Voting voting voting

The nice thing about elections is that they never matter as much as people think they do. My newsfeed is abuzz with angst tonight, as my NZ friends on FB breakdown the results of the NZ parliament elections. 
But really, we (and by we I mean those of us in Australia, NZ, and any other Western democratic countries) are lucky to live in places we have the opportunity to vote. Where nobody is standing at the polling booth with gun in hand. Where we fear no prosecution or persecution based on our voting choices, and have complete freedom to exercise our preference as we please.

I know that this whole "it could be worse argument" can be fallacious, and I don't attempt to minimise the frustration of those whose party loses in their estimation of things. But really, the differences between the parties in NZ are slim. We are not talking about women's rights vs. being forced to wear the burqa. We are talking about policy differences on selling economic assets, addressing poverty, climate change, etc. The type of policy that can be changed by whoever gets into office anyway - it's not specific enough that they commit to their course of action. Yes, they have different perspectives. But overall the rights of the everyday citizen will remain the same. It comes down to difference of opinion, rather than differences in rights and privileges. And we should consider ourselves fortunate to be in that position.

Let them Eat Pie

Tonight I baked an apple pie. The notable part is that today is a Monday, and the start of a 'long' work week. But I don't feel that way anymore. Instead, I come home from work and bake pie. Because yesterday I made Bacon & Egg Pie, and today I had leftover pastry to use. Once, it would have been forgotten in the fridge and ultimately thrown out. But not now. I know every item in the fridge, I have meals planned for the week. I have heightened awareness of every aspect of my daily life.

Suddenly, I'm not wasting anything, nor leaving mess in the house, nor pursuing my other lazy, confused, disorganised habits.

Living in the moment, the mundane becoming the sublime in it's own twisted way. Hmmm. I have pie to eat!

When you reach October

There are three months missing from my blog. Often I say "I should blog everyday", and often I write blog posts in my head.

If I were to have blogged in the past few weeks it would have been about my pregnancy. Hopeful, optimistic, musing on impending parenthood. Maybe lighthearted debate on baby names. Maybe worries about balancing my priorities. Now, of course, I am no longer pregnant. A lot can happen in a week.

Really, it's an example of how much can happen in a short period of time. Last time I blogged, children were a hypoethetical in my future. Something I'd decided I wanted, but an experience I hadn't had. Now, I am once again a new person, shaped by a new experience. My relationship has stood through another test and come out stronger. My personality and my willpower are recharged. I will be better, stronger, renewed yet again.

But for right now, I will sleep. Because my body and my mind are shattered.

A self-adjusting society

Is it just me, or is there no such thing as a "self-fulfilling prophecy" when general society is concerned? In fact, it seems that the opposite is true.

In response to women taking on a more equal role, you might hear both reasonable social commentators and some rabid traditionalists crying foul. "Men will be emancipated!" both groups proclaim. They will lose their manliness, become completely soft, there will be nothing left manly in this world. Of course, that doesn't happen. At all. Instead, we see a beautiful balance occurring between the genders.

Take pollution, or global warming - so far, not as bad as anybody predicted.

The question is, are the scaremonger folk really full of BS, or are they predicting events that have the potential to actually happen - but are moderated by the attention drawn to them by the very alarmists that the naysayers like to mock.

Are we avoiding harmful trends in society just by talking about them? Maybe. It's a thought.

I Remember Me

When I was a little girl, I never knew who I was. I lived in a strange fantasy world in my head, avoiding the reality of my existence as much as possible. Despite that, tiny moments, a few months here and there, became etched on my reality as the things that made me happy.

Sometimes, I have those moments when I remember who I am.

It's weird, how

Mary Poppins

I confess, like *99.9% of the population, I am more familiar with the 1964 film than the original Mary Poppins series of books. So while professing myself as a Mary Poppins expert, I was still pleasantly surprised and sufficiently diverted by the stage musical. The production is a delightful blend of the songs we all know and love, along with some of the more quirky elements of the books. And as with any good stage adaption there's also a unique edge of it's very own.

It was a lovely night at the Capitol Theatre, the crowd was noticeably more diverse than usual as everybody seemed to have brought a child or grandparent with them. I was sitting in between an elderly couple and a 90 year old gentleman accompanied by his twenty-something granddaughter. There was an entire row of children behind me. It was a chatty crowd, but well behaved during the performance.

Obviously they could never recreate the film onstage - nothing could ever be the same as the animation and special effects from what was truly a groundbreaking film (the technology was far ahead of it's time). But they have found other ways to make it exciting. There's some neat little bits in there that I'd *love* to spoil for everybody, but that would just be unfair. The vocals are strong. The new dance numbers and songs fit in seamlessly, and the adapted story flows nicely.

Verity Hunt-Ballard, in the title role, is suitably cocky and strict, yet endearing. The children are sweet and naughty, and Mr Banks was a strong, brusque character. Matt Lee was very impressive as Bert - I started off doubtful (major Dick van Dyke fan here!) but by the end was a fan of him too. He is clearly a passionate performer, and much more than just a dancer (you may remember him as the judge on the Australian version of "So You Think You Can Dance"). The biggest disappointment to me was Marina Prior in the role of Mrs Banks. For one thing, I don't like what they've done with the character - I can see what they are trying to achieve, but it's a role with much less impact than the film version. Here it's hard to see why her children are so rotten and her husband so boorish, and hard to blame anybody but her. In the film, Mrs Banks and Mr Banks are both likeable characters, but selfishly focused on their own endeavours, and the children are consequently neglected. In the stage show, Mrs Banks appears to do nothing but float around the house looking pathetic and feeling helpless. There's an attempt at a backstory about her past as an actress and how she is trying to live up to Mr Banks standards, but it really falls flat. Marina Prior plays it a bit silly, and it's hard to tell whether it's the fault of the actor or the directors.

It's important that you go along with an open mind. Some of my favourite bits from the film were missing, but there were other neat bits added in. Overall, it's a great show and well worth a look.

Suitable for all ages!


Pros: Lots of fun, and plenty of opportunities to clap along and get into it. A few "wow" moments where really cool special effects happen. They do a great job of the big dance numbers - I was waiting eagerly for "Step in Time" and they did not disappoint! They also sang again during the curtain call, which to me is extremely important. Give the audience a little something extra! :-)

Cons: The hideous, hideous accents. Most of the cast members need to open their mouths wider. They're so afraid of letting the Ocker accent come through that they're doing these tight, overemphasised British accents which don't sound authentic. While Verity is great in the role of Mary, she is the worst culprit for putting on a stupid voice instead of doing a proper accent. Hopefully they get better at this over time.



What: Mary Poppins
Where: Capital Theatre, Haymarket
Best seats: Don't go too far forward, this production really benefits from the full picture rather than the close-ups. I'd aim to be at least halfway back in the stalls.

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.com.au/marypoppins



*Statistics represented on this blog are entirely fictional

Super Power!

I really can't wait until studies of the human mind develop further. Perhaps that isn't surprising given my fascination with psychology and all things mental.

But what I'm really looking forward to is when we can record thoughts directly from our brains. Call it psychic, call it the equivalent to plugging a memory stick into your brain, call it whatever you like - but I spend a lot of time thinking, and I really, really want to be able to keep it all without the inconvenience of talking or writing. Don't get me wrong, I love both talking and writing, but there simply isn't enough hours in the day to do as much of either as I'd like.

In the past few weeks there have been a number of incredibly fabulous blog posts composed in my mind. Sadly these never managed to make it as far as my keyboard. Maybe one or two will materialize in the next few days, who knows. The rest are gone forever, a faded connection in my brain that are unlikely to ever resurface. They're lost in the crazy whirlwind of work, study, and keeping daily life ticking along.

So now I raise my glass, and propose a toast to thoughts of yesterday. Thoughts that were incredibly awesome (in my mind, at least), the memory of which can never be sullied by being brought to the light of day. They will never age. They will never be torn apart by the harshness of this world. May they rest in peace - or float off to wherever little random thoughts float off to. Maybe they fly away on the breeze, or via some crazy electronic brainwave connection, and eventually float through other people's minds. Perhaps we're all just regurgitating the same thoughts that somebody a few blocks away had yesterday, and marvelling at our own originality. By the way, this really is a rather nice drop of pinot gris.