OITNB

It may come as no surprise to everyone and anyone who has asked in the library for a DVD recommendation that I LOVE Orange is the new Black. I've read the book twice... and as I don't have Netflix access have to wait out for the second series to be released here in OZ, but while waiting there's always something else to find....
Here's the Blog set up for the real Piper when she was incarcerated and Here's an article with the real Nora/Alex and there's a cookbook too! 
Happy stalking!!

Radar...

Here's a few things that have been showing up on my (very tired) radar of late!

Earlier this year JA and I took an adventure to an Australian 70's musical legends house under the guise of picking up a DVD for the Sharpies night at the library... Somehow JA managed to steer the conversation, as she steer's all conversations, to the subject of Joan Jett... Said music legend had some stories to tell including one about this band whose lead singer was murdered and Joan Jett got involved with the rest of the band to raise money to hire a private investigator etc. We had never heard this story and were fascinated... here's a movie we've found since...

One of my most recent reads was Portia De Rossi's Unbearable Lightness. If I had to use one word it would be "Intense"! She's certianly not afraid to bear all about her struggles with eating disorders and I've found a new respect for her. Not that I didn't before, to be honest I didnt really feel anything much for her efore other than a, 'oh look, she's on the telly and she grew up in Geelong, thats pretty good' kind of thing...



But I Reading the book made me dig a little deeper and you know what, I think she's pretty great now. I also love that she's out and a whole new role model for gay women who really doesnt fit into the stereotype of what a lesbian should look like, dress like, or be.

So anyway all this looking lead me to Ellen of course and I realised I'd never actually seen the famed "coming out" episode of her sitcom... Here's the last part of it...

And yes it is very cheezy in bits, but also some genius moments too... Oprah as the theripist (apparently she got HEAPS of hate mail!), kd lang as the folk singer/waitress ("Good for you, I'm your waitress") and Melissa Ethridge and the toaster oven! Love it!!

I'd seen the Maysles documentary of Grey Gardens a few years ago and became a little fascinated with the story. I finally got to see the tellemovie biopic of it made last year with Drew Barrymore (who I love!). I was a little sceptical about it but I think they did a brilliant job. Drew nailed the voice and the ageing make up was done amazingly!

I've out this clip on which was an extra on the DVD, it shows some of the scenes from the original and the recreations... Enjoy!

And here's a book I've been meaning to write about for ages... The girl in the song a look at 50 classic pop songs and the muses behind them... and it's got Marianne on the cover!

You know I love a good prossie book, and although the Belle De Jour books might not be the best ones, well I love the TV show as a bit of light trash so of course was very happy to find this interview with Miss Billie and the 'Real' Belle De Jour, outed in the last few years...

This one was a little bit of a disappointment, I expected it to be juicier, but still some interesting stories...

And Last but not least... I have to mention Go the f*ck to sleep!

Here's former Play School host Noni reading it... enjoy!

The good stuff...

OK so the last post talked about the trash I've been watching/reading... and that's not all that I'm about so here's some recent highlights I might mention in polite company...

The Hedgehog based on The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (recommended to me by one of my more influential and serendipitous if not absent friends A.)

The No. 1 Ladies detective agency on DVD recommended by Library Jo based on the novels by Alexander McCall Smith (which I've always meant to read and never got around to!)

Fall Girl by Toni Jorden (Author of Addition) which brought to mind another of my favourite books Honk if you are Jesus by Peter Goldsworthy but that might just be the Tasmanian Tiger connection

Just Kids by Patti Smith which I am amazed at myself it took me so long to get around to reading considering I love both Patti Smith and Robert Mapplethorpe.

La La ink...

I've been catching up on my LA Ink's... I don't have pay TV so rely on the DVD's from the library so do absolutely realise I am about 2 years behind the times on LA Ink gossip... well, get over it!

I am very disappointed by the turn the show has taken, I have just finished the Collection 7 DVD which I think is the series 3 or 4 maybe? Anyways they have got rid of Kim and my absolute favourite Hannah because apparently they were not popular enough and now its just a revolving soap opera of stupid shop politics and dumb shop assistants who they obviously only have for the drama and chicks with way scary make up! Instead of focusing on the clients and the reasons behind the tattoo's they choose... but of course being the hypocrite I am, I'm still completely addicted and just put in my purchase request for collection 8 which is released in a week!



I also broke my own rules and went and purchased a book instead of getting the library to get it for me (That's twice in the last month you know!!) and bought the Tattoo Chronicles just because I wanted to and now I'm more and more desperate for another tattoo and, um, yeah!

Battle of the planets...

This was my favourite show as a kid! (I always thought it was called Gforce which could have been my memory or could have been just a different name it was televised under here.)


I so wanted to be princess... she rode a motorcycle and kicked arse! Now where are the role models like that for little girls these days hey!! (of course it may have actually been inappropriately violent too... but I've turned out OK... haven't I?!)

It's been way too long...

Well hey there, it's been a while!

Sorry about that, my brain, confidence and, hmmm, everyday functioning went into lock down mode for a while there... but I'm back and I'm feeling good, well most of the time and I guess that's all you can ask!!!

So lets see... what have I been doing (apart from having a meltdown and losing all perspective!!!)

Reading... Lots of "sequels" or follow-ups to thoroughly enjoyed books; Cleaving by Julie Powell, Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert, Booky wook 2 by Russell Brand and at the moment The Romantic by Kate Holden, which I am enjoying despite how clingy, insecure and needy she seems to be, but then I have also been a solo traveller in a strange land and understand the issues this can arouse (I just didn't have her talent for picking up guys I guess!!!).

Have also read some crap books (At home with the Templetons by Monica McInerny, I knew it wasn't going to be my thing when I read the words "family saga" on the back! But then again I only really read it because of the connection to the ol' home town (see previous post)). Then there was the self-published one that I bought off an acquaintance because I believe in supporting people in their artistic pursuits but, oh my god it was so self indulgent with sooo many mistakes and bad grammar and maybe I am not one to talk and maybe its just some cool writing technique like some sort of beat poet type thing and maybe I'm just not smart and cool enough to get and maybe... maybe its just bad... so no names mentioned there OK!

And then there was one BRILLIANT one! Armstead Maupin's Mary Anne in Autumn which I devoured in, I want to say one day but it was more like 26 hours!!! he did not disappoint, well no he did, because it had to finish!

Ive also seen some movies; Joan Rivers: a piece of work (best joke; on (whether men go for brains or beauty) "well I never heard of a man putting his hand up a girls skirt looking for a library card"!), Get him to the Greek (soooo much better than Forgetting Sarah Marshall though it did get a little tired by the end), The No. 1 ladies detective agency (well a T.V. Show I know but still great), Kick Ass (would have been crap if it wern't for Hit Girl, who can resist an 11 year old crime-fighting chick calling everyone 'motherfuckers' and 'cunts'), Eat, Pray, Love (Cheesy I know, but had to be done, and thoroughly enjoyable except for the fact that they do, literally ride off into the sunset!!!)

Sucked up to the lady who got my dream job (was thinking we would go for a coffee, come out of it best friends with her begging to be my mentor, instead, sat in the workroom chatting for 20 minutes with her promising to keep me in mind...). Worked a week of full time last week (loved it!!! loved being back at the old branch and feeling useful) which was great considering work is about the only place where I actually feel confident and in control at the moment!

And I've been "working on me"... ohhh how tacky does that sound!!! But I have, I've been seeing a psychologist and went back on some medication that I thought I didn't need anymore but turns out actually did help! and just trying to look after myself and stand up for myself more... and take myself out for lunch at The famous blue raincoat which always helps!!!

Turns out Carrie Bradshaw's mum was a librarian!!!

Finished The Carrie Diaries last night in a bit of a marathon reading run... that's the thing about cheesy chick lit, it certainly sucks you in!!!! Look I know its a totally obvious money spinner, and... oh such convenient timing what with the movie and all... Well it was an OK bit of fluff, but there are a lot of anomalies from the TV show, such as in the show, Carrie didn't really know her father but in this book her dad is raising her and two sisters after the death of her mother. But then this is Miss Bushnell's character, not the TV/Movie writers and SJP's interpretation of her. So I guess I should just stop thinking so much and enjoy it for the bit of fluff it is!!!

Alli on the Telli

Check me out in my starring role (along with Katie D. in a cameo appearance!) in the "Making of the Librarians" special on disc 2 of the Second Series.

This is where I actually was in the TV show in the very back row of the awards ceremony.

Here's me and Miss D. sticky-beaking when they were filming on location at Newport library.

And here we are being interviewed...

Stuff

The last thing I want is for this blog to turn into a mummy blog of every minuscule detail of the bubba-doo’s movements... problem is they are kind of all consuming little creatures! So here is a list of things I have done in the last 6 weeks that don’t involve little people and/or domestic chores!

• Read the following books; Cinematherapy: the girls guide to movies for every mood, Me Cheeta, The crowning glory of Calla Lily Poynter, Why men want sex and women need love, it’s my party and i’ll knit if I want to, Our Girls, The autobiography of a fat bride: true tales of a pretend adulthood, the Australian guide to self sufficiency, The lost art of sleep, Veggie patch, Lighten up: 365 ways to lose weight and feel great, Loaded (re-read), Kidwrangling, Weekend knitting, You'd better not cry.

• Started Christmas shopping (coz I’m a girly swat!) which is consisting of approx. 95% books.

• Finished knitting the handle of my super-cool shopping jeep and started the inside lining... just need access to a sewing machine! Knitted two rows of my Cardi that I started about a year ago.

• Got this super cool bag as an early Xmas present from my brother.

• Cleaned out my cupboards/drawers but only actually threw out 2 items of clothing!

• Been to the Doctor, Dentist and had some long overdue waxing attended to!

• Been to my favourite cafe twice.

• Made it into the library three times.

• Watched lots of DVD’s including; Bruno, Dark Knight, several Laverne and Shirleys, Gonzo: the life and work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson, Annie Lebovitz: Life through a Lens, A lion called Christian, Head On (after re-reading Loaded), LA Ink season 4, Dogs in Space special features disc (where you can hear me ask a question in the popcorn taxi interview bit), Howard Sterns Private Parts, Bucket List, Secret diary of a call girl season 2, Juno (again).

• (Tried to) go for a walk (almost) every day.

• Got rejected for a scholarship.

• Found out I have my first trans-gendered friend and didn’t even know it!

• (Re) planted my veggie patch.

• Had the Flu.

• Had my email account hacked and spammed.

• Discovered Parma Violet lollies in the Gifts from home store.

• Got up to F on my ipod by playing it in song title order.

Famous... again!

Just got word that your favourite Hot Rod Librarian made it into the DVD extras of the ABC's The Librarian's season 2!!!

Footy and the Beast...

If there is one actor at the moment I think is a bit of alright it's local boy Eric Bana... He was on Letterman the other night and it's pretty funny listening to him try to explain Aussie Rules to Dave Letterman...

Can't wait to see Love the Beast!

Librarians...

Attention Everyone...

The Librarians is back, series 2 starts next Wednesday at 9pm. Keep an eye out for the awards ceremony scene and look out for a certain HotRodLibrarian sitting in the very back row!!!

Soft Porn + Bad Horror movie Gore = Quality Aussie Drama?

Ive been spending a fair bit of time on the couch where all good pregnant women should be on their week off in the middle of winter with a tub of Ice-cream (for medicinal purposesof course!).

My companion in this weeks non-adventure has been Underbelly:a tale of two cities. Quality Aussie Drama? Well there’s a lot of titties, and the violence is almost cartoon like, though I did enjoy the blood spattered lens during the cricket bat scene!

I’m only half way through so I’m gonna give it a chance, it’s kind of addictive in a car crash viewing kind of way. I really don’t remember the first one being quite this bad... Is it overkill? Cheap bandwagon jumping or just really, really bad????

Fab TV chicks

Ive been hibernating for the winter and watching way too much Laverne and Shirley and Golden Girls DVD's!

I love both of these shows for their tough talking chicks and believable characters.

Laverne and Shirley was a spin off of Happy Days, But

unlike HD, where women were either perfect house wives, dates or bratty little sisters, L&S gave us two independent women in 1959, living on their own, working in a brewery and doin' it their way!

As for the Golden Girls, well it's the first... and one of the very few times that older women have been portrayed as Sexual beings! Long before Sex and the City, there were

four man-hungry, fast talking women running around in the latest fabulous fashions!!!

P.S. What would Lenny and Squiggy do?

Celebrity Deaths...

So it turns out that today will be one of those “where were you when you heard...” days (in the car backing out my driveway if anybody cares.)

But what about poor Farrah? She had better hair and better nipples (hmmm... I wonder if MJ actually had nipples???)

Farrah died last night too but Michael Jackson had to go and steal the limelight didn’t he?! Yeah it’s a bit sad, and Off the wall was a really good album and I have been known to Blame it on the Boogie several times in my life, but the guy had turned into a freak, and although I feel really sorry for him coz he had no childhood blah blah, he was a FREAK OK... and now everyone's gonna forget about that... and what about poor Farrah! So yes this will be one of those defining moments of our generation, blah blah, but we all know he will be down in Tijuana pumping gas with Father-in-law Elvis very very soon...

I wonder if they will hold his funeral at Disneyland???

And does this mean we will be seeing more or less of LaToya?

And in the after life... will he be Black or White?

Celebrity deaths are always a weird one, All this outpouring of grief like you actually knew the person. Come on people, what you knew was what the gossip columnists, publicists and rest of the media fed your hunger for, and it's the same with death, I think people just have a hard time understanding that these people are actually just flesh and bone... and plastic... And in the end just as vulnerable as you and I. There will be all sorts of rumours now, thing is, I think he was just a lonely sad man who had probably just had enough...

But this will be compared too the deaths of...

Marilyn and Elvis (not alive to remember)

John Lennon (too young to remember)

Princess Di (was at a 21st birthday party, first reaction was "they're faking it")

9/11 (was working at Becket-Chimney Corners Outdoor Centre in Massachusetts, taking a group of school kids on the high ropes course when all these messages came over the walkie talkies about what was and allegedly going on... the school group was from... you guessed it, New York City! It was my last day of work and I was heading to Boston the next day and NYC a few days later... obviously plans were changed!)

Now lets all brace ourselves for the onslaught of tribute shows... I wonder how many pages of the Herald-Sun will be dedicated to him tomorrow... Or will it be a special edition perhaps?

As discussed last night!!!

Obviously the best version ever of Danny Boy!

Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah.......

Ive discovered a new library blog by accident (well actually because I was googling myself in a complete act of narcissism...) The Miami Diaries: Dispatches and insights from the secret world of librarians... :)~ Lots of pictures of Sexy Librarians... but with one, major oversight...

Batgirl was a librarian! She's Barbara Gordon, the daughter of the Police Commissioner Gordon who works at the Gotham City Library. And she's about the only person on the show who looks good in a jumpsuit... except Catwoman of course... no one was sexier than Catwoman!!!!

Kitt Happens...

No eating in the library?

I have been searching everywhere for the clip of The Fonz when he gets his library card, but I cant seem to find it (can anyone help me please???)

So you'll have to get by with this one for now!

Neighbours has officially...

Jumped the Shark!

Not that I watch it of course, its actually my partner that watches it... dont tell anyone! Of course any time I tease him about it he points out (quite rightly!) that I am the one who went on the neighbours tour!!!