Any singers and/or songwriters out there? Want to get into Eurovision but still support Australia?
Well, it’s time to get off your duff and put on your Green & Gold.
Entries are now open for the first Australian representative to the Asia-Pacific Song Contest.
Ok, the name Our Sound is naff, but the opportunity is worth it.
The Kiwis are planning to be in it, so we’re guaranteed at least a 12 points there.
Case in point: Gwak Hyun Hwa’s video for Psycho.
Apparently they’re only just getting around to copying Single Ladies in South Korea.
Just to tie this into the Adelaide Radio campaign, I promise that I will not wear a leotard, but I will pretend to do so for an Adelaide radio station. (You hear me, Nova 91.9?)
(Ah, the magic of radio.)
By the way, what do you think of the new look over at this corner of the internet?
One thing you can always count on with Uncle Rupert’s papers is that they have a knack for coming up with a good headline.
Read this one about the US exiting the World Cup (upper centre).
Sums up my feelings exactly…at least at the moment.
With Australia, New Zealand, and now the US out of the World Cup, it really is off my radar.
So I’ve eaten a floater and (gulp) liked it. Now I’ve made the discovery that the Crows official magazine is called The Pride.
And then there’s Don Dunstan
The man wore pink shorts in 1972 to Parliament House, helped destroy legalised anti-gay discrimination (and the White Australia policy) founded the South Australian Film Corporation…just to name a few of his achievements.
Ok, he died on my 20th birthday, but still I’d call him a hero, one who is truly missed.
Especially on International Pride Day.
(drum roll)
After much deliberation, here’s the Hikaruland official theme song for Pride 2010.
Congratulations Nhojj!
A recent episode of The Boondocks took the mickey out of La Perry…and made me very happy that La Perry’s work does not export.
According to Oh No They Didn’t, La Perry is really hopping mad about it.
Good.
LOGO (alas, still not available here in Australia) celebrates Pride by featuring a list of the most ridiculous gay-themed commercials over the past ten years.
I’m partial to the Vodafone & Absolut entries.
Enjoy!
Ok, Adelaide just to prove how serious I am, we’re kicking the promises up a notch!
In case you don’t know what a [pie] floater is, here’s the Wikipedia entry.
The race isn’t over yet! Blame the fracas over the new PM down here for causing me to omit the South Korean entry, but also another entrant who could be filed both as US/Guyana/Trinidad & Tobago. (Making the total nominees a Super Six.)
Nhojj – Gay Warrior Song (US/Guyana/Trinidad & Tobago)
Sistar – We Never Go Alone (South Korea)
Believe it or not—and in the Northern Hemisphere it probably is more plausible—Pride comes this Sunday.
Down here however, it’s quite nippy with frequent showers. Plus we have a new PM (an atheist, unmarried-but-partnered, childless PM! Take that, Abbott!)
I remain hopeful that Julia was merely toeing the party line with regards to the ALP stance on same-sex marriage, and that the new Gillard administration will wizen up.
It certainly seems like the mood on the ground is one of relief at the change.
Now onto the nominees for Pride 2010 Theme Song. This year, I thought it would be rather appropriate to have artists from the five countries (Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the US) that get major rotation over at this corner of the internet.
Manama - Yellow Stop (Japan)
Gabriella Cilimi – Hearts Don’t Lie (Australia)
Gin Wigmore – Hey Ho (New Zealand)
Scissor Sisters – Fire With Fire (USA)
Which song do you think best captures the LGBT zeitgeist?
Today, I appeal to the sporting sensibilities of Adelaide radio.
I would like every one in Adelaide to know that the message I have written could get me done here in the heart of Rabbitohs territory. (Not to mention that I’m also a Souths fan, but I’ll go Crow too.)
Oh, and the new Prime Minister we have? She’s from Wales via—guess where?—Adelaide.
I am going to take the serious risk of being perceived as a bit of a kook here.
(Deep Breath.)
For several weeks now, I have been having a recurring dream wherein I find myself working at an Adelaide radio station (I think it’s Nova 91.9, but it could very well be SAFM).
I can’t for the life of me figure out why I keep having this dream:
Yet, the dream keeps popping up. So I’m now embarking on a “Get on Adelaide Radio” campaign both here and on Twitter. Here’s the result of Day One of this campaign:
Any suggestions for Day Two?
It’s my last day in America and this hemisphere (at least for another 4 or 5 months), and I’m choosing to comemmorate this occasion by having the jukebox play Polish rock (the songtitle translates as “I don’t want. I don’t need”) from 2001.
‘Cause I’m random like that.
Well, this corner of the internet is back for June.
I’ve gone back Stateside for the first part of this month due to family matters, and I have to say that after a year living in Australia, it’s put an interesting spin on American life.
One of the things that does irk me a bit about living in Australia is that I’m constantly asked “what do I think of Australia?” It’s well-intentioned, but I want to scream “I LIVE HERE! Of course I like it.” Now, I’m getting the reverse from my fellow Americans. Here’s a typical conversation:
Fellow American: Where are you from?
Me: Here [meaning Wisconsin].
Fellow American: Really? You don’t sound like you’re from here.
Me: I live in Australia.
Fellow American: Seriously?
Me: Yes.
Fellow American: Why would you want to move there?
Me: Work.
Fellow American: Really?
It’s like no one can fathom the idea of an American living in Australia. I’ve even been asked what language Australians speak…by people who have completed college degrees!
Fair enough, every country is pretty insular (particularly away from the major cities), but it still blows my mind at how myopic things can be Stateside: The oil spill, as bad as it is, has been framed as US v. UK standoff. It’s almost like CNN & NBC are keen to restart The War of 1812!
If that wasn’t bad enough, every single local and state politician from the affected region is trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. Fine. Yet, it reached a certain level of absurdity when there was a huge line of them in Louisiana at a press conference, each of them saying the same critiques about how they aren’t getting any assistance. Heaven forbid they just chose a spokesperson and then got on with trying to do some clean up.
Then there is that Sunderland debacle. When half of Australia was losing its collective mind over Jessica Watson, the other half was saying “who cares?” I was in the latter camp. Personally, I think it’s a daft thing, and I can’t imagine why it’s so impressive to go around the world solo. Now, an American needs rescuing after attempting to do the same and the US media is all “aww, bless.” Meanwhile, not a single word about the fact that the Australian taxpayers are footing the bill for her rescue, not even a clip of a Sunderland saying thank you made the national news. (I’m going to assume that at least one of them did.)
The one major thing that has really blown my mind, however—and I mean in a good way—is how things seem less segregated here. Most likely demographics have not changed radically in one year, but the slight apprehension that I used to feel as a minority has largely disappeared. It used to feel like there were so many different Americas co-existing within the same borders and that it was only a matter of time before we all declared war on each other. Now, it feels unified…at least on a racial level, and the one good thing the GFC has done is that it has made conspicuous consumption something to be frowned upon.
In respect to LGBT matters, I can honestly say that I’m extremely glad that DADT looks likely to be overturned. That said, I still have no idea why the Federal Government (not to mention most of the states) can’t at least say “civil unions for all” and just get out of the marriage racket all together. (The same applies for Australia, too, although the de facto legislation is a major step that the US could at least consider.)
Even though as an American citizen (which I still am—boy is it fun explaining how I can be an American citizen but resident elsewhere), I benefit from all of these changes, there’s one thing that has made me realise that I’m not emotionally American anymore: I don’t take everything so seriously.
This is the land of extreme emotional reactions to everything. If someone wins, it’s like the second coming. If someone loses, it’s the apocalypse. Everything is put into an “us-versus-them, point-of-no-return, we’re-all-gonna-die” perspective. I mean everything from oil spills to box office receipts to celebrity relationships. Stop taking yourself so seriously, America.
Reading some of my pre-Australian posts, I definitely can tell that I’m guilty of this as well. There is just something about the atmosphere in this country* that just puts you in this frame of mind that everything you do must be written in bold and underlined three times, or else it doesn’t matter.
* I blame it on the fact that this country was settled by ultra-capitalist and ultra-religious zealots.
When all is said and done, it matters most that you just enjoy your life. Wherever you happen to be.
