Well, she's not nude, but.....

I'm really at a loss here. I woke up in the morning not knowing what to research. My mind is a bit stressed and blank.

I know there are tons of Australian things that I could do research on, but nothing is calling out to me at the moment.

Well, that's not exactly true. I have Rachel Carpani on my mind. We don't even watch McLeod's Daughters anymore. Jack no longer has a crush on her. But she shows up on my Statcounter keyword quite often. People come to my blog to see her nude. I'll have to disappoint them there, but I thought maybe I can use her as my research subject.

I'm not sure if I feel okay doing this. I'm not really into celebrity gossip. Well, I shouldn't say that. I'm probably attracted to it in the same sick way that most people are attracted to it. But I do try to avoid the whole thing.

Yet here I am writing a post. Maybe I can find interesting stuff that doesn't quite qualify as gossip.

Let's see.

Rachel Carpani was born on August 24, 1980. She's young. Or at least that seems young to me. I think this is because when I was a camp counselor at the Cystic Fibrosis camp, the kids in my cabin were born around 1980-1982. So when I see that people are born around that time, I think of children. Also, my sister was born in 1977. I still see her as my LITTLE sister so anyone born after that, in my eyes, is super young.

I think also I'm very immature and I feel younger than I am. I'm almost 36, but I often feel like I'm still twelve. I see these actresses and I feel they are my age...or even older. Then I look at their birth date and am shocked to find that they are younger than me. It's a relief sometimes to find actresses that are my age or older.

Anyway.....I'm going to look at the fun birthday site.

Carpani is a Virgo just like my mom. Her numerology number is 5.

5 is all about freedom.

I think that's an interesting combination. I think of Virgos as being critical and a bit serious. To me, they'd fit better as a 4 in numerology.

The website says the number she's most compatible with is 1, 5, and 7. I'm a 7. Maybe we can be friends! Then she can let me borrow a nude photo of her and my blog can be REALLY popular.

Her Chinese Astrology thing is the monkey. I love monkeys--although I love humans and the other apes much more.

Her Native American Zodiac sign is the bear. I don't like bears. The friendship is OFF!

She shares a birthday with Marlee Matlin. I'm related to Matlin in a really complicated and weird step-family way. I forgot how it goes. I think it's something like her grandmother was my grandmother's stepmom. Oh, I don't know. I probably have it all wrong. And most Chicago Jews are probably connected in some way or another, so I'm sure the connection isn't that special.

Imdb says Carpani is 5 foot 8. I guess I should translate that into Australian. Here we go. This website says she's 173 centimeters. That's pretty tall. I bet she can ride on all the rides at Disney World and Luna Park.

Carpani grew up in a Sydney place called Dural. I've never heard of it before so I'm going to look it up.

Looking at Google Maps now......

Dural looks fairly far from the Sydney CBD. It's far up north and then a little to the West. It seems almost directly north from Parramatta.

I feel so much better going back to geography. I feel safe and comfortable here. In some ways, geography has become my new security blanket.

Lord Wiki says Dural is semi-rural. I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds lovely. I think it might be great to live some place like that. You're near one of the best cities in the world (to me, it is THE best, but I'm trying to be politically correct here) but yet you're out living in nature.

The name Dural comes from the Aboriginal word Dooral-Dooral. This means smoking hollow tree. Well, that sounds interesting.

I should probably go back to Carpani.

She was in a 2005 movie called Hating Alison Ashley. Have any of you seen that movie? It's based on a book by Robin Klein. I'm not sure I've heard of Klein yet. Maybe? I should look out for her books. I wonder if our library has any of them. Actually, I'm going to go right now and see if Powells has any.

Rachel Carpani has an Italian father. Let's do research on Italy! No, I'm joking. Although I've heard it's a very lovely country. My parents were just there.

This website says Carpani is obsessively clean, but not so neat. Wow. That's going to totally scramble my brain today. What does that mean? I guess I can sort of understand. Maybe?

No, not really.

Maybe they mean neat as in cool. Like That's so neat! If they mean the other neat, I think you have to tidy up first before you clean. You have to pick up the toys off the floor before the floor gets vacuumed. Otherwise, you're going to miss a lot of floor space. And if you miss floor space, you're not being obsessively clean.

Okay. I'm going to end here. I'm bored. I have a feeling you guys are bored too. I apologize to all of us. Oh, and I say this without any intent of offense towards Rachel Carpani and her fans.

P.S-I researched and wrote that post several days ago. Since then, Jack has suddenly found his love for McLeod's Daughters again. The other day he watched the theme song on YouTube about twenty times. And he's sending me emails pretending to be Jodi Fountain.

What would our world be like if we
knew for sure there 
was life after death, and 
we could easily talk to our 
dearly-departed on the Internet?

The Dead are Online a novel by Dina Roberts 


17 comments:

  1. I am a 7 too. Why does that not surprise me?

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  2. Hi Dina.

    Yes, please read Robin Klein. My favourite book of hers is "Came Back To Show You I Could Fly". Excellent teenage fiction.

    Dural is nice - I have friends who live there, on a very large block of land with horses in the backyard....yet it's only about half an hour's drive from my place, which is pretty much inner-city.

    That being said, probably not somewhere anyone would go without a specific purpose. If you've seen one gum tree and one big rambly house, you've pretty much seen them all.....

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  3. Mandy: I can totally imagine you as a 7. I feel like I'm pretty much a poster child for 7's.


    Gina: Oh! I bet that's one of the books you recommended before. I added some Robin Klein books to my Powell list. I'm not sure which ones. I'll go check.... I have Sky in Silver Lace and Dresses of Red and Gold. They don't have the fly book yet....but I'll look out for it.

    Dural sounds nice. I wish I had time to see all these places.

    I need to find the list of books you gave me and look for all that stuff on Powells online. I think it's still in my wallet.

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  4. Haha - I love "translate that into Australian"...Although I find most people here measure they're height in 'stupid units' not metric anyway.

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  5. Gina,

    Okay, I found the list and added some of the books to my Powell's list. Sometimes, they had the same author but not the exact book you recommended. Tim gave me a gift certificate for my birthday so when my list is long enough (to get free shipping) I'm going to order the books.

    I had the list printed out for Portland, but I didn't end up looking at it. I found so many books in nonfiction and adult fiction. I didn't really have time for the children/young adult.

    Wait. I have a question and you'd be the perfect person to ask. We're looking for more books for Jack to read. He likes books about kids who are good, but kind of get into trouble....stuff like the Ramona books (Beverly Cleary), Superfudge (Judy Blume) and Junie B. Jones. Do you know of anything else like that? I think he also prefers books with a realistic setting vs. fantasy.

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  6. Try Ivan Southall, Dina; here's a small list of his books.
    Or Colin Thiele
    Both are great Aussie authors who wrote both in real and fantasy settings.
    Just watch out he doesn't read Storm Boy yet! It's a tear jerker.

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  7. Okay, suggestions for Jack....maybe google a few and see if I'm on the right track. If I am...let me know and I'll peruse my bookshelves at home for some more ideas. If I'm not, let me know and I'll think of some different ones!

    45 & 47 Stella Street and Everything That Happened (Elizabeth Honey)

    Hazel Green / Something's Fishy Hazel Green (Odo Hirsch). In fact, anything by Odo Hirsch!

    The Slightly True Story of Cedar B Hartley (Martine Murray)

    The Big Bazoohley by Peter Carey

    Swashbuckler - James Moloney

    Pretty much anything by Morris Gleitzman

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  8. Oh...and I just thought of another which, which - shock, horror - is not actually Australian...

    When I was a kid, some American friends sent me a copy of The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, which immediately became one of my favourite books, and which has been continuously in print for many many years.

    Well worth reading.

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  9. Jayne: Are the book serious or funny? He likes silly/funny books. Or a mixture of both. I don't think he'd like anything too heavy.

    I actually had Storm Boy on my wish list (for me!) and Tim ordered it. Thanks for warning me about the sad thing.

    Gina: I remember reading The Westing Game in a children's lit class. I don't remember if I liked it or not. I think I have another book by the same author...might still have it on our bookshelf. I'll look later.

    Peter Carey wrote a kid's book??? I haven't liked any of his adult books yet.

    I'm going to check out the books on your list!! Thanks : )

    Deirdre: Okay...what are stupid units????????? I'm so behind on this stuff.

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  10. Gina,

    I found a lot of the books on Powells! I'm excited.

    I found the book by the person who wrote Westing Game. It looks a little bit too advanced for Jack. He might like it in a few years. I could try it though.....

    So far, the Odo Hirsh stuff and Morris Gleitzman seem most like his style!

    Thanks for the suggestions!!!!!!

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  11. Peter Carey did indeed write a kids' book, and it's a good one!

    Which of his books have you read and not liked? I kind of agree with you about most of them, but I love Illywhacker, Oscar & Lucinda, and The True History Of The Kelly Gang.

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  12. Gina,

    I didn't like the Kelly Gang--but I usually am not a fan of fictionalized stories of real people.

    The other two books--I forgot the names.

    One was the one about art...the two brothers living together.

    The other was about a child who was physically disfigured. I think it involved a circus????

    Did you read any of those??

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  13. The disfigured child one was maybe The Unusual Life of Tristan Smith? I hated it...

    And the art one would probably have been Theft A Love Story, which I haven't read (and don't intend to read...)

    I agree with you about fiction based on real people, I very often don't like it either. However, just at the moment I am reading "Wanting" by Richard Flanagan, which I do like - it is partly about the life of Mathinna, who was a young Tasmanian Aboriginal girl who you may have come across during your research?

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  14. Gina,

    I haven't heard of Mathinna, and actually that books sounds VERY tempting. Maybe it would be the fictionalized biography that I end up liking.

    I read one of Richard Flanagan's books. The Sound of One Hand Clapping. I just wrote that I don't remember anything about it, but by the time I finished writing that sentence, it all came back to me. Well, not all of it. But the basics!

    Well...maybe I should give Carey one more chance. Which book of his do you like the besT?

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  15. I loved The Sound Of One Hand Clapping - even though it made me cry.

    My favourite Peter Carey is Illywhacker. It made me laugh out loud.

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  16. Hi Dina,
    Just thought i would recommend Paul Jennings books for you son, they are all funny short stories with a twist at the end. They were also made into a TV show called "Round the Twist" and i absolutly loved both as a kid.

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  17. Matt,

    Thank you so much for the suggestion!

    I'm looking it up right now.....

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