So as of yesterday, I am an official 20 year old. No longer a teenager, not yet an adult (if you consider 21 being an 'adult'). It's a weird feeling. For some reason I have been looking forward to becoming 20 because it makes me feel like I am a repsonsible person. Does it? I don't know. It has given me inspiration to become more of a person though. And what I mean with that is, I feel as though I have been a zombie the last few months. I'm half-hearted with my education, half-hearted with my art, easily annoyed, no goals I am passionate to strive for, and I don't know, I just want to shut myself out from the world from time to time. I guess everyone experiences this sort of feeling at some stage of their life. Yesterday I went to buy some Proust and Tolstoy books to read. Reading gives me the feeling of "something worthwhile to do" even though I have a stack of work to do right now!!

Anyways, haha, enough of my silly and depressing self - I'm not really that depressing, honest! I'm feeling really happy & energised today. Had a good sleep-in, posting this blog now and after this, I'm going to do some catching up for Fluid Dynamics!

On Saturday night I had a small party at Loop Bar in the city with some of my friends. Thanks everyone who went!! I had a great time and I really appreciate you all for being there for me. Unfortunately the place was just too packed and noisy to be able to hold much conversation...! :(. So below are a few photos from the night... Its rather sad because look drunk in all of them. I have more photos but I don't understand how to use this Blogger "Hello" program to send photos. It's sending them as individual posts!! I'll probably post more when I learn how to use the program properly! ;)

CLICK ON THE PICS TO SEE A BIGGER VERSION.

Sarah, Ed, Frances and Me

Eating Souvlaki at Stalactites at 1.30am.

Me and Mel - I don't know what's going on here, I swear.

Okay, I dunno.

Mmm.. Cake.

Me looking rather proud of the cake... :P

Jess & Mark (Downs)

Dennison & Me

Sarah and I in a very intense conversation.

Lauren & Kristen

Andrew & Sarah

Sarah, Me & Adri

The following is a draft of one of the many pieces from an upcoming book that my friend Mossy is putting together - it is called "Clippings", and is based on the philosophy of Jimmy Haig. Now as some of you know, I am a big fan of Jimmy Haig! I really love what I read in this piece and have decided to share it with you. If you find yourself starting to love Jimmy Haig too, please send an email to Moss at heathenrays77@aol.com and tell him that you do!! ;)

Drugs & Alcohol, by Jimmy Haig
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I love the idea of having a little box of tiny potions that would do different things. Each potion would be a different color and flavor, and each potion would do something different. A potion that would make bad food taste good. A potion that would help me remember my dreams. And another potion that would make me feel excited about math. And then I’d have this other potion that would make the other potions stop working when I took it. I hate being stoned or drunk when I don’t want to be! I want an automatic “off” switch! And if we design better drugs, maybe we can do that someday.

I guess that like most human beings, I want to push the limits of perception and experience. There’s a lot of territory to explore within the mind itself. Some people use drugs to help with these explorations. Some people read a book. Some people listen to a CD. Others meditate.

If you’re going to use drugs (that includes alcohol), don’t let them use you - use them. How do you avoid becoming addicted to drugs? I don’t know. Maybe some people just have addictive personalities like me. Even with my addictive personality, I’ve always been able to use drugs and alcohol in moderation and usually when I wanted to, not when I felt that I need to do so.

Not all drugs are bad. It depends on the drug, the person taking the drug, how much of the drug is taken, when the drug is taken, etc. You can’t just say “drugs are bad” or else you’re being very close-minded and just plain wrong.

Drugs save lives, drugs open minds, drugs ruin lives, drugs fry brains. Be smart when it comes to drugs. Find out which drugs, if any, are right for you. Picking out your drug of choice should require more thought than picking out a sweater or a new pair of shoes. Don’t be dumb and always do your research!

-- I don’t like drugs that fuck you up for good. I always wanna be able to “come back.” I’m obsessed with control.

-- Didn’t Jesus turn water into wine or some crazy shit like dat? Wow! The ultimate bartender!

-- I would never try to talk someone into doing drugs or alcohol (which is a potentially dangerous drug, of course). What you put in your body is very personal. But you’ll always find idiots like my cousin that want you to be intoxicated with them, because then they’re not the only idiot in the room. People always want to bring you down with them.

-- The War on Drugs is not going too well. People always want to get high and experience new realities or variations on the widely accepted reality that most people experience. I propose a War on Hate. But once again, people will still want to hate, just as much as they want to get fucked up. Wars on human instinct and basic desires are pointless. I think we should make safer drugs! Less side effects and less addictive. Instead, we just keep fighting with the drugs we have available to us. Make a better drug - let’s put that American spirit of ingenuity to use here! I mean, I just saw on the news today they have these new alcohol machines. You inhale the alcohol, and get drunker quicker, without the calories or whatever that you get from drinking the stuff!

-- I was so naive until I was about 17 or so. I knew that people did drugs, had sex, got incredibly drunk, and got really crazy - but I didn’t REALLY know. I was just taking other people’s word for it. But then I was on my way to see Bob Dylan with a friend. Somebody handed me a pipe, and I took a puff of marijuana. Nothing happened.

A few months later, I purchased some marijuana from a neighbor. I had no idea how to smoke it. So I called a friend and she helped me construct a bong out of a soda bottle, a straw, and tin foil. Well, this time, I got stoned. It was such an incredible high. Not one of those “woah, man. . . let’s order a pizza” highs, but a real “upper” - my heart was pounding a zillion beats per second, but I didn’t feel paranoid. I had left reality like this before when I had anxiety attacks, but never quite like this.

I’m glad that my first stoned experience didn’t involve peer pressure and it wasn’t bad at all. I decided to buy the marijuana and I decided to smoke it. I still don’t know why it’s illegal for me to smoke it, but it is. And every time I light some up, I feel a little paranoid and guilty. There are better things to be paranoid and guilty about. Holding a grudge, eating red meat, pointing out others’ failures - these are things to feel paranoid and guilty about!

-- What is a drug, anyway? As far as I understand, it’s anything that changes your body/mind chemistry. So I guess love is a drug. Ice cream is a drug. Chocolate ice cream, in fact, is my real weakness. Haagen-Dazs is my favorite dealer.

-- Have you ever gotten stoned or drunk with someone you never thought you’d get stoned with? It can be really fun AND funny!

-- Assholes drive drunk. Plain and simple.

-- The government doesn’t actually care about what we put in our bodies. Big Macs are not banned, right? And look at all of these obese kids on their way to a heart attack! Just don’t get them stoned, PLEASE! That’s a guaranteed Big Mac Attack of great proportions once they get the munchies! I wish I could get my hands on munchies-free pot.

-- Drug pushers are buttheads and I’m glad to see when they get locked up!

-- What is the REAL drug generation? All of those hippies that experimented with crazy drugs like LSD? Or their kids that have to suffer the consequences? People always say, “these kids are so fucked up today!” Well, you can’t deny that so many kids are a product of a generation that fucked their minds to infinity and beyond. I guess every generation wants to blame the previous one. But if momma was fucked out of her gourd and humping a tree at Woodstock , maybe she shouldn’t expect Little Johnny to concentrate all that well in geometry class. Think about it.

-- If you give drugs and/or alcohol to babies and/or animals, you are a meanie and you need to stop doing that!

-- I wonder if substances like alcohol and marijuana might help you to prepare for an alternate reality or afterlife. The idea of an afterlife scares me. I can’t imagine floating around all of the time only as spiritual being or something crazy like that. Maybe drugs can help you practice being in a whole new reality. Just a thought.

-- Ya know, it’s like NNMaddox said, “Don’t mix Christmas with cocaine.”

-- I once watched some girls do hardcore drugs. It was hot. I liked how dangerous they were getting! Part of me thinks danger is sexy, and part of me is a voyeur. So watching hot girls do hard drugs can be thrilling!

-- Everybody’s always talking about the perfect drug, but I really do think they all have their own merits. However, alcohol is probably my favorite. Nothing like a cold beer after a hard day. My mind is always going crazy, so I like the downers. Uppers can be too intense, so can hallucinogens. I just want to tune out sometimes.

-- I came from a very liberal household, and I never went crazy with drugs or alcohol! I’ve never tried anything but alcohol and pot, with the exception of the stuff I’ve been perscribed. I think parents should teach their kids that drugs CAN be bad - not that drugs are always bad and if you do them you’re BAD! You see, we usually have to touch that hot stove, just to see if it’s really hot, even if we’ve been told a million times. So don’t make things taboo and just be real with your kids when it comes to drugs and alcohol.

-- I think that drugs really can change you (for better or worse) if you tap into areas of your mind that you wouldn’t otherwise use as much. But only if you can remember what you learned about yourself the next morning. Lots of people don’t remember because they get too intoxicated. See, it’s all about moderation.

-- I don’t know what a natural high is. I guess most people agree that it’s a high obtained without the use of a substance. But substances are often natural and I don’t think it’s so strange to take them.

-- Drugs can fuck you up, and there are few things more pathetic than a drug-fucked rock star trying to relive his or her glory days. It’s not always better to “burn out than to fade away.” I appreciate rock stars that had the strength to get out of their drug haze and learn from it. As I said, use the drug, don’t let it use you. Life is full of stuff, and drugs can help you enjoy that stuff - but drugs aren’t the only “stuff.” If you love drugs too much, you’re selling yourself short. And if you’re lazy - watch out - drugs are a very easy source of gratification! Drugs can be all right, but make time to visit your nearest amusement parks and experience fine dining.

-- People that are addicted to hard drugs are not always bad people. In a world full of rape, war, sexual abuse, and shitty stuff like that, we all want to escape. Punishing drug addicts is a crime in itself. I always think drug addiction is a much better escape than suicide, murder, rape, or anything sick like that. In a world that sees therapy and psychiatric drugs a weakness, no wonder people try to find solace in a line of white stuff or at the bottom of the bottle. I used to drink a small amount of wine before school to take the edge off. I was young, my parents couldn’t afford to get me help, and I didn’t even know what was going on with me. I sought alcohol as a form of medication. But now I’m OK. I wasn’t a bad person, I was just trying to help myself as best as I could.

In a world where “I love you” is such a strange thing to say, people are going to try to fill that awkward emptiness the best they can. We’re not all given the divinity, the strength, or the circumstance to deal with things without drugs and alcohol. Don’t look down on drug addicts & alcoholics! Instead, take a look in the mirror and ask how you can make the world a better place.

-- I really like smoke. It’s so mysterious. I think smoking is sexy, regardless of what the ads tell you. Some of these ads tell you big is beautiful, too! You can’t always trust ads.

-- Be careful around people that are into hard drugs. They’re always looking for an easy buck!

-- I wish that some people didn’t need drugs to get to that “next level.” I’m not going to lie - drugs have taken me places I doubt I could go otherwise. But to be philosophical, to feel high, to feel connected - we have the power to do that every single second of our lives. My suggestion to you and me is to make a list of “natural” highs that have little or no negative side effects.

Here is my quick list of natural highs:
*cuddling with a kitty
*the feeling right before a concert
*saying “I love you” and meaning it
*hearing “I love you” and believing it
*chocolate ice cream (try the Healthy Choice brand!)
*having an orgasm WITHOUT guilt!
*hearing a favorite on the radio
*Looking at the Chrysler building at night
*A hot shower or bath
*Sending flowers
*Seeing someone cute on the subway or bus
*Calling a family member of friend you haven’t spoken to in a while
*Taking pride in your job and having others recognize your work
*Making love to an alien
*Having your head hit your cool pillow after a long day of work
*Putting some littler into the trash can
*Smiling in bed, before you go to sleep
*Doing 10 jumping jacks in the morning
*Hell fucking
*Making lists

I really love the album Heathen. I remember the day when I first listened to it and I didn't like it as much. Probably because I was feeling depressed and the album sounded as though it was rather sad and depressing. I guess I was depressed because I missed the Ziggy Bowie. I missed the Hunky Dory Bowie with his dress. I missed that curly haired Bowie. But I got over that. At that time I was quite new to Bowie. My Bowie fandom revolved around the early 'young' Bowie and so all this new stuff of his just caught me off on a wrong angle. Just imagine you were a Bowie fan back in the early 70s and only knew the music he has released at the time -- and then being thrown with Heathen in your face. But now I listen to Heathen with utter sheer delight. I hope that his next album will be just as innovative and less commercial and radio-friendly compared to Reality.

I have temporarily decided my top 6 fave Bowie albums (for a Bowie fan, this activity of choosing the top albums as well as putting them in order is rather difficult).

1. Ziggy Stardust
2. Diamond Dogs
3. Heathen
4. Low
5. Outside
6. Scary Monsters... and Super Creeps

Man, let's not forget Station To Station. Or Lodger. Or Hunky Dory. Or Heroes. See, I told you this was difficult!

xx Georgina

Did you know that for every $3 cappucino consumed by the caffeine deprived masses which include myself, less than 3 cents will go to the growers of its base ingredient, coffee? I am suffering great cognitive dissonance here. I buy $3 coffees from Uni because I feel I cannot live without it yet at the same time feel guilty that most of my money is going to assholes who are benefiting from this free trade. Coffee companies in the western world are experiencing increased profits yet the coffee growers are suffering from dropping market rates due to overproduction and decreasing coffee consumption. Just last week I found out that Wholefoods Cafe sells 'fair trade' coffee which also costs less than your ordinary $3 cappucino say from The Den or Hargrave Cafe. So Monash students, go buy your coffee from Wholefoods and 'liberate your latte'!

So sorry everyone for not blogging. Things have been sooo unbelievably unbelievable the last few weeks, and it still is. But right this moment, I feel as though I've used enough of my brain power for the day and shall now slack off ;). Hehe.

There's so many things that I have wanted to blog over the last few uneventful weeks on this site. I shall do it in chronological order.

1. I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 about almost a month ago. It is a *fantastic* film. It didn't teach me anything new, however it pieced all my knowledge regarding Bush and the war on Iraq, etc, together and so now I know how everything is related. I really respect Moore's courage to be able to stand up for what he believed in and do such a fantastic job at the same time -- not to mention the brilliant soundtrack to go with ;). Apart from very interesting (and disturbing) footage and Moore's undeniably brilliant efforts to inform the public, what made the film for me was when he recited an extract from George Orwell's 1984 as the conclusion. I didn't know whether to be horrified or not, because subconsciously you know that no matter how much you want 1984 to stay fiction, there is evidence that some of it does indeed happen in real life, yet you prefer to supress and ignore it. Moore, by reading it out, just made me feel that there is no need to supress it because the way things are going, it is going to be more and more like 1984 -- the playing around with societal heirarchy so that the government can continue to do whatever they want. And that disappoints me greatly.

2. Mink Engine: Yay! I go all happy and warm and fuzzy when I think of Mink Engine and I'm soo glad I went to see them play! Sarah and I went to catch this absolutely funky, Japanese influenced Australian neo-electrorock duo at Loop Bar a few weeks ago and I just love them! Check out their website for a little idea of what these guys are about - www.minkengine.com. The duo, Touchmetiger and Askii, work together to provide a whole load of sound and visual excess. Askii does the sounds which is heavily influenced by early electro music like Kraftwerk, and Touchmetiger (absolutely one of the coolest people I've seen) does these awesome animated visuals that are projected onto a huge screen on the wall that goes perfectly with Askii's work. I can't wait to see them play next - which is going to be at Federation Square at the Australian Centre of Moving Image!! It's going to be huge!

3. Casionova! Haha. Just imagine some nerdy guy wearing waist-high school boy shorts, knee high socks, tucked-in crisp white shirt, thick rimmed glasses and a comb over that could survive an apocalypse - and you get Casionova! This guy makes music solely from a whole range of Casio's home keyboards from the 80s. Yup. He sets on the drum beats on one keyboard, plugs another into a distortion pedal and there you go. He has his way of coming up with the most experimentally creative sounds just from a pair of dodgy keyboards. He also tweaked around with a Commodore 64 and transformed that into an electronic device that just played a bunch of notes when you press on each key. He even plays a few songs with a Nintendo Game Boy! He's an absolute classic, I tell ya. I got the priveledge of going on stage to play a song with this dude when I touched his "soldering iron of luurve" - it was literally a soldering iron, you sicko. ;)

4. The Mayor Of Sunset Strip - I don't know whether I liked this film or not. I mean, I like Rodney Bingenheimer (and the Bowie bits, although minimal, were cool - his mohawk!!) but I don't think much effort was put into the film at all. Very uncreative interview questions, a very mediocre soundtrack (especially for someone like Rodney who likes to promote non-mainstream music) , unfortunate ways of dealing with the parts that were meant to be serious and sad, etc. I liked the idea how there was hardly any narration except for the people featured providing it, but that's not revolutionary. Some cool footage and good timing of events, but other than that, it was quite lacking. Rodney definetly deserved better than that. Another thing that annoyed me was that I had this complete LOSER sitting right next to me was laughing with the mighty might of his mighty lungs at every single thing that was remotely funny. Boy, I wanted to slap him but that is unfortunately not quite acceptable in today's society.

5. I went to see The Impressionists and Man Ray exhibitions at the National Gallery of Victoria about two weeks ago. The Impressionists exhibition consisted of selected works from Musee d'Orsay in France that included those by Van Gogh, Monet, Renior, Sisley, Toulousse Lautrec, Cezanne, Seurat and many other Impressionist artists. It was a mighty collection and I was very surprised to see one of Monet's Haystacks there too. The beauty of going by yourself to an art gallery is that you can take all the time in the world on the paintings that you like and skimp over the ones that you don't quite like without offending the other person. Being deprived of such a important era in art history by living in this country called "Australia", it was my very first time seeing such influential work in the flesh. No matter how pretty these paintings look in photos in expensive art books, it doesn't compare with experiencing how the light reflects against the heavy and expressive brushstrokes on the actual painting itself. Van Gogh's work captivated me in those books and it captivated me even more in real life. I stood and stared at Starry Night over the Rhone for atleast twenty minutes. And before I finished with the exhibition, I quickly ran back to have a look again. The ugly side of going alone is that you have no one to talk to and therefore you overhear conversations from other museum goers. They tend to annoy me at very high levels. An example "Hmm... Oh so this is Monet's Haystacks. I reckon he used the wrong colour here. It should be more intense. And I think green would have been a better option" -- I don't think I can muster any respect for anyone who would try to question Monet's painting. I mean *yells out loud* the colour is like that for a reason!!! And another example "Oh I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 the other day", friend: "What's that?!", other friend: "Oh, isn't it about September 11? I don't think I really want to see that..." - ignorant losers. I hate going to big museums like this because you get a bunch of pretentious ders who think they know a lot about art but SO don't. I mean, I don't know that much about art but even I can see through them. Other than that... great paintings and the Man Ray exhibit was brilliant!!!

6. Ski-Rack's "Hunger" night. Just last Saturday I went to Bowienetter Ski-Rack's house with a bunch of the Melbourne netters to watch The Hunger, both the film and the TV series. I haven't seen either of them so it was quite an interesting experience. The Hunger (the film) was er... hmm... okay. It's certainly not up my alley. It just confirms how much I do not want to associate Bowie with the 80s except for Scary Monsters and Merry Xmas Mr. Lawrence (which I love). BUT his part in the more recent TV series is GREAT! I love the whole 1. Outside Murder-Art theme going on. How awwwwwwwwesome is the deranged Julian Priest?! I don't know about the rest of the episodes though. It seems to me like a bad mixture of a bunch of mediocre film students and the attempt of questioning society about life - with a huge television budget to boot. Oh but I just love the first episode... Bowie as Julian Priest is just too cool. He's so suaaave and classssyy... and beaaaautiful and oh so crazy. I can't believe I had no idea about this til now! *shocked*

7. I got a pair of glasses!! Yes. I'm getting sick of using contact lenses... (even though they don't require much effort at all), I want to start looking like an intellectual person ;). I got these cool red semi-thick rimmed glasses made by 'D-viations' (hehe, reminds me of DeviantArt) and when I put them on --> instant arts student. Buahaha. No really, I just wanted some more flexibility... sometimes I just want to give me eyes a rest!

Okay, well that's quite it for now.

I am turning 20 this Sunday 29th Aug. I can't believe it. 20!! I don't know what to do with this... for some reason it is rather anti-climatic. I should be panicking right now about how little I have achieved in life so far and trying to cram everything in before my birthday. I remember the night before I turned 19, I did about 5 paintings that night just to be able to say "I did x-amount of paintings when I was only 18 years of age". I guess I am quite proud of what I have achieved as a 19 year old -- to have had an art gallery exhibition and three sold paintings is no mean feat.

Do you notice how I always speak in terms of art? And hardly ever about my chosen disciplines of Engineering and Commerce? I don't know whether that is supposed to mean anything. But what I know is that I feel that I'm growing each time I do art or read up about art - I feel that it is relevant. I do my engineering and commerce homework as routinely and ordinarily as when I brush my teeth or take a piss in the toilet. Hmm...

xx Georgina

Okay! I'm blogging!

So last Tuesday I went to see Franz Ferdinand and it was largely brilliant! I went with my friends Sarah and Daniel and met up with Dennison at the venue so it was a great night with great people I know.

We got to The Palace really early and we were amongst the first in line. Basically, we could have been right up front if we went onto the floor as soon as we got in but we weren't quite up for that. Instead, we lounged around the comfy sofas and had a great chat :).

When the Fiery Furnaces (the opening act) started, we made our way in. The floor was already packed and I started panicking because I am oh-so-short and couldn't see the stage at all. So I squeezed my way down to the first 5 rows of people to get a slight glimpse of the stage. The Fiery Furnaces are actually quite good. The lead singer really reminded me of Janis Joplin. They aren't identical of course, but she had this certain attitude that was quite similar to how Janis performed on stage. They had really good drums and mad bass lines. I like the poppy-ness from their organ but I think it was a bit too over the top after a while. I have never heard of this band before but I could recognise a few songs. They were one of those "Oh so this song is theirs!" bands.

So then Franz Ferdinand came on and the crowd went absolutely beserk!! Seriously, I had not expected the crowd to be sooo crazy. I mean, it was almost as bad as the Chili Peppers where I was pretty much hanging onto the barriers for my life 98% of the time. But yeah, at the start I loved the whole pushing and shoving because everyone was just loving the music (except for those drunk idiots who like to just push and shove for no reason). I just went completely nuts myself and sung my heart out. I couldn't really see the stage, but the occasional glimpse of the front man (man his clothes are sexy).

Crowd surfing can be fun I guess, but I really hate it. Maybe if I was taller, I would like it a bit, but its not great when you're a shorty like me. Just picture a crowd of people standing really close to one another and you suddenly get this short Asian girl. In layman's terms, there is a hole in the surface of the crowd and if you crowd surf, you'd undeniably fall into that hole and crush that poor person underneath. Indeed that is what happened to me. For some reason, since that moment, everything just went horrible. I would usually find such events funny but I was just getting mighty annoyed. Especially this scary girl in front of me dancing as if no one was standing around her. FREAK! Being short also has another disadvantage. You get all the body heat and humidity around you and you must tip toe just to be able to breathe. My antidote for passing out is just to keep rocking out harder and harder, but seriously, I was going to pass out no matter how hard I try to not think about it. I couldn't breeeathe for godsake!

So I couldn't stand that bullshit anymore. And Take Me Out was playing and I wanted to savour the moment so I backed off and moved to a saner region of the floor. Still couldn't see the stage very well, but I had room to breathe, dance and have a good time.

And what a good time I had!! Darts of Pleasure, Fire, Michael, Dark Of The Matinee, Come On Home... all rocked. Because I had a bad view, I couldn't see how the band played together but they just sounded fantastic. It was a very very short set though. Possibly under one hour. Damnit! If it was Bowie, he's be starting his 5th song only! Damnit! But alas... they have only one album compared to Bowie's 26 or so, so you can't expect too much I guess. I do hope they come back down under again soon because I'll definetly BE there.

Go Franz Ferdinand!!

Okay, apart from Franz Ferdinand, I have purchased John Frusciante's latest album "The Will To Death" which is quite good. Really good, in fact. Well, I haven't listened to it much but it seems his song writing is getting far more complex yet at the same time becoming more open and honest. It is less produced compared to Shadows and therefore exhibits a much rawer sound. I like that. I don't even listen to the studio version of Shadows anymore but the acoustic version instead. I really want to play like him! :(

Okay, so I guess this is all I have to offer for the moment. Had the day off today and spent all day writing up my resume and cover letters for all the engineering firms I am applying for Vacation Work. I hate doing this sorta thing but what has gotta be done must be done :(.