1. Ate scrambled eggs. They came from our chicken neighbors. They were delicious. It's really cool to see the eggs. They're not all white like the eggs you buy at the store, or all brown. They're multi-colored. We got a few white ones, a few brown ones, and some that are a bluish-type color.
Here's a Flickr photo of eggs. They look a lot like the ones we bought yesterday.
2. Learned from Facebook that the Logie Awards were on recently.
3. Looked at a Logie feature thing in the Daily Telegraph. It's making me feel very ignorant about Aussie television, because I'm not recognising a lot of people.
Ah. Here's a name I recognise; Shane Bourne. Good. I feel better now. He was the host.
4. Learned from Lord Wiki that the winner for most popular actor was Hugh Sheridan from Packed to the Rafters. I haven't heard of Sheridan, but I have heard of Packed to the Rafters. I think Rebecca Gibney is on the show. Sheridan also won the Logie last year, so he must be well liked.
5. Found scenes from Packed to the Rafters on YouTube. I'm not sure if Sheridan is in them. I'll try to figure that out.
I haven't yet figured it out, because IMDb wasn't working for me. But I watched the scene. Rachel didn't want to drink, but she ended up drinking anyway. Why? And what's with her ex-partner (boyfriend? husband?). He hit her, and promises to quit cold turkey. What is he needing to quit? Drinking? Some other drug?
6. Accessed IMDb.com. Sheridan plays Ben, and the video says Ben was in it. Is he the one needing to quit cold turkey, or is he the brother at the bar?
Lord Wiki is giving me the idea that he's the brother.
7. Saw on my Statcounter that a lot of people are coming to my blog for Shane Bourne. I'm guessing this is related to him being host of the Logies.
8. Learned from Lord Wiki that the Logie award for most popular actress went to Asher Keddie. I never heard of her; nor have I heard of her show Offspring. Well, actually....it sounds vaguely familiar.
9. Ashamed of my ignorance of Aussie television, but I'm going to work today to remedy some of it.
10. Watched a scene from Offspring on YouTube. It was cute. There was this corny romantic scene. I was a bit shocked that a scene like that could be in a show so popular. But it turns out the scene was just a fantasy. I'm sure most people's fantasies are poorly written.
11. Learned from Lord Wiki that on Offspring, Asher Keddie plays Nina Proudman, an obstetrician.
Oh! Deborah Mailman is on the show. I know of her!
12. Watched a promo for Offspring.
Nina has a successful life, except for one thing. She's not doing well with the love thing. Then Chris enters her life. I'm guessing that's the man in her fantasy.
How did she meet him?
Deborah Mailman plays Nina's best friend, Cherie. Cherie has a huge secret. What is it?
The show looks good. I especially like the last few seconds of the promo. I can relate to those feelings. You have a crush on someone. You go over to talk to them, and you get the feeling they want nothing to do with you. You tell yourself to back away, but your body refuses to listen. I think it's also like those phone calls. You get up the nerve to call someone. It doesn't go very well, and you know you should just say good-bye and get off the phone. Instead, you shamefully linger.
13. Saw from Lord Wiki that Packed to the Rafters won most popular drama.
14. Noticed that the Logies have awards for most popular this and that; and they have awards for most-outstanding this and that. I'm guessing the popularity categories are won with viewer votes.
Okay. Yeah. Lord Wiki confirms this. People vote via TV Week magazine. Then the outstanding-type awards are voted within the industry.
Lord Wiki says the popularity voters are heavily skewed by teenage girls.
15. Saw that the most outstanding actor award went to Richard Roxburgh for Rake. I've heard of him. He was dating someone I wrote about, but now I can't remember who that is.
Ah....it was Miranda Otto.
16. Found scene on YouTube from Rake. It's a courtroom type thing.
Roxburgh says "umbridge". You know, Tim has said that the name Dolores Umbridge is based on a word. I didn't pay him much attention. I guess he could be right.
It's spelled differently though. The word is umbrage. This dictionary defines it as offense; annoyance; displeasure.
17. Enjoyed the scene from Rake. The writing seems pretty good.
18. Saw that the most outstanding actress award went to Claire Van Der Boom for Sisters of War. I'm getting the idea from YouTube that it's a television movie rather than a television show. It's about nuns in World War II.
19. Found a trailer for Sisters of War. Now I see it's not just about nuns in World War II. It's about a friendship between a nurse and a nun.
Here's a Flickr photo of eggs. They look a lot like the ones we bought yesterday.
2. Learned from Facebook that the Logie Awards were on recently.
3. Looked at a Logie feature thing in the Daily Telegraph. It's making me feel very ignorant about Aussie television, because I'm not recognising a lot of people.
Ah. Here's a name I recognise; Shane Bourne. Good. I feel better now. He was the host.
4. Learned from Lord Wiki that the winner for most popular actor was Hugh Sheridan from Packed to the Rafters. I haven't heard of Sheridan, but I have heard of Packed to the Rafters. I think Rebecca Gibney is on the show. Sheridan also won the Logie last year, so he must be well liked.
5. Found scenes from Packed to the Rafters on YouTube. I'm not sure if Sheridan is in them. I'll try to figure that out.
I haven't yet figured it out, because IMDb wasn't working for me. But I watched the scene. Rachel didn't want to drink, but she ended up drinking anyway. Why? And what's with her ex-partner (boyfriend? husband?). He hit her, and promises to quit cold turkey. What is he needing to quit? Drinking? Some other drug?
6. Accessed IMDb.com. Sheridan plays Ben, and the video says Ben was in it. Is he the one needing to quit cold turkey, or is he the brother at the bar?
Lord Wiki is giving me the idea that he's the brother.
7. Saw on my Statcounter that a lot of people are coming to my blog for Shane Bourne. I'm guessing this is related to him being host of the Logies.
8. Learned from Lord Wiki that the Logie award for most popular actress went to Asher Keddie. I never heard of her; nor have I heard of her show Offspring. Well, actually....it sounds vaguely familiar.
9. Ashamed of my ignorance of Aussie television, but I'm going to work today to remedy some of it.
10. Watched a scene from Offspring on YouTube. It was cute. There was this corny romantic scene. I was a bit shocked that a scene like that could be in a show so popular. But it turns out the scene was just a fantasy. I'm sure most people's fantasies are poorly written.
11. Learned from Lord Wiki that on Offspring, Asher Keddie plays Nina Proudman, an obstetrician.
Oh! Deborah Mailman is on the show. I know of her!
12. Watched a promo for Offspring.
Nina has a successful life, except for one thing. She's not doing well with the love thing. Then Chris enters her life. I'm guessing that's the man in her fantasy.
How did she meet him?
Deborah Mailman plays Nina's best friend, Cherie. Cherie has a huge secret. What is it?
The show looks good. I especially like the last few seconds of the promo. I can relate to those feelings. You have a crush on someone. You go over to talk to them, and you get the feeling they want nothing to do with you. You tell yourself to back away, but your body refuses to listen. I think it's also like those phone calls. You get up the nerve to call someone. It doesn't go very well, and you know you should just say good-bye and get off the phone. Instead, you shamefully linger.
13. Saw from Lord Wiki that Packed to the Rafters won most popular drama.
14. Noticed that the Logies have awards for most popular this and that; and they have awards for most-outstanding this and that. I'm guessing the popularity categories are won with viewer votes.
Okay. Yeah. Lord Wiki confirms this. People vote via TV Week magazine. Then the outstanding-type awards are voted within the industry.
Lord Wiki says the popularity voters are heavily skewed by teenage girls.
15. Saw that the most outstanding actor award went to Richard Roxburgh for Rake. I've heard of him. He was dating someone I wrote about, but now I can't remember who that is.
Ah....it was Miranda Otto.
16. Found scene on YouTube from Rake. It's a courtroom type thing.
Roxburgh says "umbridge". You know, Tim has said that the name Dolores Umbridge is based on a word. I didn't pay him much attention. I guess he could be right.
It's spelled differently though. The word is umbrage. This dictionary defines it as offense; annoyance; displeasure.
17. Enjoyed the scene from Rake. The writing seems pretty good.
18. Saw that the most outstanding actress award went to Claire Van Der Boom for Sisters of War. I'm getting the idea from YouTube that it's a television movie rather than a television show. It's about nuns in World War II.
19. Found a trailer for Sisters of War. Now I see it's not just about nuns in World War II. It's about a friendship between a nurse and a nun.
How would our world change if we knew for sure there was life after death, and it was easy for our dearly-departed to talk to us via the Internet?
The Dead are Online a novel by Dina Roberts
20. Looked at photos of Victorian Free Gothic Buildings in Australia via the Sydney Architecture site. They have quite a few photos of Melbourne buildings. Many of them are on Collins Street. We really should walk on that street, at some point. I think we probably will.21. Realized that we will probably be eating a ton of egg products this week.
22. Watched very sad death scene on Packed to the Rafters which shows the dangers of using mobile phones while driving.
It's very depressing. I probably shouldn't have watched it. I'm already terrified of roads and cars.
Oh...I guess the guy ends up seeing his woman's ghost. It's nice to think that if you're killed in a car accident, your spirit may live on. That makes me feel a little better. I hate the idea of being totally kicked off the show.
I hardly drive at all anymore. I'm too scared, and too scared to motivate myself to get over the fear. I was planning to drive to the doctor's office tomorrow, but then I heard there's going to be thunderstorms. So I asked Tim to drive me. But then I worry...what if he and Jack get in an accident after dropping me off? It's all so scary. I do feel Tim has better chances because he's really great at driving. I'm not.
The other day Greg asked why I stopped being brave enough for driving. I said part of the reason was the construction on the road. There's been so much of it, and all the detours make me nervous. But I also think it's because when I drive with Tim he's often criticizing other drivers. I'm doubting they're worse than me. I really think people like me should stay off the road as much as possible.
I suspect that my family agrees with me. They used to pressure me to drive. I don't get any of that anymore. They actually seem quite willing to play the part of my chauffeur.
23. Started to watch the beginning scenes from Offspring's pilot. You know...it sort of reminds me of Ally McBeal.
I know I'm going to sound picky, but I don't like that they show a traditional scene of babies lined up in their little cages in the nursery. It's usually recommended these days that infants room in with their mothers. From what I remember, it's supposed to help with the breastfeeding relationship. If the baby is in the nursery, it's likely the nurses will feed it formula or give it a pacifier. That means the baby demands less milk, and breast milk works on a supply and demand system.
Now I know even with rooming-in situations, the baby will likely spend some time in the nursery. Jack did. But I think if a hospital usually kept babies with their mothers, there wouldn't be many babies in the nursery. I may be wrong.
Yes, it's just a fictional television show. But they give impressionable viewers ideas about things.
24. Liked the line at 4:20, referring to Nina's sister's arguing stamina.
25. Continued to watch the beginning of Offspring. At 5:04 Nina checks the phone in a similar way way to how Mel checked the phone in Packed to the Rafters. Mel got herself killed looking at the phone. I have a feeling Nina is going to have better luck.
26. Found webpage about the benefits of baby rooming-in with the mother at the hospital. I feel two different things. First, I feel kind of stupid complaining about a TV show. They probably just want an image of many babies together. I probably shouldn't get all political about it. Second, I feel kind of annoyed at myself for allowing Jack to spend time in the nursery. The hospital had us put him there so the pediatrician could check him while he was in there. Why? She should have just examined him in our room.
He did spend the nights with us. I forgot how many we had. Maybe just one? I like what the website says about lack of sleep. Many women say that the reason they choose to not have full-time rooming in was that they wished to rest while in the hospital. Let me give you some advice; it isn't going to happen! They go on to talk about how hospitals are quite disruptive to sleep.
Jack actually slept quite well in my room. Tim too. I had insomnia. I don't think having Jack in the nursery would have helped me sleep any better.
I think some mothers get the idea that the hospital stay is there last chance at rest and relaxation. But the baby is already there. Exhaustive motherhood has already begun. There's really no delaying it. It's unlikely the new parents will be getting good sleep any time soon. If they wanted to enjoy their last baby-free days, they should have done it during pregnancy. Now some could argue that pregnancy is quite uncomfortable during those last days, and it's hard to rest. That's true. But the body is also quite sore and messy in the days after birth.
26. Decided to leave the eggs at the lake house, because I read that they can last for a pretty long time. We're going to use them next week for our Mother's Day waffle bar.
27. Watched another scene from Rake. I thought it was pretty awesome. Cleaver Greene complains to a woman about her use of the word "correct." People talk, and if she likes what they say, she says "Correct". Greene says it makes her sound like a school teacher; and it makes her sound...maybe smug? It's hard to explain; better to just watch the scene.
It's probably just a speech pattern she has, and Greene is making too big a deal about it. Still though. I can maybe get where he's coming from. There are people out there who mistake opinion for fact. They're right, and everyone else is stupid and wrong. Now I think we all have these feelings to a small degree. I can't deny having them. But I think many of us TRY to be open-minded; and/or we at least try to be polite about it. I get very annoyed by the people who can't manage to disagree without name-calling type insults.
28. Started watching more scenes from the Offspring Pilot. I used the same style of narrative for my screenplay Thirty Cats. It has a lot of voice-over, flashbacks, and fantasy scenes. I was partly inspired by Ally McBeal. Although I think it was more along the lines of I wanted to use this type of style and worried it wouldn't be acceptable. So I'd tell myself, Hey, they do it in Ally McBeal and that's popular. I originally wrote Thirty Cats as a novel. I think because of the content and style, it would have lost a lot if I chose not to do fantasy scenes and voice-overs. Back when I was writing screenplays, I think voice-overs were somewhat frowned upon; the idea being you should SHOW and not tell. So that's probably why I was a bit insecure about the whole thing.
29. Found screenwriting editorial about voice-overs. I wanted to make sure I didn't imagine that voice-overs were once frowned upon. I didn't. This editorial is actually defending the voice-over; but he talks about a certain screenwriting guru named Robert McKee. Apparently McKee was religiously anti-voice-over.
30. Wondered why a chair blew up on Offspring. What's the deal with that? I'm guessing Nina's ex-boyfriend did that? There's talk of her needing to change her locks. She might have one of those stalker people after her...a revenge stalker, I suppose. These are the people who can't handle the end of a relationship or friendship. They obsess over the person who has left them (or rejected them) and they try to cause harm. We probably all obsess a little over those we've lost; and that's probably okay. I think it's only a problem when we let it take over our lives. And of course, it's a huge problem if we seek out to harm the person.
31. Learned that Brandon is the ex-boyfriend. He's apologetic about blowing up Nina's favorite chair. A part of me thinks maybe it was a one-off thing. We all go a little crazy sometimes. But it's likely not. If he had done only one obnoxious thing, she probably would still be with him.
The show is interesting. It gives a light view of a very serious topic—the obsessive scary violent spouse. Yeah. So, Brandon is Nina's ex-husband, and not just an ex-boyfriend. She talks about how they first met. He was brilliant and hot. Later, she realized he was obsessive (about her) and liked blowing things up.
32. Liked the sex (or almost sex) scene with Nina's sister and the gardener person. There's a bit of a twist there. It took me by surprise.
33. Watched The Chaser's spoof of The King's Speech. I thought it was pretty funny. They insinuate that Prince Phillip is racist. Is that true?
I guess it is. Wow. The Daily Beast has a list of some of his racist quotes. They're offensive, but so outrageous, they're kind of funny.
I said something stupidly racist the other day. Did I write about it here? I can't remember. Anyway, it was about the chicken-owning people. Tim told me he talked to the husband in the family, and reported that the said his wife was from the Philippines. I said something like Is he American? I realized immediately that I had said something racist and expressed shame over it. The funny thing is Tim didn't notice. He thought I thought I had been racist in some other way. I forgot what that was. But the way I was being racist is by assuming that because she was from the Philippines she couldn't be American. Okay, so she's not an American. Is her husband?
Something like this happened when Tim first met my parents. We went out to lunch. My dad asked Tim (the Korean adopted by white people) whether he felt more comfortable with Asians or Americans. Tim said Americans. But why do we assume the Asians are not Americans? It shouldn't be Asians or Americans. It should be Asians or Caucasians....or something like that.
Anyway, I think there is this feeling in countries like America (and probably Australia) that white people are the real citizens and the non-white people are the aliens. Now on a conscious level, of course I don't feel that way. I definitely think all colors of people should be equally welcomed and accepted. But obviously my subconscious still has some racist ideas. I guess the good news is I recognized it and felt ashamed of it. I personally feel it's better to recognize and confront our racist feelings. It's probably easier to change when you know there's a problem. Can there be much growth and development going on if we're in complete denial?
34. Decided to watch more of the Offspring pilot. At 3:44, Nina says But I'm going well. I've never heard anyone say that before. In America, we'd usually say I'm doing well. I have heard Australians say How are you going? In America, we'd say How are you doing? I like those little differences.
35. Almost had a bit of a heart attack. Tim's gone out to some benefit thing. It's storming. I get nervous with him out. Jack gets nervous with him out...which makes me even more nervous. Then I saw that Packed to the Rafters scene today, and that has me on edge. It involved one of those awful things where the police officers show up at the door.
Anyway, so a few minutes ago I was watching Offspring and heard Jack run down the steps. I then paused the video so I could figure out what was happening. Jack yelled something to me and for a moment I thought he said The police are at the door. Don't worry though. My moment of terror was extremely brief. I asked Jack to repeat himself and he said Do you want anything from the grocery store? Tim must have called to ask.
36. Continued watching the scenes from Offspring, and saw Deborah Mailman's character Cherie. She's pregnant. I guess maybe that's her big secret? Or maybe not. Maybe there's another big secret.
37. Learned from IMDb that Offspring is filmed in Melbourne.