#sydney geography i guess

[edge-oftheworld]

5sos as city councils in sydney: metropolitan southwest

luke as the inner west

ashton as canterbury-bankstown

calum as georges river

michael as bayside

@sofsversion got to be one of the weirder things i've ever thought of

#and yet. am i gonna do metro southeast? strathfield burwood cumberland canada bay? regional southwest? maybe #5sos #5 seconds of summer #luke hemmings #ashton irwin #calum hood #michael clifford #sydney geography i guess #i'm gonna turn this into a moodboard one day #and one for campbelltown camden liverpool fairfield. parramatta blacktown penrith hawkesbury. the hills hornsby ku-ring-gai northern beache #randwick waverley woolahra sutherland. sydney north sydney mosman willoughby. lane cove ryde hunters hill and i hate when they don't math #i bet there's one i've forgotten though #okay figured it out. gonna include the blue mountains and cumberland in the west lot and do pairings for that #and for the bougie parramatta river ones too

[blackjack-15]

tight shots on food, syd, food, once again we're straight on, emphasizing the relationship there. syd's actress has very pretty eyes. not the point of the shot but worth saying!

"courage and confidence leads to decision making" oh we're stating the thesis! and guess what carmy's missing here. no surprises.

she has the air of a woman who's been stood up and decided to enjoy herself. this is not a coincidence, but it is very funny

notice she went home, changed, got freshened up? she's wearing her red on carmy's white? yeah, so did i

okay points for Carmy for texting. negative points for everything else about the message.

sydney takes chicago! i love this, she's going out to learn, going out to do a light bit of culinary espionage, and networking on behalf of The Bear. would it have been cuter and better and pretty much everything else good for her to do it with carmy? of course. but this show is called the bear. and our titular bear isn't there yet.

"make sure your hospitality and service is overwhelming" okay, front of house is gonna be important. still positive that's gonna involve richie finding his purpose.

"and make sure you have a great partner. someone you trust"

"we had a horrible business partner who stole all our money and flew off to Hawai'i"

my gosh, with the comment her dad made about trusting carmy? they're not shy that this is the primary relationship in the show, whether you see it romantically or platonically.

it's romantic. we know it. moving on

actually, not moving on.

while in this episode alone, these dialogues point to carmy, i actually think that this points to Cicero overall. he's a chaotic neutral sort of character right now, fully invested in his own good rather than in being a cheerleader or a wallet. the bear will survive or fail based on the front of house staff, the back of house cooperation, the relationship of syd and carmy, and -- most importantly, if Cicero is a force for good or bad.

"we're working together" "ahhh. been there. trust your gut." yeah this is just. text at this point. s3 is going to be a Feast.

.........

........

so i'm an idiot, but hearing carmy say his name on the voicemail? he's referred to as "bear" (as are Mikey and Natalie, we've seen) because with the Chicago twang, it sounds exactly like "bear-zatto". I'm stupid, i get it, let's move on. nothing to see here.

(in my accent, that's said more like bier-zatto, and burr-zatto if i'm going for a more geography-neutral flat accent. so yes. idiot. throw tomatoes at will.)

i don't know what the venn diagram is between The Bear viewers and kdrama fans, but this montage of syd eating alone is reminiscent of a scene from S2 of the kdrama Hospital Playlist (Netflix) where a woman is similarly stood up (though at a nice restaurant with steak) and keeps changing positions at the table, laughing to herself and eating the meal and drinking both glasses of wine.

digression aside, i think Syd and Chu Minha would be friends, plus both their love interests are referred to affectionately as "bear".

marcus and fak? chaos

"looking forward." "...looking forward?" "i don't know i've never said that in my life" oh marcus. this crush is pretty cute ngl. i'm not rooting for it but it's cute

SYD DO NOT POACH I'M DYING

the risotto!!! baby sydney!!! i love how obvious it is just through visuals that syd's dying to make The Bear really feel like part of Chicago, to give it that feeling that richie found so important in S1. it's all coming together. i also love we can see that syd really, truly loves food. we knew it already, but to have it so lovingly focused on is wonderful. in case there was any doubt as to who the deuteragonist is in this show? this episode should clear it up

(carmy being the protagonist and carmy's anxiety richie being the tritagonist, of course. they're steering the boat)

#the bear #liveblogging #2X03 #almost done with the episode and then it's a pause while my stomach fights against me for daring to eat dinner #but happy to be back on the bear wagon #i will not be taking questions on my accent. please respect my time of mourning b/c i'm an Idiot

[faithfromanewperspective]

how did you arrive at your progressive punk christianity outlook after being immersed in conservative christianity?

ooh!! good question. see I don’t really think what I was immersed in was particularly conservative—in circles I’ve been around we’ve always dissed Americans for being conservative (kinda mean I know) and my dad used to take me to climate change protests in the 2000s and I was always taught the 6 days of creation aren’t literal, the rapture isn’t real, women in stem etc. idk how it was anywhere else but the part of sydney I grew up in was just Like That, there was encouragement to give to the poor to actually end poverty and people actually did even though none of us really had heaps and I guess I wasn’t raised to be okay with entitlement but simply be kind to everyone? And I didn’t even know what conservative was until I was maybe 17 (I thought it was a style of fashion for ages and then I thought it meant conserving nature and history). It was always just Christians are meant to be genuinely kind and not have sex til you’re older and preferably married yknow?? and work hard, like the protestant work ethic was def a thing but somehow in a non ableist way as much as this is possible— I get real impatient with people bitching about stuff getting taken away from them, not realising how much they have when I probably have less and I’m usually giving away as much as I’m able and as much will put me in a state of perceived danger. It’s definitely a form of rebellion against them to see how little I can survive on which I’m working on. I also didn’t even know that so many Christians were transphobic like I thought it was only the extreme theobros. I also had a really lovely geography teacher in high school who was also a Christian and used her faith to drive environmental action, my biology teacher was a Christian and stood up for trans rights and I also had acccss to the internet to read up on clobber passages and hear peoples stories and it was always like ‘oh yeah some Christians believe different things based on how they read this stuff’ and I don’t think it was until I was old enough to actually vote and saw what propoganda was going around I really realised the power dynamic behind it, with the rise of the Australian Christian lobby which felt like it was straight out of the US. I fully thought voting was just liberals if you like fossil fuels, greens to save the environment, and labor if you’re a people pleaser and like fun little rhymes like ‘Kevin 07’ and attempting to be feminist but not really getting anything done. I actually met Martyn Iles once and was like ‘damn this guy is a fake Aussie this isn’t how we do Christianity’. I also got super burnt out by how hard and how biblically I tried to love my classmates on top of the Protestant work ethic about my schoolwork I never really cared about for myself, and was well versed in theology enough to be like HA! Grace means that we don’t have to do all that and can just do our sustainable best, still thinking my view was mainstream. I went to uni to study enviro sci at 17 and I thought my convictions to not drive unless Absolutely Necessary were driven by Christian ethics (which they were, how rigid I was with it was a pda response though). Then over the years realised very belatedly how people often didn’t validate my views and experiences and I’d expect they would (bc they were biblically rooted) and got quite hurt when they didn’t. Spent years in different volunteer ministries trying to put together the kind of community talked about in books like Philippians only to constantly be let down and feel isolated and that only driving me to work harder, despite knowing God’s grace meant I didn’t have to feeling like I couldn’t stop while my earthly needs for connection were unmet, saying yes to things I’d previously said no to because I got a sense of temporary community and belonging every time I joined a new serving team. Tried extra hard to make places inclusive and expected everyone else to be working as hard on it as I was and feel the desperation like I did and got super hurt when they didn’t, oh I guess I’ll have to do it all myself then.

I’ve always struggled with the concept of hell, tbh I heard about it way too young and never had a drop of self preservation instinct in my body only didn’t want to let God down by saying no. I’ve particularly always struggled with the whole urgency motivation like I’m trying, I’m doing the best I can, I listen to people and actually speaking the gospel into their lives in a way that hits home for them (bc I was thinking about how to do this in an empathetic and understanding and autonomy respecting way from a Very Young Age like I used to attempt to evangelise on moshi monsters to get an idea) and shit, I’m like 19 years old at this stage and I’m tired. If only I could just have one last hurrah to change places with someone so they can go to heaven instead of me? Id take it. and I basically worked myself to the point of being that suicidal and kept fucking going because God made me good at science so I can save the planet and end world hunger, and I had this conviction to contextualise (this is what we learned at afes btw) the gospel to really be real to queer folk and indigenous folk and other people of colour and marginalised people (it’s easy to see oppression with my background and my neurotype tbh) and maybe I could make myself suffer now bc God wasn’t gonna let me do that for eternity? anyway eventually left afes bc I was being so stretched and getting so isolated and the work I was doing there wasn’t achieving any of these things and I realised if I stayed I might end up dead and I wasn’t ready to go to heaven yet when my work wasn’t done. or at least so constantly dysregulated I wouldn’t be as able to be kind to others and show them the gospel.

around this time I’m also putting together a pretty comprehensive framework for how to actually solve global problems in a productive way, I’ve unpacked the pride in a lot of Christian mission projects and how they often were a feel good thing but not actually respectful or effective and I’d come up with literally hundreds of ideas for projects I could do to actually help, none of which I obviously had time for I think I was working up to 3 jobs while studying and serving in church and doing my hobbies that kept me kind of sane as well? which was discouraging to say the least, driving a kind of rageful resentment. Around that time I also discover PDA and my whole life makes sense, I start on my adhd meds which I had to jump through a million hoops to get and realise maybe I can finish uni.

a pda framework as I dive more into that and how to be actually neurodivergent affirming and actually recover from burnout long story short makes me realise how ableist much of our concept of sin and holiness really is and how much we need to destigmatise sin and stop using it as a way to intellectualise actual things happening in our brains and nervous systems and maybe we’d feel a lot less hopeless about it like it’s some big mystery if we actually did unpack the fear and threat responses and trauma behind it. Which we always say we will do but practically, church doenst give a space to do that bc you’re gonna be shamed. even for the people who are non affirming I’d be like, but isn’t it a logical step to someone who’s not yet been convicted to celibacy (if that’s something they think they should be) and realised this whole thing is unrealistic, not because the bible is wrong but because people think you can control your own brain by simply trying and trying again every time you fuck up as if that’s not gonna drive learned helplessness or actually traumatise you when you so desperately want to do better? Either that or drive you to be numb about it which I realised is what usually happens, there are certain sins people are blind to in every congregation and they’re actually intellectually unable to be convicted of that as sin because they’re stretched as far as they can go covering all other bases and being like ‘Christ covers that I didn’t Choose To Sin I’m trying not to even though it doesn’t really work’ like I’m a solutions person. if something isn’t working we’re gonna think of a new method and suddenly I understand how my brain works and those of so many others especially those who feel marginalised by the church!

and so long story short when I eventually had to quit what I was doing at church because someone cared enough to realise I hadn’t been doing well for years I was like I’m gonna follow this urge of the Spirit or simply my own head and desire for true connection I often found In exvangelical spaces and hear as many experiences as possible and use it to shape my worldview and get a bunch of hope from people who yes they’ve been marginalised but the gospel is real to them. that’s my only criteria I’m not gonna judge based on theology and I’m not ever gonna think my theological takes make anyone else wrong I’m just gonna be open to listen and shape them so there isn’t any cognitive dissonance and the grace found at the cross is real and practical and doenst have weird arbitrary limits, and I’m also gonna listen to those hurt by Christianity who some might judge as being hard hearted but I know how trauma works. and I’ve been doing that ever since, gradually getting there more and more and I think the best/funniest thing is even in more conservative spaces literally everyone I still talk to has been super encouraging of it and if we have any disagreements they’re pretty minor compared to the fact that we all believe the gospel is for everyone and we all wanna invest in social justice too (which makes me question how conservative those spaces ever were tbh). like there’s def parts of my story I won’t always tell but I feel like I come with a perspective people respect these days no matter where I am, and that’s nice in contrast to being that weird kid trying to do adult things being told either not to worry or that I don’t understand.

#I’ve gotta tw so many things here #tw suicide #tw general conservative bigotry but honestly not too bad #neurodivergence #neurodivergent liberation #punk christianity #progressive christianity #queer christian #also my own identity outside of my work/ministry has definitely been on the back burner but still always there behind it all

[andypartridges]

asks: 16, 26, 10

sorry i meant *11

16. which stereotype about your country do you hate the most and which one do you somewhat agree with? i hate the stereotype that all australians are blonde haired blue eyed surfers, just bc it implies all aussies are white and it really damaged me growing up bc i never felt 'australian' enough as a poc. as for the surfer thing, i just don't think that i know many surfers???? i definitely think aussies love their sport, but i don't think surfing is THE aussie sport

the one stereotype i do think is true is that australians are drinkers. i know a lot of aussie guys whose idea of a good time just consists of going to a bottle-o or a bar and getting plastered. i feel like some aussies, if they don't have a beer in hand at least once a day they will pass away. personally, as a social drinker who doesn't really drink that much anymore, you observe a lot of casual alcoholism around you tbh

26. does your nationality get portrayed in hollywood/american media? what do you think about the portrayal? i actually think that a lot of famous depictions of australians are homemade, like crocodile dundee and bondi rescue. and for the most part, i don't really mind. a lot of them really emphasise how nice our beaches are (and they are really nice, but bondi sucks) and the rest of them are set in the australian outback, which, granted, is also another prominent feature of australian geography. so i guess the portrayals are somewhat correct, but they're so saturated with the same ideas that we don't get other stories, like indigenous perspectives (bar the rabbit proof fence i think), immigrants in australia, and actual suburban/urban australia

11. favourite native writer/poet? the first that comes to mind is markus zusak, author of the book thief and i am the messenger. he is a fantastic author, and the latter book is set in sydney, so it felt surreal reading about all these places i know so well. i also really enjoyed trent dalton's first book boy swallows universe, which is like the australian coming of age novel imo, but i felt pretty meh about his second book, so idk if i could count him as a fave

i probably do have to mention a couple of childhood faves too - morris gleitzman and emily rodda are some of my fave aussie authors in that department !!

thank you sm sarah <33

i'm not from the US, ask me questions

#i actually think bruce dawe is also a pretty good aussie poet i just get war flashbacks to year 10 english when we were forced to study him #answered

[holly-mckenzie]

Hi! I've seen all your Bump gifs and wanted to thank you for your service. While not perfect, this show is criminally underrated and I really wish more people saw it. Reema is an absolute fave with Vince not far behind. More storylines and individual character development for them, please!

What do you expect from season 3 and when is it coming out?

Anon, I don't know why you asked me for more story lines and individual character development and the release date... I don't write the show, go talk to the writers and the creators! Or use Google! 😂😂😂

Buuuttttt on behalf on the Bump team, thank you for watching the show! 😂😂😂

And on behalf of user Holly-McKenzie thanks for looking at my gifs (but the real question is did you reblog them?).

I adore Reema and Vince! They are by far my favourite characters and my favourite part of the show! Vince is just such a great and sweet friend and Reema is also that, but she is so mean... lol.

As for what I expect to see in S3? I honestly don't know. Because on one hand, I assumed that it would mostly be heaps of Oly and Santi failing at living together and some drama with their respective families and less drama with the other students and the teachers because Stan is creating a spin off show called Year Of about the students and teachers from the high school in Bump.

However, if you used Google, like I suggested, then you would know that Variety released an article called "What to Expect From ‘Bump’ Season 3"

And in that article Claudia Karavan said:

“And certainly when we came around to the second series, we’re not manipulative and going ‘Let’s have another baby’, or ‘Let’s have a death’, or ‘Let’s try and keep up to speed with series one’. We just had to bed down with those characters and trust that we’ve got a loyal audience.” Now that the audience and characters are bedded down, however, there’s going to be a massive shake-up in “Bump” Season 3. “But then series three, yeah, there is a massive rug pull – which I don’t think is manipulative at all – but it’s really exciting,” she revealed

and the Producer of the show said:

Dan Edwards, producer at Roadshow Rough Diamond, said having the two-series order was a “godsend”. “I remember being in the room with Clauds and going ‘We need to open up the world. We know how much we love Vince (Loane Sa’ula) and Re[e]ma (Safia Arain). Let’s give them some points of view’. I think we started with that in Season 2. They were some of my favourite episodes. I love, obviously, the core relationships and it goes even further again in Season 3.

So I am guessing something dramatic is going to happen and I am guessing we are going to see more of the core relationships whatever that means.

I am hoping that this means that we can see more of the characters just living life now that they won't have to establish relationships or whatever. Also, if you read my review of S2, you know that I thought that Vince and Reema's characters had a lot of off screen development, so I am really hoping that we see more of them... But I am thinking that will actually happen in Year Of, based on this comment from that same Variety article.

The article also talked about Year Of:

In addition to “Bump” Season 3, Stan has also commissioned a spin-off series, “Year Of”. It will take place at the same fictional school that is featured in “Bump” “That school is Blackwattle High School in Glebe, which sits right there on the edge of the [Sydney] CBD. And it’s got a very significant public housing population, plus $12 million terrace houses, and just that melting pot in the geography and all those things is kind of what was inherent on “Bump” in that school,” he said. “And that’s going to carry over, but “Year Of” is going to branch out. It’s a lot more ensemble. The kids are really carrying the story. “It will still be multi-generational, and I think that’s a big part of “Bump’s” success and I think it’s what John [Edwards] and Clauds have done together on a number of series as well in terms of the multi-generational thing.” “I won’t say too much more,” he said.

The fact that they are going to have a multi generational approach to the story kinda explains why so much of S2 focused on Madison. It also sounds really interesting and I hope that this means we get to see Vince and Reema and the rest of the kids family lives. I also hope this means that they bring back Lachie and have him play a part in the show.

#bump stan #year of stan

[jo-thebesties]

tagged by @maidenofmadness

Who were you named after?

when people ask "what's jo short for?" the answer is either "because she's got little legs" or "jacking off" depending on the company

Last time you cried?

coupla days ago. im rather broke and depressed atm

Do you have kids?

nah

What sports do you play/did you play?

i used to play rugby union back in high school. i havent really been particularly active since then. i like walking and swimming.

Do you use Sarcasm?

the way this question is phrased is just completely undoing me. like, yes? of course? do people not use sarcasm?

First thing you notice about people?

i honestly dont know. like, i dont know if i really have an "approach" to observing people

Do you have any talents?

ive been painting warhammer for, like, 16 years or smth and im pretty good at it now. i like trying to make every model into a little diorama. currently im also working on my big mech army, which means lots of heraldry and intricate freehand patterns bc each mech should feel like its own art piece im also a really good cook

Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

in this dichotomy, probably happy endings? i dunno, i like endings that sit with you, whether cathartic or deliberately not so

Where were you born?

sydney in australia i do kinda like it here

What are your hobbies?

cooking, warhammer (my beautiful wife got me back into playing after i had mostly just been painting for honestly nearly a decade), videogames and kink stuff

Do you have any pets?

besides me beautiful wife, no

How tall are you?

i think around 6'2 but i honestly keep on forgetting

What was your favourite subject in school?

back in high school? yeesh that was like 13 years ago. I guess it was geography. it was rather political and we had a great teacher who was trying desperately to get the kids to be less racist and more curious about the world i did like a lot of the criminal law courses that i did in uni bc they were taught in a rather critical way. like, we went through an awful lot of analyses on what even is the purpose of criminal laws and the convoluted ways in which they are shaped, the inherent corruption of the police and how the process is as much part of the punishment as the nominal sentence. i realised that i didnt really want to practice in that area because, yknow, its actually peoples lives on the line, but learning about it was good

Dream Job?

sometimes, i really want to cook. ive made burgers a couple times at home and the process of getting everything all ready for the final quick cook and assemble is rather nice. dunno if i would want to work as a cook considering what a job like that actually involves.

funnily enough, i did quite like my last job. like, it was the sort of law where i was almost a bureaucrat so it was not particularly combative and i was knowledgeable and it was a nice way to help people in an area that was low stakes but still important to them. like, i would like to abolish private property but in the world we currently live in, conveyancing aint that bad of a thing to do.

[umichenginabroad]

Week 5 - From Sydney Poles to Mount Cook Strolls

G’day everyone!

My week started off with a confirmation and acceptance of our lease application, narrowly avoiding homelessness by a few days *big sigh of relief*. Our new home is a townhouse in Bondi Junction, an incredible location for most of the spots we want to be near. The junction is a grand central station for busses and trains that can take us to most parts of the city and surrounding beaches in around 20 minutes, oh and the campus is about 40 minutes away.

On Wednesday, all of the roommates and some friends from Surf Camp somehow coerced Joe and me into a pole dancing intro class. Pole dancing… so yeah, if you were to tell me I’d be pole dancing my first month into this Australian adventure I would have raised both eyebrows.

But it so happened that my roommate, and a recent friend of mine, went to a pole dancing class the week prior and wouldn’t stop recommending and at times begging for the rest of us to follow them to the next class. When in Sydney I guess… sorry Mom, I guess… 

For anyone interested, it was a tough workout at times and painful on the inner thighs. But ultimately the experience was rewarding and very humbling. 

On Thursday, we packed our bags and headed out to the streets of Sydney. Our townhouse wasn’t ready until the day after so we each called up our friends from Surf Camp and lodged at our friends’ places for the night. 

The next morning I went to my last Coogee sunrise as a resident of the neighborhood. Joe and I rendezvoused with the other three girls at the front steps of our new home.

That day was spent flipping coins for rooms and making several trips to the nearby mall to stock the house with necessities.

The next morning we packed our briefly unpacked bags and, as the flight attendant liked to remind us, “just barely caught” our flight to Queenstown, New Zealand. 

And WOW…

This place is breathtaking from the first sight of the shore out the plane window (get a window seat if you can). We moved through customs declaring anything that even resembled food and then started our 10-day New Zealand journey. 

Quick aside… This upcoming week at UNSW is called “O-Week'' where all the clubs and student organizations set up stands. It's a great opportunity for kids to check out and join whatever catches their eye. For us, it's more of a week to explore this side of the world. Also, of all the times to go, New Zealand in the summer seemed like our best bet, it's by no means sweltering but highs of mid-60s beat mid-40s or lower if we went later in the year. Also, the whole trip will be an exploration of the southwestern part of south island, for anyone who knows their New Zealand geography.

Anyways, we landed and headed to our first stop, PAK ‘n Save (NZ Costco), and shared a delectable parking lot sandwich with some of the items purchased in the store.

We also were shopping for all of the next day's meals because there were few outlets along the 3 hours of country between Queenstown and Mt. Cook. We made it to our hostel at the base of Mount Cook, the tallest mountain in NZ, around 1 AM to a sky full of stars. 

The next day was the most beautiful hike I have ever done, by far.

Before starting our hike, we talked with park officials who told us that the weather here can switch in a moment and to make a judgment call with each stop we take. Also, it was one of the windier days, so be careful “not to get blown off at the top”. 

Our friend Max informed us the hike was 2200 stairs, and then the hard part started…

Feeling a bit nervous but determined we slowly made our way to the summit and it was the natural views more than anything that kept our minds from the, at times, grueling elements of the hike. 

Here are a few of my favorite photos:

I'm writing this from our Queenstown hostel and cannot wait to share all the adventures that this next week has in store.

I hope you all enjoyed the blog!

Grant Touchette

Aerospace Engineering

University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia

#umichenginabroad #ipeunsw #australia #GrantTouchette #IPEWinter24

[ofharrie]

I live in the US, but I got curious about Australian craft stores and came up kinda empty, mostly because I’m unfamiliar with the geography (there are some stores in major cities like Sydney, but I don’t know if you’re close or far from there). I checked Lion Brand’s website and they ship to Australia, but that can get kinda pricey if you order a lot of yarn. I’d say your best bet is to google yarn friendly stores in your nearest major city and see if you can visit or if they ship locally

yeah ive been looking on spotlight (which i guess is the equivalent of hobby lobby over there?) i wanted the super saver yarn bc that’s what they used in the tiktok but it’s ~$11 here so im like 😬😬😬😬

idk i might go on knitting groups on fb and see what people say. thank you for the help tho!

#old ladies on fb have helped me heaps tbh #my sewing has improved so much since i joined sewing groups on fb lol #so hopefully the same will happen with my knitting

[david-watts]

another tag from @salty-mccoy - thanks again!!

answer 21 questions and tag people you’d like to get to know

nickname: redboots is like. my official nickname. other ones are just variants on my name like geo or keith. even geography has been used I’ve seen 

sign: libra sun aries moon 

what I’m wearing: school uniform but like. mentally I’m wearing a black velvet jacket 

dream job: like. dream dream job is an astrophysicist and I know for a fact that isn’t happening because since I decided I wanted to be one I’ve gotten very unsmart. second dream job is a musician or something 

favourite quotes: ‘we piss anywhere, man’ (in my defense this is really fucken funny) ‘we tried to be rebellious’ (harry vanda), literally anything from doctor who 

favourite food: sushi, mainly because it’s one of the few foods I can eat and not feel sick immediately after. also like. chips  

favourite movie: don’t ask me this!! I spend my time watching the same television shows over and over again!! but the titfield thunderbolt and a hard days night, I guess

favourite sport: I play hockey. don’t particularly care about it though 

dream trip: the sixties europe and the uk... also japan 

languages: english, the remnants of japanese I learnt in high school, I can understand some german but don’t ask me to say anything I can just about grasp what I overhear from people I know who actually speak it, also three phrases in french (one of which is rude) and I really want to learn dutch but can I keep up with that now? not likely 

favourite song: hhhHHH NEVER ASK ME THIS!!! I don’t have a favourite favourite song!!! top five are down among the dead men by flash and the pan, turn! turn! turn! by the byrds, rock n roll fantasy by the kinks, mr soul by buffalo springfield and jumpin jack flash by the rolling stones. bonus mentions to shangri-la by the kinks the beginning of that song always makes me feel things, to st louis by the easybeats, and to route 66 by the pretty things live in 1973. that one’s a complete rocker 

favourite book: hitchhiker’s trilogy of five by douglas adams, the invasion of the moon 1969, and laura jackson’s biography of brian jones. they’re the only things I’ve actually read recently because reading is too hard for me nowadays 

what do I hate: are we talkin deep hatreds with moral issues because I can go very deep and this would literally turn from an ask game to a therapy session (but my tumblr’s like that anyway) but really I hate Bad Textures™ which my fellow autistics would understand. on the deeper side of things I hate bigots. though that should go without saying at this point 

random fact: the first one I thought of is like. unconfirmed. I can’t go around claiming that for it to turn out untrue. second fact is I didn’t know how to cross my eyes until I was thirteen 

describe yourself as aesthetic things: old hardcover books, vinyl records, black-and-white psychedelic artwork, art nouveau, space age graphic design and smoke 

do I get asks: used to, now I don’t wouldn’t mind a few 

other blogs: this’ll be ones I actually use and want to advertise as existing - @redbootsthetimetraveller which is my art blog. please follow and reblog my stuff it’d be very appreciated. self art plug over I also have @some-other-number which is Hell™

hogwarts house: ravenclaw!! got sorted in sydney, 2012. also saw harry vanda’s guitar and picasso’s artworks that day and I think that’s the excitement I felt in order from most to least over those things 

patronus: weasel. does this mean I’m a weasley now 

favourite characters: ford prefect, the doctor, jamie mccrimmon, bill potts, and anyone else I’ve either had a questionable attraction to or has attracted my attention 

any updates on a new fic: been trying to work on the rolling stones/doctor who crossover but I have schoolwork to do. also let me know if you would want to read a crossover between hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy and doctor who because I have four thousand words of that. I want to know if I should continue it. so I like crossovers now huh. weird turn 

tagging: @nezclaw @dandylion1966 @piecesofmybackpages @raedioh @l0w-budget and @gimmeeshelter (and of course you don’t have to if you don’t want to) 

#I am so sorry to everyone who has to read my ramblings... damn #also I'm posting this like... two days after I actually did this #spacing things out y'know

[fourthingsandawizard]

Dan and Phil Rize Summary, Sept. 12/13, 2018

(Note: I spent the first half of my lunch break at work simultaneously watching this and trying to eat fried rice, so if this summary isn't as great as normal... Sorry? Haha)

-They were arguing over what to put in the notification, and Phil accidentally typed "Dan and Phil are in Man" instead of Manila

-Someone in the chat asked "What's up?" Dan answered, "Not Phil! He's barely awake!"

-It was midnight in Manila, so two hours behind where they were in Australia

-Phil: "We've just been on a plane, that was fun!" Dan: "No, we swam from Sydney to Manila."

-Dan: "Phil almost immediately got deported." Apparently when Phil went through security, the lady asked questions like what the addresses were for the hotel he was staying in and the address for the theater he was performing at were, and the most Phil could remember was that they were in Manila, somewhere in the city. Dan said that he thought Phil just looked so confused that the security person just thought he couldn't possibly be lying.

-They got in an argument because Phil claimed that Dan pushed him in front in their security line even though Dan knew all the info and if he gone first, it wouldn't have been a problem

-Phil had noodles with what he called "mystery meat." Dan: "No one wants to know about your mystery meat."

-Chat: "How's the weather?" Phil: "The weather is typhoon."

-Their plane went on a crazy flight path to avoid the storm, but their pilot seemed super casual about it, even though they could still see lightning out the windows.

-Someone in the chat asked if Dan had written the mpreg yet. Dan: "Not yet."

-Lightning facts with Phil: if you're in a field and your hair stands up, you're probably about to get hit. He talked about their weird static experience at Google that one time

-Apparently there's a lot of honking in the traffic in Manila, even though the cars are sitting still, which is very different from home for them. Phil: "In the UK, you'll probably do about five big honks in your life."

-There's a Sims video coming soon, and according to Phil, it's "a doozy." He wouldn't let Dan reveal much more than that, but Dan said if we thought the last one was crazy, we have no idea

-They both helped edit the Bucket of Doom video, so you can watch and try to guess who did which part. Phil said he did the Hedwig part

-Phil apparently got a text from Kath that only said "Bodyguard" and really confused him, but she was talking about a new BBC show

-Geography lessons with Dan: Dan was very confused as to why it took 8 hours to get from Sydney to Manila when it only takes 6.5 to go from England to NYC across the whole Atlantic. Phil said it was because of the storm, the chat suggested Flat Earth and aliens

-Dan went a bit stir crazy on the plane and started immitating and then harmonizing with the noises the plane was making. Phil said it made his ears hurt, and he told Dan to stop because it was annoying the lady next to them because he knew if he said it was just annoying him, Dan would just do it louder

-The person at their rainforest airbnb left all the doors and windows open because they thought they would be there sooner, so the whole place was filled with bugs

-Phil, showing us his forehead: "I laid by the pool, and now I have freckies!" (No, that's not a typo, he actually said "freckies" instead of "freckles," this man is too cute, it should be illegal) Bonus: Phil said he went through "Phil-tosynthisis"

-The cable car the went on had a glass bottom that scared Phil a bit, and in true older brother fashion, Martyn likes to try to rock them

-They mentioned some of the dangerous plants their tour guide pointed out, and in true Phil fashion, he almost immediately touched one

-They spent a nice day at the beach eating ice cream, then saw on the news the next day that the same beach was closed due to a four meter crocodile

-They started Googling the most dangerous animals in the Philippines to see if they were safer there, to which Phil said, "You know what the answer to that is in all places? Humans."

-Phil wanted to have a microsleep during the liveshow, but Dan wouldn't let him because people had said they were skipping classes just to watch

-For Truth Bombs (What would Dan and Phil's super powers be?), they decided to try out the groupchat feature and bring three people in at once

-The first person was in a car on their way to karate, and D&P were worried because they thought they were driving the car while on Rize (spoiler, they weren't). Their answer wad that they would have the power to ruin sleep schedules

-The second person seemed overwhelmed and was calling for their mom to see they were in the livestream. They said they were blanking on a answer, so settled on their powers being the power to mind blank. Dan said that would be very helpful if, say, they had to save a burning orphanage and then just blanked and didn't help

-I tried really, really hard to understand the third person's answer, but the volume was going crazy with so many people talking at once. Something about crafting? Or weird situatuons? I'm really sorry, I tried to understand you!

-The person going to karate won because their answer was accurate AND they stayed in the groupchat waiting that whole time

-Phil: "I felt like we were in the Brady Bunch with all the squares!"

-Phil: "What season is it in Manila?" Dan: "I don't know. Wet?"

-They have a show tomorrow, then they're headed to Singapore

-The Rize giveaway is still happening, they'll tell us more in the next liveshow

-They're still "squirreling away" at the TBC dates, but they just can't say anything about it right now

-Phil was annoyed because the airport put his Manila stamp right overtop of his America stamp

-Apparently the pictures on their Indian visas will be...interesting? (Dan said something about an edgy filter?)

-They're excited to sample all the food that Manila fans have been suggesting, and Phil said something about a bee-themed fast food place?

-They aren't sure when they'll have good internet for another show next week, so they'll keep us updated

#dan and phil #dan and phil rize #dan and phil liveshow #amazingphil #danielhowell #phil lester #dan howell #danisnotonfire #dip and pip #phandom #interactive introverts #dan and phil ii

[woollenpharaohs]

15 Questions

Rules: 15 questions, 15 followers    

tagged by @okimi79 thank youuu 

1. Are you named after anyone?

I’m named after my mum’s cousin who lives on an island off scotland. (i hope to visit her one day!)

2. When was the last time you cried?

uhhh yesterday when methyl ethel released a new single.... a lot happened yesterday ok 

3. Do you have kids?

nah

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

not really. i lean towards more honest self-depreciating jokes than sarcasm and i don’t know how to change that

5. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

idk their clothes i guess, the way they hold themselves

6. What’s your eye colour?

i have heterochromia as well! one brown eye one hazel eye, not very noticeable unless you look close or it’s a sunny day. 

7. Scary movie or happy ending?

this is a weirdly phrased question haha i don’t really mind what happens at the end as long as its executed well and doesn’t retcon what you’ve just sat there watching for 2 hours

8. Any special talents?

none that i can think of

9. Where were you born?

sydney

10. What are your hobbies?

writing, taking/editing photos, finding/listening to new music 

11. Have you any pets?

i have one cat, aptly called Kitty (real name Kiki but... she gets called kitty). My housemate has a dog, Reggie, who is actually super cute and lovely, a very gentle natured dog. And we’re currently looking after her sister’s dog, Otis, who sucks (sucks!). i realised that i don’t hate dogs, i just hate Otis. 

12. What sports do you play/have you played?

no

13. How tall are you?

178cm or 5′8

14. Favourite subject in school?

english and geography

15. Dream job?

ye getting paid for writing whether i produce anything or not would be the ideal but currently i’m going for a city planner career hopefully in some nice little coastal town where i’ll get to do lots of community engagement and sustainability work. that’s the current realistic dream 

i don’t even know 15 people so tagging @pringlesaremydivision, @tiinkers-tales, @deesinthehouse, @casassin​, @metalbutter​, @psychedelic-iridescent​ and sorry if i haven’t spoken to you guys in a while?? no pressure to do this btw

#long post #about me #tag meme

[jomatto]

Daily Reflections: 1/15

First Thing in the Morning?

I dreamed I was being chased by monsters in some Dark Souls-esque dungeon. It wasn't until I found a safe room that I was able to wake up comfortably. I think my subconscious is telling me that I'm trying to do too much. I laid out my travel budget for the year last night and saw that I'd be stretching myself too thin.

I might just have to skip the Pacific Northwest tour not because of lack of money, but lack of planning. The cheapest time to visit would be March and I can't plan two trips between March and May in such close proximity. I can always go in the fall but for now, I'll put the plan on hold.

My friend is planning a Sydney-New Zealand trip for the end of the year so that will be my big overseas extravaganza for 2018. This and Maui should be good enough. I can only go to so many places in one year.

How's Your Travel Plans?

I did some research about scenic routes in Maui because I plan on renting a car and driving around. That's when I came across Kahekili Highway, the most dangerous road on the island. I looked into the more hazardous parts of map and almost became convinced that this trip may not be the best idea because the place was sounding more like a certified deathtrap.

I've been watching videos to try and get a grasp of the geography. The initial stages of planning are always the most overwhelming because you don't know where anything is, how to get there, or what you need. Thanks to my research, I've gotten a much better idea today compared to yesterday.

While many go to Hawaii for the resort experience, I'm planning to do a lot of hiking since I'm more interested in taking in the natural scenery. I want to be lost in those beautiful tropical landscapes. I guess Iceland really hit me hard; it might have lit a love of nature in me.

How's Your Car?

Every time I look at my car, I get mad. Thanks to my inconsiderate neighbors, their fireworks from last 4th of July fucked up the paint. It's just been getting worse. Fixing it is gonna cost at least a grand. If they bust out the illegal fireworks again, I'm calling the cops on their ass and I won't even give them the courtesy of a warning.

The only way I can recoup this nonsense is by meeting the spending goal for another credit card. I figure if a 100k AMEX offer doesn't pop up by June, I'm applying and getting that 60k. Maybe if my Crypto portfolio picks up, I won't be nearly as mad.

How'd You End the Day?

I can’t swim. And if I'm going to Hawaii of all places, I should probably learn. Unfortunately, public pool lessons aren't open until summer and my trip is well before that, which means the best route is to call for a private instructor. I was never a fan of being in a big class anyways.

I suppose if there's a skill that I should pick up for this year, it'll be swimming. My friend tried to teach me on my trip to Thailand last year and either I suck or he's a shitty teacher -- a little of column A, but mostly column B.

I started reading articles and watching videos about how to swim and there are basic things that he totally glossed over -- probably because he assumed I would know the basics but I guess he didn't realize that that was the first time I had ever jumped into a fucking pool.

Thinking back, it was a really frustrating experience. I just want to be good enough to go snorkeling. Private lessons are expensive but I guess it's a small price to pay for a skill that I can use anywhere for the rest of my life.

#daily reflections #travel

[black-and-blue-facedown]

Life Update

Since I haven’t been active for 2 damn years, gonna make a post as to what i’ve been doing for those who care

For starters, my name is Lindsay and i’m 18 turning 19 pretty soon. I live in Sydney, Australia and I moved to NSW in November 2018 at the end of my VCE exams. I adore music, concerts, festivals and anything of that nature. Nothing makes me feel more alive.  I’m starting second year university in just under 2 weeks, studying international relations and criminology. Never thought i’d be smart enough to go to uni but here we are i guess. Glad to see that my efforts did pay off. I think i like what i’m doing, but who knows. I stress about what to have for breakfast in the morning so how am i meant to know at 18, nearly 19, what career option will be the best for me. Can’t wait for the debt for a degree i may not even use. I do lie though, the content i am studying is very enjoyable for me. It’s very interesting and it’s concepts keep my mind ticking over theories of politics and crime. You gain a better understanding of the world around you, but you also begin to think how the fuck does it continue to function. It’s made me more pessimistic than I thought i’d ever be. I don’t know whether i will still continue with this career path as all i ever wanna do is help people, hence why i want to pursue something within human rights, but at what cost to my mental health? I am doing well at uni however, despite my complaining, and i managed to finish my first year with a distinction average! how cool is that!! I’ll keep working to push that higher don’t you worry, but i’m just proud of myself as despite all the shit that happened to me in first year at least i could see that my dedication paid off and i do want to see where this road will take me.

Despite having moved over a year ago, i still struggle with its effects daily. Like the death cab for cutie song ‘gold rush’, “i placed faith in geography” to define who i was. Even though it’s not my parents’ fault for moving per-say, i was virtually ripped from my home. All my bestest friends were gone, i was, and i guess still am, in a place that didn’t feel warm and inviting (not like Melbourne was ever a sweltering place). I guess all in all i still feel lost here. Sydney is weird, for starters your roads make no goddamn sense. But the bigger issue is i’m just feel lonely all the fucking time. I’m seeking help, planning to join sporting clubs but i still believe that the new friends i have made don’t see me as a true friend. How do i compete with people who have known others for years or even decades? I don’t have the comfort of old friends anymore, and i’m still so envious of the people who have that safety net. And yet the weirdest part is that i don’t know whether i even want to continue going back to Melbourne as i’m just reminded of what could have been and what i miss, and it sends me spiralling. I do love my new friends however, they are proof that life has wonderful things to offer if you just keep trying. I just overthink my position in their life you know? And i also hate having to come home, not because it’s a bad place for me, but because it means the end of social interactions for the day as i know no one really close by. It fucking sucks as texting someone only does so much for me. I love talking face to face, hearing someone laugh and getting to hug someone. The physicality of a relationship i suppose, and i guess it’s why i’m so extroverted.

My mental health in general has been whack this part year and even over the last few months. I do always get like this during long breaks as i like to learn things, do things, be with people. It makes me feel like i’m doing something with my life and that i have some kind of purpose. Cheesy as all hell i know but i can’t help it, blame The Ultracheese by the arctic monkeys for making me this way (best song off TBHC fight me). Life’s favourite hobby is kicking me in the teeth i think, i’m not gonna let it win but man do i wish that it’d find something else to do. Just because i’m the designated “mum friend” or the “neurotypical one” doesn’t mean i don’t hurt. I do need to start being more open about my mental health to people, but i always get the fear that i talk too much (great COIN song btw). When you do get put into the box of being the emotional support buddy, you begin to undervalue your own wellbeing and i reinforce that opinion myself. I have a great family, i go to a good uni, and i can’t deny my privilege either as i’m upper middle class so what do i have to complain about. A lot of my friends have been through way worse shit than me. And i know that it’s very unhealthy to think this, and i’m actively trying to unlearn this behaviour. It’s why i’m trying to find a therapist and trying to open up to my new friends more, but years of maladaptive behaviour will take just as long to unlearn. Overall i think i’m happy, i’ve just been in a few rough patches recently.

Some more happier things. I’ve gotten tattooed finally!! I’m turning my body into a work of art, albeit slowly because they are expensive as all hell, and i couldn’t be happier with the ones I have. I’ve also been going to more concerts recently and nothing makes me feel more alive. Being in a venue just closes off all the shit that goes on in my external life and i forget about all my worried. Even though it’s only for 1-2 hours, they are the best hours of my life. I also went to my first festival about a week ago and it was both awful and amazing at the same time. Wish i could have enough money to go to some British festivals, they seem like the shit.

So that’s a little peak into my life atm, and if you’ve read this far just know i am okay even though the above paragraphs seem very drab. i just have somethings i need to work on in my mental health and i’ll get there and I have to. People care about me, and i’ve made pacts with friends to keep going. I am okay, and if i’m not right now i will be soon.

#personal

[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY’S LUCKY DAY

S4;E15 ~ December 20, 1971

Directed by Coby Ruskin ~ Written by Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs

Synopsis

To capitalize on what seems to be a lucky streak, Lucy goes on a TV game show and is challenged to teach an untrained chimpanzee to do a trick in order to win a thousand dollars.  

Regular Cast

Lucille Ball (Lucy Carter), Gale Gordon (Harrison Otis Carter), Lucie Arnaz (Kim Carter)

Guest Cast

Dick Patterson (Dick Dunkirk) made his Broadway debut in David Merrick’s Vintage ‘60, and appeared in The Billy Barnes People, the national touring company of Bye Bye Birdie, and opposite Carol Burnett in Fade Out, Fade In. His last musical was Smile, a spoof of beauty pageants. He was seen in “Lucy Helps Danny Thomas” (TLS S4;E7). This is the second of his four appearances on “Here’s Lucy.”  

Dick Dunkirk is the host of “Milky Way to Riches” sponsored by the Dover Dairy.

Billy Sands (Mr. Larson, the Milkman) began his professional acting career in 1946 when he appeared on Broadway with Spencer Tracy in Robert Sherwood's Rugged Path, but he eventually became a television character actor who appeared regularly as Dino Papparelli on “The Phil Silvers Show” and as  'Tinker' Bell on “McHale's Navy.” This is the first of his three appearances on “Here's Lucy.”

Sid Gould (Stage Hand, uncredited) made more than 45 appearances on “The Lucy Show,” and nearly as many on “Here’s Lucy.” Gould (born Sydney Greenfader) was Lucille Ball’s cousin by marriage to Gary Morton. 

Jackie the Chimpanzee is the seventh chimpanzee to work with Lucille Ball on television.

Uncredited studio audience members at “The Milky Way to Riches”:

Shirley Anthony makes the second of her 13 episodes of “Here’s Lucy.” 

Sig Frohlich makes the second of his uncredited background appearances on the series.

Robert Hitchcock was seen in “Lucy and Phil Harris” (TLS S6;E20) at the piano bar. This is the third of his four episodes of “Here’s Lucy.”

Paul King makes the fifth and final background appearance on the series.  

The other studio audience members are played by uncredited background performers.

In his DVD introduction to the episode, choreographer Jim Bates recalls that the chimpanzee only knew one trick – to cross its legs – so the entire routine was built around that.  He also recalls that when Gale Gordon took off the gorilla head in the presence of the baby chimp, the chimp went into hysterics and had to be taken off set to calm down.  

Lucy has an overdue book at the library - Gone With The Wind – which she took out when it was first published. The novel by Margaret Mitchell dates from 1936, which means Lucy has had the book for 35 years!  The film adaptation of the book was a part of “Lucy and Flip Go Legit” (S4;E1) and “Lucy and Carol Burnett aka The Hollywood Unemployment Follies” (S3;E22).

When Mr. Larson the milkman rushes in with good news, Lucy teases him by guessing that Elsie the Cow had triplets. Elsie was the cartoon cow mascot of the Bordon Dairy Company from 1936 until it went out of business in the mid-1990s. Elsie was one of the most recognizable advertising symbols in the country. Larson tells Lucy that she has won Dover Dairy's customer of the year and will receive a free pint of raspberry apricot yogurt every week for a year.

Kim jokingly predicts that the person at the door is Howard Hughes with a basket full of money.  Hughes (1905-76) was one of the most financially successful people in the world.  On “Here's Lucy,” whenever a joke was about great wealth, the punchline either featured Howard Hughes or Fort Knox.

On “The Milky Way To Riches” Lucy must answer three geography questions to qualify to earn a chance to win $1,000:  

DICK: Where is the lowest point in the world below sea level? LUCY: Oh, boy.  I'm dead, see --- ~Answer: The Dead Sea DICK: The Dead Sea is part of the border between Jordan and what other country? LUCY: Oh, boy.  That question is real tough – ~ Answer: Israel DICK: It's an autonomous region of China, bordered by China on the north and east, by India on the south and Cashmere on the West. Name this Chinese autonomous region. LUCY: And I wanted to bet I'd win. ~Answer: Tibet

After answering three questions, Lucy has to pick between three doors, just like on the TV game show “Let's Make a Deal.”  Lucy picks door #2, which is the gag prize, an untrained chimpanzee named Jackie. 

When Jackie the chimp spins and Harry in a gorilla costume spin in circles to the music on Kim's transistor radio, Lucy dubs them Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The latter was the guest star on “Ginger Rogers Comes to Tea” (S4;E11).  

Back on “The Milky Way to Riches” program Kim, Harry, and Lucy (and Jackie) sing and dance to “While Strolling Through the Park One Day” which is actually titled “The Fountain in the Park” and was written by Ed Haley around 1880. In “Lucy's Show-Biz Swan Song” (ILL S2;E12) a pregnant Lucy Ricardo grabs a parasol and does an impromptu chorus of the song to impress Ricky.

The trio (with Jackie) sings “Tell Me, Pretty Maiden” written in 1899 by Paul Rubens, Ernest Boyd Jones, and Leslie Stuart for the musical Floradora.

Finally, the foursome sing (and play on the bells) “Daisy Bell / Bicycle Built for Two” written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre.

At the beginning of the episode, Kim reads Lucy her horoscope, but Lucy scoffs at the idea of astrology. In “The Seance” (ILL S1;E7), it is Lucy Ricardo who is a believer and Ricky is dubious.  

In “Lucy Gets Ricky on the Radio” (ILL S1;E32), the Ricardos must answer questions on “Mr. and Mrs. Quiz” hosted by Freddy Fillmore. On that 1952 episode, Ricky stumbles into the right answers quite accidentally, just as Lucy Carter does here.  

Lucille Ball got lots of practice walking on stilts in two episode of “The Lucy Show”: “Lucy and Her Electric Mattress” (TLS S2;E12) and “Lucy Bags a Bargain” (TLS S4;E17).  

Lucille Ball showed her proficiency on roller skates in “The Million Dollar Idea” (ILL S3;E13), “Lucy and the Good Skate” (TLS S3;E1), and in the motion picture Mame (1974).   

Lucille Ball worked with chimpanzees in “Lucy the Babysitter” (TLS S5;E16) which featured Lucy Carmichael and three baby chimps. In “Lucy the Helpful Mother” (S2;E15), the Carter living room is turned into a pet shop that also features a chimpanzee (named Irving). In “Lucy in the Jungle” (S4;E13) Lucy Carter dealt with a pair of baby chimps named Fido and Rover.  

At the end of “The Milky Way to Riches” “Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)” turns into a solo for bell ringers. The Ricardos and the Mertzes were western bell ringers in “Lucy Goes to the Rodeo” (ILL S5;E2) clanging out the tune of “Down by the Old Mill Stream.”

Lucy Ricardo's milkman also brought her some 'news' with her milk order in “The Gossip” (ILL S1;E24).

Overdue with the Wind!  Lucy's library is still sending reminder cards for books overdue for 35 years!  Surely the cover price would have been paid many times over by the fines accrued!  To be precise, in 1936 Lucy probably would have still been living in New York. In a season one episode she stated that the family had moved from the East Coast. This implies that she had married and had children, making the move less than 20 years ago.

“Lucy’s Lucky Day” rates 4 Paper Hearts out of 5

This episode has a lot of callbacks to previous “Lucy” shows. In the end, however, it is another episode of Lucy working with live animals, especially chimps, which was just done two weeks earlier! It’s also typical that the final scene turns into a musical number - something Lucille Ball loved to do.  

#Here's Lucy #Lucy's Lucky Day #Lucille Ball #Lucie Arnaz #Gale Gordon #chimpanzee #Dick Patterson #Billy Sands #Sid Gould #Shirley Anthony #Sig Frohlich #Paul King #Robert Hitchcock #Jim Bates #Quiz Show #Milkman #Gone With the Wind #Elsie the Cow #Howard Hughes #Ginger Rogers #Fountain in the Park #Strolling Through the Park #Bicycle Built for Two #Tell Me Pretty Maiden #Floradora #Daisy Bell #Astrology #CBS #TV #1971

[netstripes]

Facebook Budgeting 101

As a small business owner, finances are something you’re bound to be very stringent about. You are willing to spend money only if it’s worth it and has an ROI on your business. While Facebook is a good social media platform for business especially for brand awareness and to bring in new leads, getting Facebook budgeting right can be tricky.

You listened to your friends and various marketing gurus and invested in Facebook advertising but it is yet to show any tangible results. You’ve just ended up spending more time and money thinking it would generate better results. Now you’re frustrated and you’re asking everyone how much you should spend on Facebook advertising before you pull the plug.

While Facebook might be a popular medium for opinions, it’s a platform solely based on algorithms that are essentially math. Mathematics and artificial intelligence have no consideration for opinions. So what works for your friends might not necessarily work for you because your business and customer base is different.

Before getting down to calculating how much you should spend on Facebook advertising, ask yourself these questions.

Is my ideal customer on Facebook?

What is the lifetime value of the customer I hope to acquire from Facebook?

How much am I willing to spend to acquire a new customer?

Let’s go through these questions to help you gain clarity on where your business stands at each of these points.

Is My Ideal Customer On Facebook? Are you on Facebook for the sake of being on a social media platform or are you 100% sure that this is where your ideal customer spends their free time? While an online presence is very important for a brand, you must distinguish the differences between the two. If you know that this is where your customers are then coming up with a strategy and budget will help your business. But if it isn’t, you need to find out which channel your customer uses and focus your attention on that. There is no point in investing your effort and money on a platform that doesn’t reach your customers.

How much should I spend on Facebook? It is a frequently asked question by many but the answer depends on several factors including the nature of your business and customer base.

Essentially, there are two types of Facebook advertising: boosting a post that you’ve shared on your timeline and creating an ad specifically targeting your audience. Boosting a post gives you the option to select a budget, duration and audience according to the demography and location. However, a Facebook ad goes into more specific details where you can define the objective of your ad whether it’s to generate traffic or a lead to ensure that your money is spent on the goals you want to achieve for your business.

In short, you could spend $1 per day by boosting a post, because that’s the minimum Facebook would let you spend. If you do that for seven days and look at the data of its performance, you will know in just seven days for a small investment if your post is working for your audience or not. But if you’re looking to create Facebook ads then you need to know some key metrics to make sure you get the results you want.

Metrics You Need To Know Before Advertising On Facebook

The Lifetime Value Of A Customer (LTV) This number is basically how much a customer would spend on your business during his entire lifetime with you. E.g. – if you are a Yoga teacher, your client may come to you three times a week and pay you $10 per class – that would sum up to $30 per week and over a year it would $1500 if the client comes for 50 weeks. Now, most good yoga teachers tell us that they retain their clients for up to 10 years. Even if you retain the ideal client for 3 years the LTV is $4500.

Knowing this figure is extremely crucial for your business as it determines the profitability of the future relationship with a customer which will help you make better decisions for the growth of your business.

Often business owners don’t know the value of their LTV and hence make the mistake of not spending enough to acquire clients. The issue here is often we don’t achieve the potential of our business. For example, if the yoga teacher worked on the basis I only earn $10 per session then I don’t have much money to spend acquiring the customer. The LTV also gives you an insight into what your customers’ friends and family can bring into your business if you get your marketing and advertising right.

How To Calculate LTV? There are many versions of calculating LTV, however, because we want to focus on the ideal customer, here is the simplest way

Follow This Step By Step Guide.

A. What’s the value of a transaction of your ideal customer

B. How many purchases would the customer make during a year.

C. What is the average lifespan of your ideal customer

LTV = A x B x C

Finally,

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) Once you determine your LTV, you need to find out the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). This number will indicate how much you should spend on advertising, in this case on Facebook.

The simplest formula for this is,

CAC = MC / CA

MC = Marketing costs          CA = Customers acquired

MC and CA need to be calculated from the same time. To determine a more accurate number, consider all marketing costs, including salaries and expenses on events.

Now that you’ve learned the Lifetime Value of a Customer as well as the Customer Acquisition Cost, let’s find out how you can use these numbers to figure out your Facebook budget.

E.g. – If you receive five leads and one is converted to a customer, your conversion rate stands at 20 percent. Let’s assume that your Customer Acquisition Cost is $30 and that a Customer’s Lifetime Value is $1000.

If your monthly goal is to convert 5 new customers, you would need a total of 25 leads. So consider these numbers and calculate your Facebook Budget for a month.

Customer Acquisition Cost ($30) X number of leads for a month (25) = Facebook budget ($750)

If you invest $750 a month, you may get 5 new customers with a lifetime value of $1000 each, totaling to $5000.

If you think this number might be too steep for you especially if you haven’t had any leads in the past, start with a lower budget and then scale up depending on how well the campaign performs. Now that you have a clear idea of some of the key metrics of your business, you will be able to make budget adjustments backed by data instead of random guesses and gut feeling.

Important factors to consider

If your Facebook adverts send the buyer to a website – it’s important that the website has a good track record of converting these visitors to leads and sales. Driving traffic from advertising to a website that is not converting this traffic to leads defeats the purpose. Hence it is important to test and ensure the website is converting the traffic before you start spending. As the ability for your website to convert the traffic increases your advertising budget gets even more optimised and will save you more money.

The conversion of your Facebook advert is also about the quality of the advertisement and its relevance to your ideal customer. Hence spending time to get your advertising strategy right, and then testing iterating will derive the best results.

Calculating these numbers is easy but you need to give it time to generate the results you want. There isn’t one formula that will work for all businesses, so take time to test, review and fine-tune your Facebook campaign and budgets frequently till you get the results you want to see. If you’re looking for tips on Facebook strategy, check our online learning sessions with Digital Marketing Expert, Dinesh De Silva.

Disclaimer: The numbers provided are as examples for your guidance. Exact figures for each business differs based on multiple factors including industry, geography and competitive positioning. We recommend that you work with a Digital Marketing Agency in Sydney, who can provide you with guidance, calculating these important figures to your specific business.

#Facebook Budget 101 #Facebook Marketing #facebook advertising #Facebook Marketing Strategy #2019 #2020 #Digital Marketing Agency Sydney #Online Learning Session #Online Marketing #Facebook Strategy 2020

[lagroupie]

Interview: DZ Deathrays

DZ Deathrays outside Ebullition though my old Canon.

A few weeks ago, DZ Deathrays were playing in Bulle as part of their European tour. The band kindly accepted to have a little chat with me before their show at Ebullition. I remember as I walked closer and closer to the venue, you could hear the band soundcheck across the street because the door was left open. It was awesome.

A few hours before their incredible show, I met with Shane and Lachlan to talk about Positive Rising: Part 1 and what comes next, their lives in Australia and how they make it work, how they see the band after 10 years and more. They also try to explain to me the geography of their country, where distances are huge compared to small Switzerland. Join us!

What’s your life like in Brisbane?

Shane Parsons: Well, I’m pretty much always touring! I actually live in Sydney now. When we first started the band, Simon and I were working for the Queensland government, doing office work. Any money we made working, we spent touring on the weekend. We would go down to Melbourne and Sydney and do shows. That was for four years or so until the point where we couldn’t work jobs anymore because we were touring so much. And now we just try to not have jobs, so when we go home we just write albums. This is our day job now, but it’s tough because there’s not much money in music. You’ve got to balance things as good as you can.

When I get home I just treat writing like a day job: shower, breakfast and then writing from 9 to 6 or so. Then I finish, have an evening with my partner and stuff. I find it quite a good way to work.

DZ Deathrays playing at Ebullition, through my old Canon.

Wait- where do you guys live now?

Shane: I live in Sydney, Lachlan lives in Melbourne…

Lachlan Ewbank: Simon still lives in Brisbane!

Shane: In a lot of bands in Australia everyone lives in different cities. You fly everywhere all the time.

Lachlan: It takes 10 hours to drive from where I live to Shane.

Shane: And then 12 hours from me to Simon.

Wow! Do you have to cross the desert?

Lachlan: Well, it’s a very boring drive!

Shane: If you were to go east to west, you would be crossing a desert. But up and down the coastline it’s still just really far.

Lachlan: So a 12-hour drive or a 1 hour and a half flight!

I guess it makes rehearsing complicated! Perhaps through webcam or something. (laughs)

Shane: If only the internet in Australia was good enough to do that! For this tour, we all just flew in to Brisbane and rehearsed here three days. Then we got everything ready for the tour, got on a plane and everyone left from Brisbane together. That’s how we do it! It’s a bit more expensive, but people’s lives end up changing, they end up going to different cities and all that stuff. At the start, we thought it was gonna be really hard to live in different cities, but it’s actually fine.

Lachlan: I feel like you can get more done, because you do so much writing on your own and you can sit with an idea longer, as opposed to sitting in a room and just jamming- you might not come with an idea, whereas at home you’re like “I’m gonna send this when it’s good enough to send it to someone”.

Shane: The other thing is, so many people do collaborative writing. You’ll notice that in Australia there’s so many artists who live half the year in Los Angeles, and just write and record over there. And then they come back and do shows in Australia, and then maybe do some shows in L.A. They actually tour more in Australia, but they live in L.A. because they can do so much writing over there with different people. That’s just how fast the world moves now, and how easy it is to travel.

Let’s talk about Positive Rising: Part 1. Firstly, does that mean we can expect a part two?

Shane: Yes, it’s done!

Lachlan: We finished recording Part 2 the day before Part 1 came out! It was a weird little feeling. We were celebrating two themes, it’s great!

Also, I wanted to know if the cover was real or photoshopped? Is it the real Australian desert? (ndlr: they laugh)

Lachlan: It’s photoshopped! But there is a real place that looks like that, but we didn’t take the photos here. That’s a photo of a place that is in Australia. Hopefully we can do something using that scenery for a video clip or something.

That desert looks very exotic for us Swiss people!

Lachlan: I know! We were in the mountains before, it’s so green and nice here!

I also wanted to talk about the first song or intro, Hi Everyone. I thought it sounded a bit different from the rest of the songs- what were you guys thinking while you were writing it?

Lachlan: That was the last one we finished in the studio.

Shane: There’s lots of different versions of it. Essentially, I just wanted to write a song that didn’t have a chorus- that just built up, built up, built up. The “Hi everyone” is the first thing I remember writing. And once that sentence was down, I thought “I want a song that’s introducing to everyone”! Like a grand opening to the show.

Lachlan: I find it also helps set up what to expect in the album. Lots of parts, different songs that you’ll hear in that one song.

Shane: And then it’s pretty punk towards the end.

I wanted to talk about one of my favorite songs from the album as well, A lot to lose. What’s the story behind it?

Shane: That’s one of the heaviest songs on the record. I think I had the riff ages ago, and it was a hardcore style thing. But then the lyrics are all about sleep anxiety, if that’s the right word. It’s like when you can’t sleep and end up thinking about not being able to sleep, and that sort of stuff. It’s funny, so many people that I told that to were like “Man, I know exactly that thing!”. It’s easy to have those thoughts, especially when I am writing and stuff, I end up thinking about things so often. You constantly go through things in your head. I am working out my brain a lot, but my body not so much because I am sitting at a computer all day working. And then I go to bed, and the cycle starts again! But yeah, that’s the story behind that song! I can’t even remember writing it, it was so long ago!

You guys have been making music for more than 10 years now. If you could meet the young DZ Deathrays who are just starting, what would you tell them?

Shane: Hmm… I don’t know! I probably would have told myself to learn a bit more about recording (laughs)! When we first started, recording was such a hassle. Now that’s all I do! I just wanted to play shows, so we spent the first few years just playing gigs, and whatever we put out was like a demo. I care a lot more about recording now. When you’re putting more effort with the songs, people react to it a little bit more as well. I can’t go back and change the past, it’s been a really good 10 years. It’s been hard work, but I think Simon always said “we’ll see where we’re at in 10 years, and if we’re done with it, let’s leave it. But if we’re not done and we’ve got ideas still, then let’s keep going.” Last year we’ve done a 10-year tour in Australia, and we had written up all these songs for this next album. Lachlan has been writing as well, and it just sparked everything. We thought “let’s keep going, do a couple more albums”. We’ll see what we do next after these ones!

What can we expect from DZ Deathrays in the future?

Lachlan: The part 2! A lot more guitar on that one!

Shane: We just want to keep touring. We’ve been touring for so long, I really love it. And I love days like today, why am I here? (laughs) I would have never come to this town! But it is amazing, and it’s cool that the band brought us here for a show and then we got to climb a mountain, the Moléson! Hopefully there’s more stuff in the States and South America too!

#DZ Deathrays #ebullition #DZDEATHRAYS