Disappearing Family, Tragic Deaths, Stealing Ideas, and Being a Bit Too Late

1. Started watching an episode of Neighbours.

2. Felt a little bad for Lauren. She seems to be losing a lot of family members lately.

First her husband (Josef Brown) died

Then her son Bailey (Calen MacKenzie) and her father (Tom Oliver) moved to Queensland.

Her daughter Amber (Jenna Rosenow) plans to move to the US for awhile.

Now Paige (Olympia Valance) is planning to go to Singapore.

3. Thought maybe this might be a good time for Lauren to travel.

She probably doesn't have enough money for anything elaborate. But maybe she can go to Queensland to visit her son and father?

4.  Relieved to see that Paige has finally come clean about working for Dimato.

The truth might not set her free, but it makes me feel better.

Actually, though, I think it will set her free.

She didn't get into the stolen car ring thing, because she's wicked or greedy. She was blackmailed.

It's not a life that she wanted and confessing will probably get her out of that life.

5. Started watching an episode of Packed to the Rafters.

6. Started to find myself liking Cabo's girlfriend Loretta (Hannah Marshall).

She came on to the show kind of fast and furious.

I'm guessing the viewer was meant to feel the same as Cabo's roommates—bombarded and invaded.

7. Wondered if I'm wrong. Is there any difference between Loretta and other new main characters?

Did I feel bombarded by Chel (Gillian Jones)? Or Jake (James Stewart)?

I don't think I did.

Maybe it's more about not being able to understand what Cabo sees in her. I didn't feel the chemistry, because it happened so fast.  I can feel what Ben (Hugh McLaren) is feeling. Who is this girl? Why does Cabo say he loves her when we hardly know her? What's happening?

But now I'm starting to like her.

8. Wondered about the legalities of Liam (Kaine O'Keefe) stealing Jake's idea.

In a previous episode, Jake ate dinner with Rachel (Jessica Marais) and Liam (Kain O'Keefe) as they worked on an advertising pitch. Jake came up with a science fiction-centered idea that Rachel immediately scoffed at. She was very dismissive and told him he didn't need to help. She and Liam get paid to do this.

In the episode I'm watching today, the clients don't like the idea that Rachel and Liam came up with. On the spur of the moment, Liam pitches them Jake's idea. They like it.

So, what happens next?

I don't think ideas can be copyrighted, but could Jake still sue or cause problems in other ways?

9. Looked at an Australian government website about copyright. They say the expression of ideas can be copyrighted but not the ideas themselves. Once something is created, it automatically becomes copyrighted.

Jake's idea wouldn't be legally protected. Rachel and Liam wouldn't be breaking the law by using his idea.

How about morally?  I think it would be wrong for them to lie and say it's their idea. I also think it's wrong to steal an idea. On the other hand, Jake OFFERED them the idea. He served it up to them. What did he expect would happen if they said, Cool! We'll use that idea.

Should Jake get paid for his idea? Should he expect and demand compensation? Or should it be enough that they simply thank him and congratulate him?

10. Thought that maybe in the United States, you can at least try to sue someone for stealing your idea.  I say this, because when I was a young teenager I was really into sending fan mail. A few times I sent a story or play I had written. I remember getting messages back saying the actor/actress couldn't read it because of legal reasons.

I wonder if it's the same in Australia.

11. Started watching another episode of Packed to the Rafters.

12. Felt anxious about Mel dying. I think it's going to happen in this episode...or the next one.

Probably this one.

In the tragic promo I watched yesterday there was something about bubbles. The title of this episode is "Perfect Bubble".

Also, Mel (Zoe Ventoura) and Ben (Angus McLaren) are acting abnormally happy. I think extreme happiness is prelude to disaster.

13. Saw that this episode has the tragedy.

Ben and Mel have a lovely drawn-out good-bye to each other. Then in voice-over, Ben talks about the bubble bursting—that if he knew it was going to happen, he'd never have let her go. Well, of course!

It's nice that they had a romantic sweet good-bye. I wonder if that makes a tragic death easier.  I mean it's never going to be easy. But maybe it lessens the pain a teeny tiny microscopic amount.

I do imagine it would feel worse to have a tragic surprise death after a rushed good-bye or a thoughtless one.

And then there are the people who die after a big fight. I imagine that's the worse.  It's probably not super horrible if the people kind of didn't get along that much anyway. Well, yeah. It would probably still be super horrible. But I think the worst of the worst is when two people love each other and usually get along very well. They get in a fight and then one of them dies.  That makes me feel sick just thinking about it.

14. Didn't like how Jake is unsupportive of Rachel's career.

Her career is important to her, and he doesn't seem to respect that. He gave her a hard time about it, when she was working. He kind of pushed her to quit. Well, at least he was very supportive of her quitting. Then when she gets her job back, and she's happy about it; he's not.

I do understand his disappointment, because they planned to go to Bali, and now that has to be postponed. I think I'd have more sympathy for him, though, if he was usually supportive of her career.

Jake talks about how he liked Rachel when she was unemployed. That's fine for him. But does she like herself better that way?

15. Liked Rachel's dress.



16. Saw that it's not a dress. It's a long shirt that she's wearing with leggings.

Or maybe it's a short dress with tights.

This is the second time I've made this mistake.

I wish I liked wearing leggings, because I keep seeing leggings-type shirts that I love.

17.  Continued to feel quite anxious. It's not just the Mel thing. Cody (Ryan Corr) has an anxiety-ridden storyline as well. He's becoming quite attached to the Rafters and within the next few hours, he knows the police are going to know that he had some connection to a burglary. He's waiting for his happy bubble to burst.

18. Thought that this episode was very sad, especially with the Sia song playing in the background.

19. Read the comments on the episode.

Bob Shedd, who I already don't like much, because he said the ignorant thing about clotheslines a few episodes back, says,  Migawd what insipid and moronic background music as Ben walked down the corridor of the hospital to identify the body. Totally cheap and shallow.

What's wrong with a Sia song for a morgue scene?

I wonder what song Bob would have preferred.

The commenter I like a lot (so far) is Monica Brown. She's very enthusiastic.  She says,  I'm on Season 4 Eps.10. OMG have you watched Offspring? After watching Offspring I wanted to move to Australia. LOL

20. Wondered if Monica Brown has watched other Australian shows besides Offspring and Packed to the Rafters.

21. Wondered if Offspring is the most similar Australian show to Packed to the Rafters.

22. Remembered House Husbands. That has the same kind of comedy-drama feel.

And then there's also...something else.

I had it on the tip of my fingers, but now it's slipped away somewhere in my brain.

23. Remembered. Wonderland!

I think there are others, as well, that I haven't watched yet.

24. Thought of a silly analogy to illustrate my feelings about Julia Gillard.

There's this girl with very wealthy parents.

She wants to go to this prestigious private school, because they have a fantastic theater program.

Her parents refuse to let her go, even though they can afford it. Why? Because they're big believers in public school. They think public school is good enough. She doesn't need private school.

A few years later, things happen, and the family loses all their money. The father then says to the girl, You know what. Now I've come to believe you're right. I think that school would have been very good for you.

I guess it's nice for him to say that. Sort of. But it would have much better if he came to that conclusion when he had the power to actually make a difference.

25. Thought that the Gillard thing wouldn't be as bad if she had a logical, understandable reason to oppose gay marriage in the first place. Like...she was Christian and her holy book was against it.

I'm not saying that a Christian stance against gay marriage is fully logical. Well, it might be logical, but it can be quite hypocritical.  Either way, though, it at least makes more sense than an atheist, unmarried, first female Prime Minister being against it.

26. Felt that an atheist against gay marriage might be interesting in a quirky way...IF they didn't have the power to actually make a change.

Although now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure I've read an atheist editorial against gay marriage. I wasn't very impressed. I mean I didn't see his arguments as being persuasive.

Do you know what I mean? You know how you can sometimes read an opinion opposite of yours and think Well, I still disagree, but he does have some good points.

I don't think I felt that way when I read the editorial.

27. Listened to some Disney music while washing dishes.

Twice, I imagined members of the Packed to the Rafters cast singing the songs.

First, I could imagine Rebecca Gibney singing "A Spoonful of Sugar".

Then I started to imagine Zoe Ventoura singing "Let it Go".

I think I heard these things, because I had just finished watching the show. But also, maybe Gibney's speaking voice is somewhat similar to Julie Andrew's singing voice.  And maybe Ventoura's speaking voice is somewhat similar to Idina Menzel's singing voice.

Or was it totally my imagination?

I also am thinking that I connected Gibney to Julie Andrews because in the movie Mental, she plays a woman obsessed with the Sound of Music.

28. Found a video of Rebecca Gibney singing "Amazing Grace".

She doesn't sound much like Julie Andrews.

She does sing really good, though!

29. Figured out the video is from that ancestor-seeking TV show. What's it called again?

30. Remembered.

It's Who Do You Think You Are?

It looks like Gibney had a very dramatic story.  It had something to do with the Maori people—something bad her ancestors did to them.

31. Watched the trailer for the Gibney episode.

It didn't really tell me that much more than what I got from the "Amazing Grace" clip.