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November 13, 2010

Sunday. hands



i believe you can tell alot about a person by their hands. hands are, after all, one of the few places on the body that usually remains untouched by surgery or beauty products. makeup and botox have no effect on someone's hands. people arn't often aware or self concious about their hands. they generally don't worry about how they look or are presented. next time you see someone standing in the street, take a look at their hands, and let me know what you think. dont stare for too long though, people will think you're odd. although you probably are, if you're staring at someone's hands in the first place. what?

xR

Saturday. arias



the Arias are music awards held in australia, for mostly australian artists. in previous years, it's suffered with ratings and the general structure of the awards show has been a bit ... dodgy (to say the least).
this year was no different. when you talk about the music industry, as large a concept as that term covers, you expect a certain standard. a certain amount of style and extravogance. this year, they for some reason decided to hold the awards not inside the Sydney Opera House (an amazing venue) - but rather on the steps outside the building. what? why? there was no set stage or seating - the artists and band members stood and drank with other industry names in a huge mass. there were award presenters and hosts sprinkled around the mass. when the musicians actually realised they had won an award, (when band PowderFinger were finally tracked down they had to ask the presenters what the award was actually for) they then had to dodge through everyone to try and find the presenters - who were so mismatched and ridiculously unrehearsed it was actually funny. one presenter, Jessica Mauboy (previous winner of Australian Idol) was reading the autocue and incorrectly cited "debut" as "de-butt"... she did this multiple times. i could have cried.
but really, the awards were in shambles. some musicians were rumoured to actually be high at the point of their award acceptance. add together awkward, mismatched presenters and hoards of drunk industry members and you have yourself one giant afterparty looking awards ceremony. you've done it again, australia. i guess that's what you get in one of the most relaxed, blasé countries in the world.

xR

Saturday. vacation



so i have almost officially graduated from high school, and i can't help but feel a little empty. school runs most of our lives when we're adolescents - we dedicate our weekends and time after school to homework and assignments, plus the obvious six hours a day, five days a week that we actually spend at school. so now that we've almost finished, now that we're on vacation, what exactly are we meant to do with our time?
most people my age answer with sleeping or just chilling out. but when you're used to having your friends nearby for six hours every day, and suddenly you now have to make an effort in order to catch up with them, chilling out isn't that easy anymore. we have no school work or assignments to finish on vacation. no real responsibilities (unless we're working part time). nothing urgent to take up our time. nothing purposeful. just eager, nerve-racking ancitipation as we wait to enter the next phase of our lives. adulthood. eugh

xR

November 12, 2010

Friday. gaga



the music industry has produced some pretty amazing talent thus far. sometimes, there are artists that stand out from the rest. sometimes there are artists that create their own style and genre. lady gaga is a genius in my opinion. the fact that she can wear ridiculous costumes and be in general pretty outrageous, and be renowned for it, is something i find admirable though oddly confusing. it's one thing to have talent, but it's another thing to be unique and make your mark. in the short time she's been out in the industry, she's attracted so much attention from her out there outfits and controversial video clips that she's probably more known for that than for her actual music.
however, for some insane reason, this is also why some people don't like her.. which is really quite silly in my opinion. to dislike someone and their music purely because you don't understand their unique style and dont approve of their individual choices in the music industry is silly. if we go through life with the same sounding artists and bands, there can obviously be no progression.

xR

November 8, 2010

Monday. war



so it's a pretty topical issue at the moment, with troops from all over the world being deployed to third world nations. there are so many reasons or excuses that try to explain why we do this. nations that can't take care of themselves, and nations that are corrupt and full to the brim with genocide, violence, serious justice issues. poverty-stricken communities that don't have a functional political or policing system. although i feel for these nations and their peoples, sometimes i think the war against terror and continual deployment of troops to these nations comes at a loss. what proof do we have that we are actually making a difference over there? as more bodies are shipped home, where is our evidence of success? i dont see the justice in losing lives to save lives; just to show we care. sometimes it doesn't seem worth it. maybe they should set up a reality show so we can see what they're actually doing, instead of all the secrecy and guesswork. maybe im just a child with a child's perspective.

at the recent awards night at my school, a student who attended a few years ago came to present an airforce/etc endorsed award. under the tight chin strap and khaki uniform i hardly recognised him. it took me a good ten or so minutes to realise i remembered seeing this boy frequently around the school. the host for the evening mentioned his acheivements, adding that he was recently sent to afghanistan. my heart sunk at that point. he seemed like a different person to the slouched school boy i remembered. he was definately... disciplined. it amazed me just how different he seemed after what must've been a life-changing experience. i think i overheard him saying afterward that one of his friends had died during the deployment. sad.

xR