Secrets to Success from Sir Richard Branson

May 15, 2013 in Books, Celebrity, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Money, Work

He’s one of the richest men in the world, owns a bevy of successful companies, is known for outrageous PR stunts (stiff competition in his undies, apparently) and he’s going to space for God’s sake. So how does Sir Richard Branson manage, in the flesh, to be so completely unimpressive? Some might call it unassuming or down-to-earth, as though he’s just an ordinary guy untouched by fame and wealth (or a man with nothing left to prove). And he is all of those things. But he’s also just plain unimpressive – in the most compelling way possible. I was expecting [...]

Forget the Digital Divide, The Digital Bulldozer is coming

May 6, 2013 in Celebrity, Current Affairs, Entertainment, Music, News, Politics, Technology

I am worried about radio in the country. Not the WHOLE country, mind you, just the parts of it politicians don’t visit unless something is wet, burnt or wind blown, i.e. “the country”. What worries me is digital radio. In cities digital radio may be a wonderful thing, more choices, better quality, I hear you may even be able to pause a live broadcast. Wonderful things. What I am worried about is the thing that radio was meant to be for – getting across information. A few years ago, a lot of “regional” stations were bought up by radio networks. [...]

Why Are There No Boys Named Sue?

April 26, 2013 in Body Image, Celebrity, Children, Entertainment, Gender, Parenting, Pregnancy & Birth, Society

In the last few years it’s become acceptable and even cool to give kids gender neutral names. That’s hardly news. However with this trend, I’m seeing a lot of girls with traditionally ‘male’ names, and very few boys with traditionally ‘female’ names. As a teacher I’ve seen some pretty out there names and interpretations of names. Calling the roll for the first time with a new class can be tricky: Me: “Elliot? Is Elliot here? Has anyone seen him?” Student: “ Um, Elliot is a GIRL, Miss!” (Rolls eyes at my apparent stupidity) Me: “Oh. Has anyone seen HER?” I’ve [...]

“Never Say Never” And Other Stupid Sayings

April 22, 2013 in Anecdotes, Celebrity, Entertainment, Music, People

I have a friend at work who I love dearly. She’s my work BFF, and our friendship has jumped the work fence and we’ve become friends outside of the workplace. But something this friend of mine does has freaked me out a little: She’s started quoting Justin Bieber. Now the situation isn’t completely horrific, it’s not heaps of different Bieber quotes, it’s just the same thing over and over again. ”Never Say Never.” She applies it to so many things! Me: “N, I don’t see myself getting married again” N: “You know what Justin Bieber says: Never say never!” Me: “I feel like [...]

In Defence Of Kim Kardashian

April 17, 2013 in Body Image, Celebrity, Entertainment, Pregnancy & Birth

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about entertainment and celebrities and I know you’re all probably wondering what gives. I’ve decided to step back from the gossip cycle as it is vicious and really, these people, while famous, are just people. But I could not stand back and say nothing about this. I have kept my mouth shut for a while but I can’t anymore. What has brought me out of my celebrity silence? I want people to leave Kim Kardashian alone. Given that she’s made a name for herself by having a reality television show which offers a window into [...]

Young, Famous, Rich…and Happy?

April 16, 2013 in Body Image, Celebrity, Entertainment, Film & TV, Gender, Health, Lifestyle, Mental Health, Music, Work

As a little girl I wanted to be famous. I wanted to be a singer, a rock star. I’d have loads of cash, I’d help out those I loved, it would be glamorous and life would be easy. It turns out the path to achieving fame and success at a young age seems to have a nasty aftertaste. The teenage years are awkward for everyone. I’d hate to have mine played out in the public eye, being scrutinized and torn apart by the media and lurking paparazzi. Maybe that’s what has sent so many young ‘starlets’ over the edge. Possibly [...]

My Mother, Margaret Thatcher and Me

April 11, 2013 in Celebrity, Current Affairs, Human Rights, News, Politics

My mother has this irritating habit of always seeing the good in people. I suppose it’s an admirable quality too – but sometimes I want to have a rant about some in-justice without having to see it from a different (and empathetic) perspective. There are a two exceptions to this… the ex-boyfriend who cheated on me and Margaret Thatcher. I won’t pretend to understand all the politics of the time. My family enjoyed a relatively comfortable lifestyle; we had overseas holidays, two cars. We didn’t experience financial suffering the way thousands of others in our country did. Perhaps it was my mother’s [...]

Video: Dove’s Sneaky Action Against Photoshop

March 27, 2013 in Body, Body Image, Celebrity, Entertainment, Fashion, Health, Style, Technology

As part of the Dove “Real Beauty” campaign, they devised a clever way to sneak the message directly into the hands of those who can change our retouching culture. In case you can’t watch the video, Dove used a popular Photoshop plugin site to put up their free “Beautify” plugin that appeared to make the model’s skin glow. Instead what it did was undo all the photoshopping done to revert the image to the original and add the message “Don’t manipulate our image of real beauty”. What do you think of this campaign?

My Body, My Choice. Our Community, Our Choice.

March 11, 2013 in Celebrity, Current Affairs, Health, Lifestyle

Since the onset of social media, and especially from the advent of blogging, I have learnt many new things. My outlook on life has been changed in many ways, some subtle, some not so.  I’ve discovered new ways of seeing the world and have been exposed to new ideas. One of those ideas being My Body, My Choice. I totally get it now. Eat what you want, smoke what you want, drink what you want, dress how you want, man-scape how you want, tattoo what you want, pierce what you want, botox what you want. There would have been a time when I [...]

These Are My Claims To Lame

March 8, 2013 in Anecdotes, Celebrity, Humour, Politics, Sport

If we’re lucky, some of us may have a claim to fame – something we can brag about. Something about our lives that other people find interesting, exciting, and yes, are maybe a little jealous of. For example, I was in the Olympic Stadium the night Cathy Freeman won the 400m at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. But so were 100,000 other people, so maybe that’s not that special. Maybe that’s not really a claim to fame. Sadly, I think most of us are more likely to suffer from claims to lame than claims to fame. Things that, at first, [...]