a horrendously irresponsible parent who has obviously done her daughter immense damage over the years, and appears to be continuing to do so. Any parent who would know about a daughter's rape and then ask her about it on air shouldn't have kids. I feel so bad for that girl. She will need some serious help. I pray she gets it.

And Kyle & Jackie O? Who cares if they didn't know she was raped! They put a 14 year old girl on their live radio show and asked her about her sex life. What did they think was going to happen?! There is no scenario where that turns out well. The girl was always going to lose. They clearly care about their ratings more than that girl. They used and abused her for entertainment purposes. She did not want to be there and she is below the age of consent. They are pathetic, abusive and irresponsible public figures and I'm ashamed they are Australian 'personalities'.

And Austero management? They are to blame too. They gave the segment the go ahead and let it go to air. They are just as bad as Kyle & Jackie O. Speaking of Jackie O, why is she not coping the blame? Why is it being shifted over to Kyle? Now I'm no fan of Kyle's, but why is it just his fault? Why does he get all the headlines when his co-host is just as deplorable as he is?

As you can see I'm still angry about it. And for a good piece on the story by Media Watch, click on the link below.

Media Watch on Kyle & Jackie O

I don't like Taylor Swift, but this is very cool!

Well yesterday I started my final teaching placement. I'm teaching full time for the next 5 weeks, then 9 weeks of classes, then I'm officially a teacher. Scary thought? Lock up your children...
I promise not to scar them. Too much.

So far so good. My supervising teachers are all lovely and I think I'm going to really enjoy this placement. Can I get a yay? Ok, I'll give myself one. YAY!
I feel confident (but hopefully not cocky!) that I'm equipped to do a good job. And if not, there are people around to help me.
Like I said, so far so good. But it is only day 2... They haven't destroyed my soul yet.

In Due Season

So many giggles!

This is the best short film I've ever seen. Just incredible. You've got to see it!

Wow. Pan's Labyrinth. Sometimes there is no poetry and life just sucks. Brilliant film.

I've finally narrowed down my Top 10 for Triple J's Hottest 100. Here it is:

The beach boys - God only knows
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Glen Hansard - Falling Slowly
Crowded House - Better be home soon
Phil Colins - Against all odds
Elton John - Your song
The Whitlams - Buy Now Pay Later
George - Special Ones
Sting - Fields of Gold

A true loss to our collective psyche. RIP MJ. Regardless of his controversial life, he was a true musical genius. Another sad loss in Farrah Fawcett. A tragic battle finally lost. Both gave huge contributions to pop culture as we know it. Will leave a huge hole. Controversy and all.

Man in the mirror is my favourite Michael Jackson song. What's yours?

Wow I hear you saying.
A far cry from the Snuggie topics of late.
A little more serious than I have been tacking lately, but something I've been thinking about.
No I'm not dying. No I don't want to die. There is no hidden agenda here!
I just think it's a really contentious issue that needs to be talked about more.
I've been reading up on Dr Philip Nitschke and his campaigning for the legalisation of euthanasia.
Some thoughts:

First up I want to state that I fundamentally disagree with Dr Nitschke on the issue of euthanasia. I’m not here to bash him with words or say how bad he is. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Let me premise this with my stance. My faith leads me to believe that all life is sacred and that no one has the right to take it away. I believe that God created life and no one has the right to decide when a life should end.

However, I realise that this is a contentious issue and there is a lot of grey area. I am not pretending that it is a black and white issue where no discussion should be entered into. I think it is an important dialogue to have, and Dr Nitschke has facilitated that over the years. It’s easy for me to sit back and say I disagree with euthanasia because I don’t know anyone who wants the option to decide when their life ends because of a terminal illness. I know that for those living with these decisions it is far more complicated.

There are endless factors that influence the thinking around this issue and we all need to have understanding and compassion when it comes to talking about euthanasia.

I believe Dr Nitschke is a good and compassionate man. While I disagree with the outcome of his thinking, I know that he is seeking to do the right thing and help people in dire situations. I know he just wants to help people and restore some of their dignity in their final choice. I applaud him for that.

I’m sure he gets an awful lot of opposition and hate mail from those who oppose euthanasia, but I wanted to say something positive about him from someone who disagrees. Within disagreement there is a vital place for open dialogue.

Seeing his interview with Andrew Denton (when it aired) really helped me understand his motivation and his heart for helping people who have no means to help themselves. That is an admirable quality.

I think we need an ongoing dialogue about euthanasia because it is an important issue that affects a lot of people.




Heavy I know, but thoughts?

Kathryn & Jenny came over in their fake $10 Snuggies! Oh yeah! Everyone on board the Snuggie train! Toot toot!

Today our (Luke & my) Snuggies arrived! AND I got 2 new tattoos! Best day ever!
Snuggies are must as awesome as I predicted! I told you they were comfortable heaven! I do not regret my purchase one little bit.

And it's my Mum's birthday! Happy birthday Mum! I love you so much. You are a tremendous person and you inspire me constantly. I have so much respect for you. I am so grateful you're my mother and I appreciate you more than you will ever know. Your generous and giving spirit is always challenging me to be more selfless. I love you.






And my new tattoos! My foot tattoo definitely hurt! It wasn't unbearable, but it hurt. My foot hurt, but my finger was horrendously painful!!! Lucky it was so small!

I've added and subtracted.
New thoughts?

The beach boys - God only knows
Radiohead - Paranoid Android
Leonard cohen - Hallelujah
Glen Hansard - Falling Slowly
U2 - With or without you
Crowded House - better be home soon
The beatles - yesterday
Phil Colins - against all odds
John Farhnam - You're the voice
Elton John - your song
Coldplay - warning sign
Josh Groban - Remember when it rained
The Whitlams - Buy Now Pay Later
George - Holiday
Something for Kate - Beautiful Sharks
Dashboard Confessional - Screaming Infidelities
Tim Minchin - Drowned
Sting - Fields of Gold

At the moment Triple J are running The Hottest 100 of all Time. You can only vote for 10 songs. HOW?!!
How I ask you can you only pick 10 songs from all time?!
I feel like it is too much of an important decision and what I choose will define me. I can't bring myself to vote yet!
This is a bit of a working list.
I know this is a very subjective topic, but, Suggestions?

God only knows - the beach boys
Paranoid ANdroid - Radiohead
Hallelujah - leonard cohen
Falling Slowly - Glen Hansard
With or without you - U2
Crowded House - better be home soon/fall at your feet
Indigo girls - power of two
The beatles - yesterday
Phil Colins - against all odds
John Farhnam - You're the voice
Elton John - your song
Coldplay - warning sign
Josh Groban - Remember when it rained
The Whitlams - Buy Now Pay Later
Holiday - George

Ok, now I have an even newer template. I like this one.
This one stays.

I have a new blog look. Thoughts?
I might still change it.

I'm sure most of you have seen this before, but if you haven't here it is. And if you have, it's worth watching again.

I get passionate about certain things. I'm sure those of you that know me can pick some of those topics. Justice is one. Another one is people who can't justify their 'opinions'.

I really enjoy having discussions with people about things we disagree about. It's not fighting, I'm not really up for that, but I enjoy a passionate debate. It's interesting to hear people's opinions and why they believe what they believe. It helps me to either cement or change my own ideas, and helps me to get to know the other person better.

However, what I can't stand, and get really angry about, is people who just spout rhetoric and can't support their ideas. People who have beliefs, but can't articulate why they believe it, really get to me. I don't mind people believing whatever they want to believe, that is everyone's prerogative, but what I can't stand is when they haven't thought it through and they can't explain it.

I have had a few discussions over the last few weeks where someone just spouts ideas and then is unable to engage in conversation about it. I find this so frustrating! I hate when you ask them a question and they just repeat the rhetoric they've absorbed and don't answer your questions.

You can tell when people own their ideas by whether they can discuss them.

I can't recommend this site enough. Tony Martin is a genius! And Shaun Micallef is a guest writer this week.
It's updated weekly.

I got 8/8 for my footy tipping this week! Woot!

On another note, this is my last week of teaching rounds. It's gone so fast! This is week 5 of my placement at Heathdale Christian College. It's such an amazing school and I have truly loved my time there. I'd apply for a job there in a heartbeat if it wasn't so far away from my place! Stupid Werribee...
I am so impressed with the school. The staff treat both each other and the students with a real respect, and the students (well, most of them) respond by living up to the expectations that they will be responsible. I'm loving my classes, the kids have been great. I've had no major issues at all. Just kids getting distracted and talking, but what school doesn't have that! I'm glad none of them seem to be as bad as I was in high school! I was such a talker. Apologies to my teachers....
My supervising teachers are also fantastic. They don't treat me like a chore at all, but they really want to help me learn and succeed. I've had such much positive feedback. They're really encouraging. but they also provide me with constructive criticism in a really nice way. I'm learning a lot and really enjoying it.
I'll be sad to finish up, but I'll also relish getting my sleep ins back! I really really really miss sleeping in... Getting up at 6:15am is not my idea of fun... Anyone who knows me knows I am absolutely NOT a morning person!

Wouldn't the news be more interesting if it was all auto tuned?

I saw Billy Elliot (the stage musical, not the film) this week with my family. It is absolutely fantastic! I can highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!



The talent of those young kids is amazing! There are 5 12 year old boys who take it in turn playing Billy Elliot. There are 7 shows a week, so they can't really keep up with the schedule at that age. There are also a heap of young girls (about the same age) who swap around. So there are really about 4 or 5 sets of cast members. All the adults do each night, but the kids take it in turns. It the others are anything like the ones we saw, they are all incredibly talented kids! So impressive!



The story line is also really powerful. There are a couple of different things going on at once and they play together beautifully. Because it's a stage production there are obviously restrictions with how you present things, but they have married them all together so well. I don't want to spoil it in case you don't know what happens. Powerful stuff though. I had a bit of a cry a few times.



The set is also very impressive. So many moving and rotating parts. There is so much creativity that's gone into this production. The music is great, the cast are amazing and the set is brilliant. It makes for a wonderful musical and a great night!



However, keep in mind a couple of things, if you're not into 12 year old cocky swearing, maybe stay away. There is a fair bit of language, personally I found it hilarious! There is something about swearing in such an accent that is so funny. I can't be offended with an accent like that!

Well I'm off to stay in Geelong for 5 weeks. I'll be coming back on weekends, but will mostly be out in the western suburbs for a while. I start my teaching rounds tomorrow which is exciting! The problem is they are at a school in Hoppers Crossing! That's waaaaaay too far to travel each day! Not only do I not want to spend 3 hours a day traveling, I can't afford that much petrol. So thankfully i have somewhere to stay out there. One of my classmates, Nicky lives in Geelong and is doing the same placement as me, so she said I can stay with her. Yay! It's only half an hour from her place. Much better than an hour and a half from mine! So I won't really be online as much for the next 5 weeks I think. We'll see.

Oh, and check this out. A wonderful blog post by Grumpy Frump about how beauty tends to = talent in our society.

Check out this site:
Bash.org
Not one for the kiddies.
Hilarious stuff!

"Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

From Season 1, Episode 6 of The West Wing
Awesome conversation!


[Donna and Josh are discussing what should be done with the budget surplus]
Donna Moss: What's wrong with me getting my money back?
Josh Lyman: You won't spend it right.
Donna Moss: What do you mean?
Josh Lyman: Let's say your cut of the surplus is $700. I want to take your money, combine it with everybody else's money and use it to pay down the debt and further endow Social Security. What do you want to do with it?
Donna Moss: Buy a DVD player.
Josh Lyman: See?
Donna Moss: But my $700 is helping employ the people who manufacture and sell DVD players, not to mention the people who manufacture and sell DVDs. It's the natural evolution of a market economy.
Josh Lyman: The problem is the DVD player you buy might be made in Japan.
Donna Moss: I'll buy an American one.
Josh Lyman: We don't trust you.
Donna Moss: Why not?
Josh Lyman: We're Democrats.
Donna Moss: I want my money back.
Josh Lyman: You shouldn't have voted for us.

Yes, another youtube video! This one is so worth watching!

By the way, I get the irony of putting this on my blog...

This is the new Hollowmen clip about funding for the ABC. Hilarious!

CADBURY GOES TRAFFIK FREE

Let's celebrate the amazing news that by the end of summer 2009, Cadbury's Dairy Milk bars can be part of our diet again!

We congratulate Cadbury on their commitment to justice and now look to their policy being adopted across their entire product range.

Cadbury's decision demonstrates the power of ordinary consumers in bringing change and freedom. Two years ago, STOP THE TRAFFIK met with Cadbury and was told that a fairtrade Cadbury's bar was impossible and impracticable.

This is a victory for every person who has complained, campaigned and spread the message. But most of all, it is a victory for every child held in exploitative labour on West African cocoa farms. It is important to remember though that all exploited children will not be free until Mars, Nestle, Lindt, Hershey and all the others have put human rights before profit and make similar announcements. Click here to find out more about the trafficking of children to work on cocoa farms.

STOP THE TRAFFIK has been calling for individual companies to take responsibility for the chocolate they sell and asking for it to be traffik free. This is a very significant step in our campaign.

If you've been part of this, e-mail it to your local press and tell them of the campaigning you did.

Together we will STOP THE TRAFFIK

(This is an email I received today coz I'm on the email list for the STOP THE TRAFFIK campaign)

It's my birthday! I'm the birthday girl! Woot! I always love birthdays. So much fun!

Taste the pun! Taste it!

So as you can probably guess, I saw "Wicked". It was absolutely brilliant! Anyone who has seen it will agree, and anyone who hasn't, just has to see it! And I know that everyone goes on about how awesome it is, but they do it for a reason, it really is that awesome! The performances were amazing! These people can really sing and really act! The dancing is also very impressive. Great casting!



The storyline is so impressive too. It weaves in and out of the movie so well. Not only does it not contradict anything, but it compliments the original story of Oz perfectly and actually enhances it. I don't want to give anything away coz I am a big believer that not knowing anything makes the film/show/whatever better than having pre-conceived ideas about what it will be.



The set is also incredible! A lot of money must have been poured into this production.



Anyway, just get along and see it! I plan on going to see it again!



I may have sneakily taken a photo of the set before the show started... Naughty of me I know, but here is the set from our pretty good seats before the curtain went up.

I saw the movie 'Slumdog Millionaire' with some friends last night and just had to tell people about it. It's a truly brilliant film! I'm a big fan of going into movies not knowing anything at all, so I don't plan to give anything away here. Just to say that it is moving and intense and uplifting and tragic and so worth seeing! It's set in the slums of India and is a tale of the journey of 3 people as they grow up and move on. Powerful stuff. It it confronting at times, funny at times and shocking at times. Just go and see it.



Here are some reviews:

"Together Boyle and his co-director Loveleen Tandeen have created a portrait of a city in transition -- a place of relentless energy, of ambition and inspiration; of poverty and exploitation, of obscene riches and modest desires."

"Like all good fairy tales, this outsize celebration of perseverance and moral triumph contains within it a deeper idea -- in this case, the relative nature of what we think we know, and what's worth knowing at all."

"The beautifully rendered and energetic tale celebrates resilience, the power of knowledge and the vitality of the human experience. Horrifying, humorous and life-affirming, it is, above all, unforgettable."

Firstly I have some exciting news! I got my official acceptance letter for my course this week (I'm doing a graduate diploma of education). That's not the exciting bit though. I have a sort of scholarship thing and it's going to cost me $4k for my entire grad dip!!! WHOO!!!! That's instead of about $12k! What a relief that is!

Yesterday was Alison's birthday! And we had a fun day out! We started at a bar just having a drink and a chat, then went and had mexican for dinner, then back to the bar again, then off to a jazz club for a while. Lots of fun! Here are some photos: