We Are Travellers

My lovely mum just sent me this quote.  It makes me smile and I hope it makes you smile too!

Music I'm Listening To A Lot At The Moment

Hey peeps
I'm going through one of those times right now where I keep craving particular songs.  And I keep YouTubing them so I can watch the videos which is pointless anyways as I always end up dancing in the kitchen ;)

Here are a few!

Lana Del Rey singing Summer Wine

Bruno Mars being poignant

M.I.A being kick-arse

Alex Turner being super sexy

Beyonce being her fabulous self with Jay-Z when they are younger

Yay! Are you all danced out now?  I know the Bruno Mars number wasn't to dancy but whatever, I love it, I think it's beautiful and if it gave you a moment of sadness well that's ok because IT'S OK TO BE SAD, GUYS.
As long as you can follow it up with a bad girlz dance then it's all gonna be otay.

You can quote me on that.

Have a fab weekend!

25 Questions Tag

Heeey guys!!  Since being a part of the cyber world for a while now, I've inevitably noticed this '25 Question Tag' that's been going around.  I really like the idea and I thought I would partake so hopefully you get to know me better and you get encouraged to do it too!

Here goes...

Q1. Do you have any pets?

Yes.  At my mum's house I have two beautiful white baby cats, DeNiro and Pacino, and at my dad's there is a Jack Russell called Petey.

Q2. Name three things that are physically close to you.

Right now... some hat blocks (my mum is a milliner), a very comfy pillow and my pair of Glinda-esque jelly shoes.  They are glittery and lovely!

Q3. What's the weather like right now?

At the moment the weather is calm and relatively warm, however it is also night-time so it is much cooler than what the days have been.

Q4. Do you drive? If so, have you crashed?

I don't have my license yet, but when I was very young I was in a couple of minor car accidents.

Q5. What time did you wake up this morning?

I woke up at about six thirty :(

Q6. When was the last time you showered?

About an hour and a half ago.

Q7. What was the last movie you saw?

At the cinema, Oz the Great and Powerful.  It was visually beautiful, but the actual plot wasn't too engaging.

Q8. What does your last text message say?

'My mum just came home with a bird / I don't even know'
I literally just received that and I don't know how to respond...

Q9. What's your ringtone?

Some kind of built-in one.  It's a ringtone, it's annoying.  It scares the hell out of me when it's not on silent, and it annoys me when it is on silent because I keep missing calls.

Q10. Have you ever been to another country?

Yes! I have been to Cuba, USA, Argentina, France, Wales, Indonesia.  I lived in London for just over a year when I was nine.

Q11. Do you like sushi?

I love sushi!

Q12. Where do you buy your groceries?

Markets, delis (sometimes), Coles, Woolworths, the corner store... wherever.  We do try to get free-range/organic/sustainable foods where possible.

Q13. Have you ever taken medication to help yourself fall asleep faster?

Definitely.  They are the best for long flights.

Q14. How many siblings do you have?

None - I'm an only child.

Q15. Do you have a desktop or a laptop?

Laptop.  I have a lovely white MacBook.  I think this model has been discontinued now...

Q16. How old will you be on your next birthday?

16 years of age.

Q17. Do you wear contacts or glasses?

Nope.

Q18. Do you colour your hair?

I have never coloured my hair!  My natural hair is a very 'blonde blonde' and pretty much everywhere I go people are all like "NEVER DYE YOUR HAIR GURL OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN".  It's a tough life ;)

Q19. Something you are planning to do today?

I'm about to go to sleep, so... dream about butter lettuce parties, I guess.

Q20. When was the last time you cried?

Ooh... normally this would be easy to answer, as I tear-up at almost anything whether I'm laughing, crying, insanely excited, you name it.  But I honestly can't think of the last time!

Q21. What is your perfect pizza topping?

I really like making homemade pizza, usually with anti-pasto toppings, and always with cheese.

Q22. Do you prefer cheeseburgers or hamburgers?

It feels like this question has continued to pop up throughout my life: 'what the hell is the difference between hamburgers and cheeseburgers?!??'.  I know it seems obvious that one has cheese and the other doesn't, but I swear, every time I've ever eaten a hamburger it has had cheese on it.  So I guess, out of the two, I would have to sway towards the cheeseburger, purely because it has cheese in its name.

Q23. Have you ever had an all-nighter?

Yes.  They are always great, but I haven't had one for what feels like ages.  My brain must be going, 'Lily, enough already.  I need to sleeeppppp.'

Q24. What is your eye colour?

The colour is always changing a bit, but usually they will be a grey-blue or green-blue.

Q25. Can you taste the difference between Pepsi and Coke?

YES I CAN.  I'm not much of a soft-drink drinker, but if I want a Coke, then I will make sure it's Coke.          
Pepsi is not nice and I will taste the difference very quickly.

That's me.  You know it.

Suicide in the Trenches

Whilst doing some research for my modern history essay, I came across this famous piece written by Siegfried Sassoon in the 1920s.  I found it awfully striking, and I think it summed up the collected mentality of the 'lost generation' beautifully. It's crushing yet so poetic, and even though there are only three small paragraphs to it, the writer has managed to carefully construct and balance a stark mood contrast. Personally I was feeling confronted and blown away at the same time, but you can decide how you feel about it:

I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.

In winter trenches, cowed and glum, 

With crumps and lice and lack of rum, 

He put a bullet through his brain. 

No one spoke of him again.

You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye 

Who cheer when soldier lads march by, 

Sneak home and pray you'll never know 

The hell where youth and laughter go.

On the note of great writing, someone whom I admire both as a person and as a truly talented writer (and who is probably going to laugh at me for saying that) has written a letter to, and in memory of, a very cool woman who sadly passed away this week...Chrissy Amphlett.

The Brisbane Collective

As most of you probably don't know, I am a super professional drummer *devious cough*.  Actually I'm a mediocre drummer, mainly because I never practice, and most definitely not because of my teacher Jeff, who is a professional drummer/Nintendo enthusiast/creative panda and has a studio at Via Studios, Bowen Hills.  This year Via has started putting on an amazing art show called the Brisbane Collective.  I'm not entirely sure when they will all be held, but from what I can gather there will be about four or so annually.  The first one has been and gone, but the second one will be on Saturday the 11th May, from 5pm till midnight.  Amazing art by local creative people will be showcased, there will be awesome food carts, live music and many a good time to be had.

Quick Info:

- Via Studios, 50 Abbotsford rd, Bowen Hills, Brisbane

- Saturday 11th May

- 5pm till midnight

- LIVE MUSIC, GREAT FOOD, LOTS OF COOL PEEPS

- Awesome art by local artists

- Bar

- IT'S FREEEEE ENTRYYYYY!!!

- You're going. That's right...I knew even before you did.

Here is a video of the first ever Brisbane Collective:

Also, just quickly, the BC's YouTube channel is being updated quite regularly with little band promos etc. It's kerrrrll

A Quick Catch Up

Hey everyone!

I haven't really posted much lately, so I thought I might do a quick spot of writing.

Easter holidays are over, term two of school has begun and if that's supposed to be exciting, I'm not feeling it.  Winter is jimmying its way over to the land of Aus (<-see what I did there?!) which means my birthday is slowly approaching and we can wear coats and boots and we can fill our tummies with beef bourguignon and be super happy!  Winter is definitely my favourite season which is probably part of why I want to go back and live in London again.  I'm now an apprentice chef, which is very farncyyyy and I'm feeling a bit better with my life because at least I know I will have some ground under my feet when I leave school (note to school: please hurry up and get yourself over with so I can start my life and hopefully be happy. K thanks).  I started a twitter account a while back, which is most likely the foremost cause of my neglect towards this blog, but I'm going to try and make an effort to get back into the swing of writing.
ALSO! Two lovely ladies, Britto and Tia, have each started their own blogs too so you should totally check them out <3

Here is a funny GIF. I laugh so hard to the point of near-injury every time.

From Scary Tales to Fairytales

I thought I would just show off a piece I wrote for an assignment in grade 9  :)
. . . .

Why is it that most girls grow up dreaming of growing old with their own personal prince charming?And how was the concept planted into our minds in the first place?

Fairytales have been a large part of history, recognized all over the globe, and have been published in hundreds of different dialects.

Most fairytales that we do know, however, we know because they became ‘Happy Happy Joy Joy’ Disney Princess movies. As lovely as that is, it is somewhat sad that the tales have been stripped of their true meaning and moral (so no, kids, don’t expect a fairy to appear out of nowhere when your sibling makes you do their dirty work for them while they go off to party with hot rich guys - your time will come). 

Hans Christian Andersen began writing fairytales in the 1800s. Using magic and mythical creatures to shape children’s knowledge of the outside world and it’s hidden dangers, his stories became more and more popular during the harsh Industrial Revolution. His tales brought joy through magic…and discipline through warning.

The Little Mermaid conveys its message slightly differently to other fairytales, for example Hansel and Gretel, where the characters are relatable to the children and therefore makes them consider how easily they could end up cooked in an oven by an ugly old hag if they do the wrong thing.

Because the characters in The Little Mermaid are royal princes, half-human-half-fishes and obese octopuses that speak, the audience doesn’t connect very well and never really considers that such consequences (such as getting their tongue chopped off and constantly feeling like they are walking bare-foot on knives) could affect their lives, as the story is set in such a magical realm a world away from their own.

When Disney decided to do it’s own adaptation of The Little Mermaid, the moral of the story was completely converted to the usual family-friendly movies the company is famous for. This version, of course, is the most famous version of the tale, but the ending was heavily critisised by the critics, because it was completely the opposite to the original version, where the Little Mermaid sacrifices her own life for the happiness of her true love.

But it wasn’t just the Disney ending that caused disruption. Judging by the ending of the original tale, it seems that Christian Andersen was aware that children’s behaviour wasn’t going to be affected by his underwater love story. The last page of the original manuscript shows the ending crossed out and re-written, however we do know what the two different endings were. The first draft concluded with the Little Mermaid throwing the knife (which she had to take the life of her true love with in order to save her own) back into the ocean, and she turned into sea-spray. Instead, the version that became published said that once the knife hit the water, the Little Mermaid joined the ‘Daughters of the Air’. These were spirit-like beings trapped in a kind of limbo for three hundred years, and in that time they had to visit the homes of children. If a sad child was visited, it would make the ‘Daughter’ weep, and every tear shed would add an extra day onto her ‘time’ in limbo, but when she found a happy child it would take off a year.

Many brought this down to blackmail, as such an ending could lead kids to think that every time they did something wrong the sweet Little Mermaid would be paying the price. And all for what? Love? In the end, The Little Mermaid is three different tales in itself: a love story, a threatening story, but also a story of a young naive girl who was curious about another world she couldn’t touch, and her hunger for adventure got the better of her.

Many fairytales have gone through the same changes as The Little Mermaid, but really they are still folk tales that, just like stories passed down generations by word-of-mouth, have adjusted over time (which really, when you think about it, makes them all the more interesting!)