Thank goodness
Just so relieved.
Anthony Albanese and Labor claim landslide election win as Peter Dutton loses seat
Kindness isn't weakness.
Anthony Albanese and Labor claim landslide election win as Peter Dutton loses seat
Kindness isn't weakness.
Entry tags:
Upright (Season 2)
I loved Upright so much, I almost didn't want to watch the sequel.
1. When a show has one perfect season, and puts the characters through the most important journey of their lives, it feels like any continuation would be a letdown by comparison.
2. Sometimes, sequels will have characters facing new challenges. But all too often, sequels rely on regression or backsliding. Plot problems are not as solved, character flaws are not as overcome, as the original story promised.
3. At the end of a story, the future is full of endless possibilities. A sequel kills them all, locking in one reality.
But as someone told me, Tim Minchin can pick and choose his projects, and probably wouldn't have signed onto a sequel unless it was worth doing. And I figured, even an ordinary season of Upright would be better than a good season of a show I didn't care about. And also, why miss out on Milly Alcock, who is one of those brilliant actors I would follow anywhere. (Except Westeros.)
Anyway. Season 2 is set four years later, when Meg shows up on Lucky's doorstep, and asks for help to find her mum, who has been gone since she was small. This time, instead of driving across the desert landscapes of the Nullarbor, they travel through the tropical rainforests of North Queensland. It's funny and it's emotional. There are secrets and revelations. I didn't love everything about it, but I loved enough.
One of my favourite scenes, when Lucky is driving and Meg is talking:
Her wistfulness! His expression! And fine, okay, I would watch Lucky and Meg meet up every few years for another life-changing road trip, and more of their unlikely friendship, and Upright Season Whatever.
1. When a show has one perfect season, and puts the characters through the most important journey of their lives, it feels like any continuation would be a letdown by comparison.
2. Sometimes, sequels will have characters facing new challenges. But all too often, sequels rely on regression or backsliding. Plot problems are not as solved, character flaws are not as overcome, as the original story promised.
3. At the end of a story, the future is full of endless possibilities. A sequel kills them all, locking in one reality.
But as someone told me, Tim Minchin can pick and choose his projects, and probably wouldn't have signed onto a sequel unless it was worth doing. And I figured, even an ordinary season of Upright would be better than a good season of a show I didn't care about. And also, why miss out on Milly Alcock, who is one of those brilliant actors I would follow anywhere. (Except Westeros.)
Anyway. Season 2 is set four years later, when Meg shows up on Lucky's doorstep, and asks for help to find her mum, who has been gone since she was small. This time, instead of driving across the desert landscapes of the Nullarbor, they travel through the tropical rainforests of North Queensland. It's funny and it's emotional. There are secrets and revelations. I didn't love everything about it, but I loved enough.
One of my favourite scenes, when Lucky is driving and Meg is talking:
When I was little, I used to think, imagine if everyone was leaving like a trail of like, coloured ink or whatever. And you could take a satellite photo of the earth and see where everyone has been their whole lives.
Like, all the times you were just around the corner from a celebrity. Or all the times you walked past a murderer. Or when you like, bumped into someone that you later became friends with. And the bit between your bedroom and the bathroom was just like this dark splodge.
And me driving away from Karingunna four years ago, and you from Sydney, and our trails getting closer and closer and closer and then... (screech and crash, brings her hands together).
And then our lines became one line for a while.
Maybe a new colour while they mixed.
And then, you know, we... (snapping sound, pulls her hands apart).
Her wistfulness! His expression! And fine, okay, I would watch Lucky and Meg meet up every few years for another life-changing road trip, and more of their unlikely friendship, and Upright Season Whatever.
It was always going to be hard
Referendums rarely succeed.
And I know it's not the end. There's still work to be done.
But it would have meant something. And I'm sad about that.
And I know it's not the end. There's still work to be done.
But it would have meant something. And I'm sad about that.
The Dismissal
The Dismissal is a new musical about the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis.
... Wait, come back. It's actually really good!
I loved Keating!, so I would have gone to see this in any case. But I was excited by the fact that (1) the songs are by Laura Murphy, who did the songs for the fantastic Bell Shakespeare musical The Lovers, and (2) the production is by Squabbalogic, who are working on the long anticipated Good Omens musical.
One of the promos for The Dismissal has a Sydney Morning Herald pull quote that says "Australia's answer to Hamilton". Which is kind of hilarious. The official tagline is "An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy". I feel like any Australian musical about politics has to be irreverent.
Anyway, here's the trailer:
( The history )
( The musical )
( The casting )
( The villains )
( The aftermath )
( Other notes )
Further reading: What do you get when you cross Keating! with Hamilton? A Gough Whitlam musical (Sydney Morning Herald article)
... Wait, come back. It's actually really good!
I loved Keating!, so I would have gone to see this in any case. But I was excited by the fact that (1) the songs are by Laura Murphy, who did the songs for the fantastic Bell Shakespeare musical The Lovers, and (2) the production is by Squabbalogic, who are working on the long anticipated Good Omens musical.
One of the promos for The Dismissal has a Sydney Morning Herald pull quote that says "Australia's answer to Hamilton". Which is kind of hilarious. The official tagline is "An Extremely Serious Musical Comedy". I feel like any Australian musical about politics has to be irreverent.
Anyway, here's the trailer:
( The history )
( The musical )
( The casting )
( The villains )
( The aftermath )
( Other notes )
Further reading: What do you get when you cross Keating! with Hamilton? A Gough Whitlam musical (Sydney Morning Herald article)
Entry tags:
Upright
I never expected to love this show as much as I do.
I mean, I like Tim Minchin a lot: great songwriter, great singer. And the premise was intriguing enough: a musician goes on a road trip with a piano across Australia. But I never know what to expect with Australian drama: is it going to be bleak, is it going to be funny, is it going to be the kind of funny that's bleak underneath?
Turns out, Upright is funny and poignant and hopeful, and punches you in the heart with all the feelings.
Lucky is driving from Sydney to Perth to visit his estranged dying mother, and obsessed with taking this upright piano with him. Meg is a teenage runaway, headed west for her own reasons, and carrying her own demons. When their paths literally collide, they have to join forces to drive, hitchhike, and scam their way across the desert.
I already knew that one of my favourite tropes is life-changing road trips. Apparently another is the brash opinionated kid who shakes up the life of the cranky tired adult. These two misfits start off clashing wildly, become reluctant allies, and grow into unlikely friends. Their journey is full of revelations, as we learn the secrets driving them. I love, love, love stories about wounded people who heal each other.
Milly Alcock is amazing. The last time I was this impressed by a talented young actress was Dafne Keen in Logan and Sophie Thatcher in Prospect. I hope she goes on to great success just like they have.
And! One of the writers is Kate Mulvany, whose Bell Shakespeare performances I loved, and who is an acclaimed playwright herself.
And! As Lucky and Meg drive across Australia, you get to see the beautiful landscapes of desert and ocean, and meet the diverse and vivid people who inhabit the place.
The show is hilariously funny, but also deeply emotional. And Tim Minchin gets to sing! Turns out that Upright is the show where the song "Carry You" comes from, that Missy Higgins sings and Tim Minchin wrote. Anyway, here are two performances of the songs, with clips from the show, not really spoilery:
( Carry You - Missy Higgins )
( Carry You - Tim Minchin )
Oh yeah. They are making a Season 2!
I mean, I like Tim Minchin a lot: great songwriter, great singer. And the premise was intriguing enough: a musician goes on a road trip with a piano across Australia. But I never know what to expect with Australian drama: is it going to be bleak, is it going to be funny, is it going to be the kind of funny that's bleak underneath?
Turns out, Upright is funny and poignant and hopeful, and punches you in the heart with all the feelings.
Lucky is driving from Sydney to Perth to visit his estranged dying mother, and obsessed with taking this upright piano with him. Meg is a teenage runaway, headed west for her own reasons, and carrying her own demons. When their paths literally collide, they have to join forces to drive, hitchhike, and scam their way across the desert.
I already knew that one of my favourite tropes is life-changing road trips. Apparently another is the brash opinionated kid who shakes up the life of the cranky tired adult. These two misfits start off clashing wildly, become reluctant allies, and grow into unlikely friends. Their journey is full of revelations, as we learn the secrets driving them. I love, love, love stories about wounded people who heal each other.
Milly Alcock is amazing. The last time I was this impressed by a talented young actress was Dafne Keen in Logan and Sophie Thatcher in Prospect. I hope she goes on to great success just like they have.
And! One of the writers is Kate Mulvany, whose Bell Shakespeare performances I loved, and who is an acclaimed playwright herself.
And! As Lucky and Meg drive across Australia, you get to see the beautiful landscapes of desert and ocean, and meet the diverse and vivid people who inhabit the place.
The show is hilariously funny, but also deeply emotional. And Tim Minchin gets to sing! Turns out that Upright is the show where the song "Carry You" comes from, that Missy Higgins sings and Tim Minchin wrote. Anyway, here are two performances of the songs, with clips from the show, not really spoilery:
( Carry You - Missy Higgins )
( Carry You - Tim Minchin )
Oh yeah. They are making a Season 2!
Australian federal election
I am so fucking thankful.
How Labor won
While the election may not deliver a clear majority for Labor, when you look at the issues that motivated candidates, you have a large parliamentary majority united in their desire for stronger action on climate change, and establishing a corruption watchdog.
Former prime minister Paul Keating famously said, if you change the government you change the country, and Saturday was no different.
I had hoped for this, as I have hoped before, but you never know what will happen. I was braced for disappointment, and for playing "The Light on the Hill" on repeat, and for posting a rant about the corrupt, incompetent, and heartless Coalition government, that has messed up its response to everything from the COVID vaccine rollout to sexual assault allegations to climate change action.
But I can let out a breath of relief, and just post a convo seen elsewhere on the internet:
Commenter 1: "I feel like every 3 years there are less and less polling places that actually offer democracy sausages. This is the third time in a row in three different electorates that I'm voting - and nothing. Got my partner all hyped up for this and nothing."
Commenter 2: "I am a teacher. Schools are having a harder time running them. Less people are willing to give up their Saturday to run the bbq and cake stalls etc. The fundraising requires volunteers to give up their day. No volunteers equates to no democracy sausage."
Commenter 1: "Thank you for this explanation 👍"
Commenter 3: "You have to cook the democracy sausage you want to have."
How Labor won
While the election may not deliver a clear majority for Labor, when you look at the issues that motivated candidates, you have a large parliamentary majority united in their desire for stronger action on climate change, and establishing a corruption watchdog.
Former prime minister Paul Keating famously said, if you change the government you change the country, and Saturday was no different.
I had hoped for this, as I have hoped before, but you never know what will happen. I was braced for disappointment, and for playing "The Light on the Hill" on repeat, and for posting a rant about the corrupt, incompetent, and heartless Coalition government, that has messed up its response to everything from the COVID vaccine rollout to sexual assault allegations to climate change action.
But I can let out a breath of relief, and just post a convo seen elsewhere on the internet:
Commenter 1: "I feel like every 3 years there are less and less polling places that actually offer democracy sausages. This is the third time in a row in three different electorates that I'm voting - and nothing. Got my partner all hyped up for this and nothing."
Commenter 2: "I am a teacher. Schools are having a harder time running them. Less people are willing to give up their Saturday to run the bbq and cake stalls etc. The fundraising requires volunteers to give up their day. No volunteers equates to no democracy sausage."
Commenter 1: "Thank you for this explanation 👍"
Commenter 3: "You have to cook the democracy sausage you want to have."
New Australian musicals
So I was looking up musical trailers on YouTube, trying to figure out if Fangirls is something I want to see or not. While I'm browsing, the algorithm suggests an original song called "Hugh Jackman" by Vidya Makan.
She gave an awesome performance as Catherine Parr in the Australian production of Six. I had no idea she was also a songwriter. After watching this clip, I was like, "Somebody give her a musical to write!"
And then! Someone did!!!
"Hugh Jackman" is from a new show by Vidya Makan called 'The Lucky Country' that she is writing in collaboration with Sonya Suares. The show is currently in development for its professional debut in 2023. 'The Lucky Country' is a concept musical exploring Australian identity and belonging.
I'm still undecided about Fangirls. But I am so there for The Lucky Country.
She gave an awesome performance as Catherine Parr in the Australian production of Six. I had no idea she was also a songwriter. After watching this clip, I was like, "Somebody give her a musical to write!"
And then! Someone did!!!
"Hugh Jackman" is from a new show by Vidya Makan called 'The Lucky Country' that she is writing in collaboration with Sonya Suares. The show is currently in development for its professional debut in 2023. 'The Lucky Country' is a concept musical exploring Australian identity and belonging.
I'm still undecided about Fangirls. But I am so there for The Lucky Country.
Entry tags:
New Gold Mountain trailer
I'm hyped! A murder mystery set in the goldfields of Ballarat in the 1850s. European, Chinese, and Indigenous characters! Revisionist western! Deadwood in Australia!
Mini docos:
Making the Show
The Untold History
The Director
The Cast
The Look
It's not like my own ancestors were here during the gold rush. But it's so exciting to have an Australian period drama where people are speaking Cantonese. Represent!
I just hope it's good.
New Gold Mountain is a four part series airing on SBS (and SBS on Demand) on 13 October, 14 October, 20 October and 21 October.
Mini docos:
Making the Show
The Untold History
The Director
The Cast
The Look
It's not like my own ancestors were here during the gold rush. But it's so exciting to have an Australian period drama where people are speaking Cantonese. Represent!
I just hope it's good.
New Gold Mountain is a four part series airing on SBS (and SBS on Demand) on 13 October, 14 October, 20 October and 21 October.
Several months ago
Government spokesperson: "There's no need to worry. We've got a lot of eggs in our basket."
Me: "... Wait, that's not how that metaphor works."
Narrator: "It was exactly how that metaphor works."
'Stuffed': how Australia's 'unconscionable' gamble on Covid vaccines backfired
Me: "... Wait, that's not how that metaphor works."
Narrator: "It was exactly how that metaphor works."
'Stuffed': how Australia's 'unconscionable' gamble on Covid vaccines backfired
90% of times I encounter the word 'dirge'
Probably not a pressing issue, but definitely a perennial one.
An 'embarrassing dirge': Australian musicians on why we need a new anthem
Interesting to see the perspective of musicians, including First Nations musicians, on what a national anthem should and could be.
One of the most striking quotes: "Nobody in the history of our country has ever spontaneously erupted into Advance Australia Fair."
... Yeah.
An 'embarrassing dirge': Australian musicians on why we need a new anthem
Interesting to see the perspective of musicians, including First Nations musicians, on what a national anthem should and could be.
One of the most striking quotes: "Nobody in the history of our country has ever spontaneously erupted into Advance Australia Fair."
... Yeah.
Entry tags:
The 10/10/10 Project - Australian politics
Posted 24 June 2010:
What the hell just happened
I was not expecting to find out this morning that we suddenly have a new Prime Minister. So Rudd hasn't been doing so great in the polls, but things were not that dire. Opposition leaders change all the time, but it's a big deal for a Prime Minister in office to step down.
I've had a lot of respect for Gillard and I'm keen to see what she'll do now, but I agree that we have wasted a perfectly good PM.
Damn. Three years. It went by fast.
If a week is a long time in politics, ten years feels like another lifetime.
I don't know if I have the energy or the heart to go back and review the past decade of politics. It's a lot. Most of us were there. Most of us remember.
There was a span of years when I was a lot more active, a lot more galvanised, than I have been in recent years. Going to protests, handing out how-to-vote cards, talking to my local MPs. You get tired sometimes - mostly tired of people choosing the path of fear or hatred or greed. And you wonder sometimes - how do you turn this ship around, when it feels like all you've got is a paddle?
The thing I have to remember is, it still matters. Things go on happening, whether or not you show up. So show up, and say something, and find those other angry passionate people with their own paddles, and maybe together we can steer this thing in a better direction.
What the hell just happened
I was not expecting to find out this morning that we suddenly have a new Prime Minister. So Rudd hasn't been doing so great in the polls, but things were not that dire. Opposition leaders change all the time, but it's a big deal for a Prime Minister in office to step down.
I've had a lot of respect for Gillard and I'm keen to see what she'll do now, but I agree that we have wasted a perfectly good PM.
Damn. Three years. It went by fast.
If a week is a long time in politics, ten years feels like another lifetime.
I don't know if I have the energy or the heart to go back and review the past decade of politics. It's a lot. Most of us were there. Most of us remember.
There was a span of years when I was a lot more active, a lot more galvanised, than I have been in recent years. Going to protests, handing out how-to-vote cards, talking to my local MPs. You get tired sometimes - mostly tired of people choosing the path of fear or hatred or greed. And you wonder sometimes - how do you turn this ship around, when it feels like all you've got is a paddle?
The thing I have to remember is, it still matters. Things go on happening, whether or not you show up. So show up, and say something, and find those other angry passionate people with their own paddles, and maybe together we can steer this thing in a better direction.
HAMILTON!!!
Hamilton is finally coming to Australia!!!
Sydney secures Australian premiere of Hamilton
Lyric Theatre. February 2021.
There's a million things I haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait
Sydney secures Australian premiere of Hamilton
Lyric Theatre. February 2021.
There's a million things I haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait
The other big vote this weekend
Labor's bitter lesson: change is hard to come by in this country
Their greater sorrow will be the dreams lost, at least for now. A republic. Indigenous recognition. A higher minimum wage, and fairer taxation. More progress on climate change.
Depressing and infuriating, for so many reasons.
Their greater sorrow will be the dreams lost, at least for now. A republic. Indigenous recognition. A higher minimum wage, and fairer taxation. More progress on climate change.
Depressing and infuriating, for so many reasons.
Does Australia have a new Prime Minister again? Y/Y
Scott Morrison beats Peter Dutton in Liberal spill to succeed Malcolm Turnbull
So much relief that it's anyone but Dutton. Centre right versus extreme right is the lesser of two evils, but y'know, still less evil.
Turnbull was such a waste of a prime minister. If only he had the courage of his convictions. Instead he spent so much effort appeasing the conservatives, and in the end they came for him anyway.
So much relief that it's anyone but Dutton. Centre right versus extreme right is the lesser of two evils, but y'know, still less evil.
Turnbull was such a waste of a prime minister. If only he had the courage of his convictions. Instead he spent so much effort appeasing the conservatives, and in the end they came for him anyway.
Entry tags:
The New Legends of Monkey (Episodes 7-10)
The complete series on iView (until 27 February 2018)
( Musings on Episodes 7-10 )
* I really love these characters! Their dynamic is super heartwarming, and I feel like we've just scratched the surface of the possibilities. I kind of want seven seasons and a movie. But I'll settle just for renewal.
* Bonus extras! The website has six short episodes of behind the scenes.
( Musings on Episodes 7-10 )
* I really love these characters! Their dynamic is super heartwarming, and I feel like we've just scratched the surface of the possibilities. I kind of want seven seasons and a movie. But I'll settle just for renewal.
* Bonus extras! The website has six short episodes of behind the scenes.
Entry tags:
The New Legends of Monkey (Episodes 1-3)
The complete series on iView
If you grew up in Australia in the 1980s, chances are you grew up with Monkey Magic. You know exactly who was born from a rock on the mountaintop, and that Gandhara, they say, it was in India.
So the proposed reboot of a beloved cult classic was met with some scepticism, especially when articles popped up about whitewashing the characters. But the trailer looked promising, so I decided to check it out. I'm very glad I did.
It reminds me of a cross between Monkey and Avatar and Xena. A cheesy fun adventure with a lot of heart. And I love hearing Australian and New Zealand accents in a fantasy show.
It's actually pretty multicultural: the main characters, the supporting cast, and the background extras. Tripitaka is played by a Tongan-New-Zealander (Luciane Buchanan), Monkey by a Thai-Australian (Chai Hansen), Sandy by a French-Australian (Emilie Cocquerel), and Pigsy by a Tongan-New-Zealander (Josh Thomson).
( Musings on Episodes 1-3 )
It's definitely a fusion, not a pure adaptation. But as someone who grew up in an immigrant family in a multicultural society - not completely fitting into either culture - a fusion speaks to me more than the original. It feels like a story made for me. I really like that this exists.
If you grew up in Australia in the 1980s, chances are you grew up with Monkey Magic. You know exactly who was born from a rock on the mountaintop, and that Gandhara, they say, it was in India.
So the proposed reboot of a beloved cult classic was met with some scepticism, especially when articles popped up about whitewashing the characters. But the trailer looked promising, so I decided to check it out. I'm very glad I did.
It reminds me of a cross between Monkey and Avatar and Xena. A cheesy fun adventure with a lot of heart. And I love hearing Australian and New Zealand accents in a fantasy show.
It's actually pretty multicultural: the main characters, the supporting cast, and the background extras. Tripitaka is played by a Tongan-New-Zealander (Luciane Buchanan), Monkey by a Thai-Australian (Chai Hansen), Sandy by a French-Australian (Emilie Cocquerel), and Pigsy by a Tongan-New-Zealander (Josh Thomson).
( Musings on Episodes 1-3 )
It's definitely a fusion, not a pure adaptation. But as someone who grew up in an immigrant family in a multicultural society - not completely fitting into either culture - a fusion speaks to me more than the original. It feels like a story made for me. I really like that this exists.
At last
Same-sex marriage signed into law by Governor-General
It took far longer than it should have, and was made much harder than it deserved. I'm still blinking that it's actually real now.
It took far longer than it should have, and was made much harder than it deserved. I'm still blinking that it's actually real now.
YES
This is the moment Australia voted yes
The Yes vote "overwhelmingly" won the national postal survey to legalise same-sex marriage. Almost 80 per cent of Australians voted and 61.6 per cent of respondents said gay and lesbian people should be able to marry.
In the video clip of the celebrations, a man gets down on one knee to propose to his partner. I can't hear his answer amid the cheering, but I think I know what he said.
The Yes vote "overwhelmingly" won the national postal survey to legalise same-sex marriage. Almost 80 per cent of Australians voted and 61.6 per cent of respondents said gay and lesbian people should be able to marry.
In the video clip of the celebrations, a man gets down on one knee to propose to his partner. I can't hear his answer amid the cheering, but I think I know what he said.
I've still never had a democracy sausage though
Do we have a government yet? Y/N
Volunteering again was - nice. It was a warm sunny day for winter, and a steady stream of people strolled in - all ages, backgrounds, walks of life - did their business and strolled back out. Peaceful democracy in action. I am grateful to live somewhere where voting is as simple and ordinary as going to the bank - it's another task that takes time out of your day, but there's usually a place around the corner, and hopefully you can be in and out in ten minutes, unless there's a queue. And then government happens. (Hopefully.)
Volunteering again was - nice. It was a warm sunny day for winter, and a steady stream of people strolled in - all ages, backgrounds, walks of life - did their business and strolled back out. Peaceful democracy in action. I am grateful to live somewhere where voting is as simple and ordinary as going to the bank - it's another task that takes time out of your day, but there's usually a place around the corner, and hopefully you can be in and out in ten minutes, unless there's a queue. And then government happens. (Hopefully.)