1. Dreamed that I'm talking to some guy. He tells me he has photos of Australia. I then remember that I already knew this—knew that he'd be having Australian photos. I feel I should have brought this up instead of him having to remind me. I feel bad and apologize—explain about my bad memory.
Out in the garden where we planted the seeds
There is a tree as old as me
Branches were sewn by the color of green
Ground had arose and passed its knees
By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down
Held on as tightly as you held on me
Held on as tightly as you held on me......
21. Thought the best part of the movie was the song and how it fit so well with the plot.
22. Wondered if the song in the movie is the exact same one I've heard before, and my brain is acting subpar this afternoon.
OR maybe (hopefully) despite being the same singers, it's a different version and that's why I'm confused.
Songs sang by the same singer can sound different if the singers sing it in a different way, use different recording methods, different instruments, etc.
23. Consulted Lord Wiki and found out what's going on.
The version of the song I have on my Spotify list is a shortened version called "My Home".
24. Decided I prefer "My Home" over "To Build a Home".
25. Went to Random.org to pick my next show.
It's Home and Away!
I'm actually more pleased than I expected.
I knew that Random.org might pick that show for me someday. I had mixed feelings about it. Did I want to get into another soap opera after being so cruelly evicted from Ramsey Street?
Would seeing 2014 Summer Bay make me mourn 1988-1990 Summer Bay?
What's Summer Bay going to be like without the Fletcher Family?
I think it might be okay—fun actually. It's fun watching Australian soap operas, because so many of the actors end up being elsewhere. Some I'll see in future Australian shows, and others I'll see in American movies and American TV shows.
26. Saw that I won't be watching 2014 Home and Away.
Hulu starts with February 2015.
27. Looked at the cast of the first Hulu episode of Home and Away.
Ray Meagher is there, as I knew he would be.
Georgie Parker is still there as Roo Stewart. I wonder if I'll be okay with that. Or will I miss Justine Clarke?
Emily Symons is on the show—still playing Marilyn Chambers. I knew she stuck around for quite awhile, but I didn't realize it was for this long!
Stephen Peacocke looks familiar to me. I think this is because, before I watched 1988-1990 Home and Away, I watched a few episodes of the current show. Peacocke started around 2011. Maybe I watched episodes from that time period? Or not. Maybe I'm imaging I recognize Peacocke.
What I remember, though, is a female cop getting shot and dying. I remember Peacocke, or someone who looks like him, being in the hospital room.
28. Recognized Jolene Anderson in the credits; then saw that I've seen her on Rush and maybe All Saints.
29. Started watching "Yellow", a 2007 Tropfest finalist.
30. Thought the movie was very creepy and suspenseful...so far.
This guy gets into a cab and tells the driver he believes his wife is having an affair with his brother. If he finds this to be true, he's going to kill the cheating pair; then kill himself. He then tells the cab driver if the driver tries to stop him, he'll kill him too.
He's a psycho asshole, really.
I understand people being angry about adultery but not to the point of premeditated murder. And it's so unfair to drag the cab driver into it.
31. Didn't fully understand what happened at the end of the film.
But I liked it.
32. Saw comments on YouTube about the film.
I wasn't the only confused person.
33. Saw that Bill Allert, the writer and director of "Yellow" has made two other short films, and has done a small amount of screen-acting.
34. Saw that Allert played the scary passenger in the film.
35. Found an article about an Australian actor named Nathan O'Keefe.
The terrorized cab driver in "Yellow" was played by a Nathan O'Keefe. I think he might the guy in the article.
36. Read the article. It's about Nathan O'Keefe doing theater work around Australia. He seems to be into Shakespeare.
37. Found this website which confirms the theatre Nathan O'Keefe is the same Nathan O'Keefe in "Yellow". The IMDb credits match up.
38. Looked at Nathan O'Keefe's profile on the Lisa Mann Creative Management website.
39. Saw that O'Keefe has done a LOT of theater.
40. Saw that O'Keefe played David Hicks in a play called X-Ray. I'm guessing that's THE David Hicks, and not some random guy with the same name.
41. Found an interview about the play.
It's about David Hicks being in Guantanamo Bay.
42. Saw that O'Keefe won a Helpmann award for playing Pinocchio.
43. Found a feature about O'Keefe promoting his Pinocchio work.
44. Learned that when O'Keefe was a child he wanted to be an actor.
It's very cool that is childhood ambition became reality.
45. Learned that O'Keefe has a thing for reality TV sob stories. I don't. They annoy me.
O'Keefe says, You know, 'I was born with a comb-over, my dog never loved me and that’s why I dance' sort of thing. They get me every time.
Well, I like the way he describes it.
I've seen sob stories that seemed a bit forced. I picture the director of the show pushing the contestant. So, your parents are still alive? Uh...okay. Did they overcome cancer? A horrible disability? No? Really? How about your siblings. They're all totally okay? Are you sure? Do you have any illnesses? Did you ever break a bone? Debilitating PMS? Really? Not at all? Chicken pox? You had chicken pox? Well, we might be able to work with that? Did you have to go to the hospital? Oh! Really. You were left with a scar. On your back? I bet it was embarrassing wearing a bikini. What? Your bikini covered it? Well, how about the first time your...girlfriend? Oh...boyfriend...who was once a girl? No, okay. So the first time your boyfriend saw your chicken pox scar, I bet that was really hard for you.
I'm sure there aren't many people who are severely lacking life drama to that degree. Some people have huge life dramas and some people have moderate ones. I think the problem with the sob story segments is they take any problem and then work to blow them up into melodramatic tear-jerkers.
And sometimes it seems the competition seems to be more about who has the saddest sob story rather than who's the best dancer or singer.
46. Learned that O'Keefe likes chicken parmesan, and he has a Snuggie. This interview is from 2012, though. Things might have changed. O'Keefe might have a new favorite food; and his Snuggie might have been thrown away, because he got some kind of gross stain on it.
47. Learned that O'Keefe is a fan of Alan Rickman.
48. Saw that there's a New York Times review of O'Keefe's Pinocchio.
The play came to New York—at the New Victory Theater. I guess around March, because that's the date of the review.
49. Learned that this Pinocchio is modernized and deals with the subject of reality TV.
50. Went to the Windmill Theater website, which is the company that's responsible for the O'Keefe Pinocchio play. They have some clips and advertisements for the play.
51. Watched one of the videos and saw that the play is a musical.
52. Went back to the Lisa Mann Creative Management website.
I want to see if there are actors I recognize.
53. Saw that the agency is located in Bondi.
They have five agents working for them.
54. Saw actors I recognize—Amanda Bishop, Josh Lawson, Geoff Paine, Toby Truslove.
I recognize Christie Whelan Brown, but I don't know why. Who is she?
55. Saw that Christie Whelan Brown stars in a one woman show about the career of Taylor Swift.
That sounds interesting.
56. Saw that Christie Whelan Brown has been on Offspring and Wonderland. Maybe that's what I know her from?
57. Saw that Christie Whelan Brown played Kristen on Wonderland. I think maybe she's the one who acted very inappropriately at the wedding.
58. Saw that the actors I mentioned above are listed under Corporate. They're available to perform and/or host corporate events.
That's very cool.
I want to have an event with Geoff Paine as the host.
59. Looked at the actor page.
There are a lot of them.
Names I recognize and know where I've seen them before: Jolene Anderson, Michala Banas, Allison Bell, Caroline Brazier, Rachael Carpani, Lisa Chappell (which threw me off a bit, because she has blond hair in her photo), Alan Dale (OMG! That's very exciting), Ashleigh Cummings, Kip Gamblin, Damon Herriman, John Howard, Lachy Hulme, Judy Morris, Bojana Novakovic, Kat Stewart, and Ashley Zuckerman.
This agency works with some very successful people. I'm impressed.
Names and faces I recognize, but I'm not sure why: Jane Allsop, Tina Bursill, Danielle Carter, Richard Carter, Brett Cousins....
60. Started to worry that I'm recognizing people from two minutes ago when I looked through the list the first time.
But I'll continue, anyway. There's Wadih Dona....
61. Stopped looking, because I think I really am just recognizing people because I just looked at them.
62. Wanted to mention that Bruce Spence is recognizable to me. I've looked at his IMDb profile multiple times. But I can never manage to remember what's on it.
63. Saw that I would have seen Jane Allsop on House Husbands, Tangle, and The Slap.
64. Thought that Tina Bursill's identity is on the tip of my brain—that I'm going to be embarrassed that I didn't know who she is.
65. Thought that maybe she's from Neighbours—Paige's grandmother?
66. Found out I'm right!
That's good.
67. Saw that I would have seen Danielle Carter on The Elephant Princess, House Husbands and Paper Giants: Magazine Wars.
68. Saw that I would have seen Brett Cousins on The Secret Life of Us and Howzat: The Kerry Packer War. But I think really, I recognized him from the first time I looked through the list.
69. Saw that Wadih Donah was on a few episodes of Farscape.
I probably recognize his face from looking at the Farscape episodes on IMDb. On the show itself, he might have been covered with alien make-up.
70. Learned, from Lord Wiki's cousin, that Donah didn't play a character with tons of creature make-up. He played Crais's brother—the one that was accidentally killed by Crichton.
2. Saw that even more Victorian homes have been destroyed by fire—ninety-eight have burned.
And there will probably be more homes added to that.
It seems like it's going to be as bad—or it already is as bad as the 2009 fires.
3. Read another article about the fire. It talks about the bad and the good.
The good is that the tourist town of Lorne was spared.
The bad is that a place called Wye River was very much NOT spared.
The good is that no one has died in the fires.
4. Saw stuff about the Sydney to Hobart race on Twitter.
There's some American Yacht named Comanche that was injured and going to drop out, but then it reversed it's decision.
I guess it's still racing?
5. Read a little of this article about the race.
Comanche was winning at first.
I wonder if they'll end up staying in the race or not.
6. Hoped everyone in the race stays safe.
7. Wondered if the race is fun.
Or is it one of those things where the joy comes only from winning or finishing?
8. Wondered about marathons. Are there runners who actually enjoy the feeling of running long distances. Or is it the win and/or accomplishment they enjoy—along with the gladness about having a good workout?
I suppose the endorphins can bring some happy feelings.
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
9. Started watching an episode of Scooter: Secret Agent.
10. Saw that John McTernan, one of the main cast members, was born in the US.
He's been working as an actor in Australia, though, since 1972.
He might be an American who moved to Australia, or he could be an Australian whose parents happened to be in America at the time of his birth.
11. Consulted Lord Wiki. He says McTernan is an Australian actor of American descent.
McTernan won Logies in 1982 and 1983 for a show called Cop Shop.
12. Started to watch the rest of The Tree.
13. Started to think the movie is finally getting interesting.
There's lots of drama.
George, the man (Marton Csokas) dating the widow Dawn (Charlotte Gainsbourg) has shown his true colors. He's an asshole.
Simone (Morgana Davies), Dawn's grieving daughter, was extremely resistant to George joining their lives. I thought she was just being difficult in the typical way most children are when they don't want their missing parent replaced.
But no. George is an ass. He tries to cut down the tree that has become so important to Simone. Yes, it's growing out of control and ruining their house. But Simone feels it's her father. She protests the cutting of the tree by refusing to leave the tree and threatening to jump.
Yes, it's a little dramatic. But instead of reassuring her and being gentle...and backing away, George bitches at the young child. He even accuses her of not acting her age. I hate when people do that—appeal to a child's desire for maturity. Plus, George's argument is ridiculous. Come on! As if adults out there don't ever protest environmental issues by blocking an area or refusing to leave.
What's worse, though, is even when Dawn believes her daughter's threats about jumping, and she shouts at George to back down from the tree, he doesn't immediately back down.
14. Did want to admit that I find Simone's behavior to be aggravating. And I'm not a big fan of people threatening suicide to get their way. But it's not like she's threatening to jump off a bridge if her mother doesn't buy her a hoverboard.
She really believes her father is in the tree.
Plus, even without that. I do think it's incredibly sad to cut down such a magnificent tree. It seems there'd be a way to keep the tree, but also protect the house?
15. Thought another solution might be to cut down the tree but use the wood to build something beautiful. How about a playhouse? Maybe her father could become the playhouse.
16. Consulted Lord Wiki about the Moreton Fig Tree—the one in the movie.
Lord Wiki mentions the fact that the roots can cause problems with piping and invade footpaths. This is what happens in the movies. The family's pipes get messed up, and the roots start invading the neighbour's yard. Also, the tree itself grows into the house...or crashes into the house. I don't know if that's a natural event or something to do with the father possessing it. I think at least once or twice, the tree invaded when Dawn started getting romantic with George.
17. Hoped Dawn and George don't reconcile at the end of the movie, with it turning out that George's "tough love" was a good thing.
18. Liked a song at the end of the movie; then I realized it's a song I already know..with a different singer.
It might be a cover, or maybe the version I know is the cover.
The song is "To Build a Home". I know it as being from The Cinematic Orchestra.
19. Watched the credits to find the song.
It turns out my hearing must be not so great.
It IS The Cinematic Orchestra singing in the movie.
Oops.
Oops.
20. Thought the lyrics of the song fit the movie very well.
Out in the garden where we planted the seeds
There is a tree as old as me
Branches were sewn by the color of green
Ground had arose and passed its knees
By the cracks of the skin I climbed to the top I climbed the tree to see the world
When the gusts came around to blow me down
Held on as tightly as you held on me
Held on as tightly as you held on me......
21. Thought the best part of the movie was the song and how it fit so well with the plot.
22. Wondered if the song in the movie is the exact same one I've heard before, and my brain is acting subpar this afternoon.
OR maybe (hopefully) despite being the same singers, it's a different version and that's why I'm confused.
Songs sang by the same singer can sound different if the singers sing it in a different way, use different recording methods, different instruments, etc.
23. Consulted Lord Wiki and found out what's going on.
The version of the song I have on my Spotify list is a shortened version called "My Home".
24. Decided I prefer "My Home" over "To Build a Home".
25. Went to Random.org to pick my next show.
It's Home and Away!
I'm actually more pleased than I expected.
I knew that Random.org might pick that show for me someday. I had mixed feelings about it. Did I want to get into another soap opera after being so cruelly evicted from Ramsey Street?
Would seeing 2014 Summer Bay make me mourn 1988-1990 Summer Bay?
What's Summer Bay going to be like without the Fletcher Family?
I think it might be okay—fun actually. It's fun watching Australian soap operas, because so many of the actors end up being elsewhere. Some I'll see in future Australian shows, and others I'll see in American movies and American TV shows.
26. Saw that I won't be watching 2014 Home and Away.
Hulu starts with February 2015.
27. Looked at the cast of the first Hulu episode of Home and Away.
Ray Meagher is there, as I knew he would be.
Georgie Parker is still there as Roo Stewart. I wonder if I'll be okay with that. Or will I miss Justine Clarke?
Emily Symons is on the show—still playing Marilyn Chambers. I knew she stuck around for quite awhile, but I didn't realize it was for this long!
Stephen Peacocke looks familiar to me. I think this is because, before I watched 1988-1990 Home and Away, I watched a few episodes of the current show. Peacocke started around 2011. Maybe I watched episodes from that time period? Or not. Maybe I'm imaging I recognize Peacocke.
What I remember, though, is a female cop getting shot and dying. I remember Peacocke, or someone who looks like him, being in the hospital room.
28. Recognized Jolene Anderson in the credits; then saw that I've seen her on Rush and maybe All Saints.
29. Started watching "Yellow", a 2007 Tropfest finalist.
30. Thought the movie was very creepy and suspenseful...so far.
This guy gets into a cab and tells the driver he believes his wife is having an affair with his brother. If he finds this to be true, he's going to kill the cheating pair; then kill himself. He then tells the cab driver if the driver tries to stop him, he'll kill him too.
He's a psycho asshole, really.
I understand people being angry about adultery but not to the point of premeditated murder. And it's so unfair to drag the cab driver into it.
31. Didn't fully understand what happened at the end of the film.
But I liked it.
32. Saw comments on YouTube about the film.
I wasn't the only confused person.
33. Saw that Bill Allert, the writer and director of "Yellow" has made two other short films, and has done a small amount of screen-acting.
34. Saw that Allert played the scary passenger in the film.
35. Found an article about an Australian actor named Nathan O'Keefe.
The terrorized cab driver in "Yellow" was played by a Nathan O'Keefe. I think he might the guy in the article.
36. Read the article. It's about Nathan O'Keefe doing theater work around Australia. He seems to be into Shakespeare.
37. Found this website which confirms the theatre Nathan O'Keefe is the same Nathan O'Keefe in "Yellow". The IMDb credits match up.
38. Looked at Nathan O'Keefe's profile on the Lisa Mann Creative Management website.
39. Saw that O'Keefe has done a LOT of theater.
40. Saw that O'Keefe played David Hicks in a play called X-Ray. I'm guessing that's THE David Hicks, and not some random guy with the same name.
41. Found an interview about the play.
It's about David Hicks being in Guantanamo Bay.
42. Saw that O'Keefe won a Helpmann award for playing Pinocchio.
43. Found a feature about O'Keefe promoting his Pinocchio work.
44. Learned that when O'Keefe was a child he wanted to be an actor.
It's very cool that is childhood ambition became reality.
45. Learned that O'Keefe has a thing for reality TV sob stories. I don't. They annoy me.
O'Keefe says, You know, 'I was born with a comb-over, my dog never loved me and that’s why I dance' sort of thing. They get me every time.
Well, I like the way he describes it.
I've seen sob stories that seemed a bit forced. I picture the director of the show pushing the contestant. So, your parents are still alive? Uh...okay. Did they overcome cancer? A horrible disability? No? Really? How about your siblings. They're all totally okay? Are you sure? Do you have any illnesses? Did you ever break a bone? Debilitating PMS? Really? Not at all? Chicken pox? You had chicken pox? Well, we might be able to work with that? Did you have to go to the hospital? Oh! Really. You were left with a scar. On your back? I bet it was embarrassing wearing a bikini. What? Your bikini covered it? Well, how about the first time your...girlfriend? Oh...boyfriend...who was once a girl? No, okay. So the first time your boyfriend saw your chicken pox scar, I bet that was really hard for you.
I'm sure there aren't many people who are severely lacking life drama to that degree. Some people have huge life dramas and some people have moderate ones. I think the problem with the sob story segments is they take any problem and then work to blow them up into melodramatic tear-jerkers.
And sometimes it seems the competition seems to be more about who has the saddest sob story rather than who's the best dancer or singer.
46. Learned that O'Keefe likes chicken parmesan, and he has a Snuggie. This interview is from 2012, though. Things might have changed. O'Keefe might have a new favorite food; and his Snuggie might have been thrown away, because he got some kind of gross stain on it.
47. Learned that O'Keefe is a fan of Alan Rickman.
48. Saw that there's a New York Times review of O'Keefe's Pinocchio.
The play came to New York—at the New Victory Theater. I guess around March, because that's the date of the review.
49. Learned that this Pinocchio is modernized and deals with the subject of reality TV.
50. Went to the Windmill Theater website, which is the company that's responsible for the O'Keefe Pinocchio play. They have some clips and advertisements for the play.
51. Watched one of the videos and saw that the play is a musical.
52. Went back to the Lisa Mann Creative Management website.
I want to see if there are actors I recognize.
53. Saw that the agency is located in Bondi.
They have five agents working for them.
54. Saw actors I recognize—Amanda Bishop, Josh Lawson, Geoff Paine, Toby Truslove.
I recognize Christie Whelan Brown, but I don't know why. Who is she?
55. Saw that Christie Whelan Brown stars in a one woman show about the career of Taylor Swift.
That sounds interesting.
56. Saw that Christie Whelan Brown has been on Offspring and Wonderland. Maybe that's what I know her from?
57. Saw that Christie Whelan Brown played Kristen on Wonderland. I think maybe she's the one who acted very inappropriately at the wedding.
58. Saw that the actors I mentioned above are listed under Corporate. They're available to perform and/or host corporate events.
That's very cool.
I want to have an event with Geoff Paine as the host.
59. Looked at the actor page.
There are a lot of them.
Names I recognize and know where I've seen them before: Jolene Anderson, Michala Banas, Allison Bell, Caroline Brazier, Rachael Carpani, Lisa Chappell (which threw me off a bit, because she has blond hair in her photo), Alan Dale (OMG! That's very exciting), Ashleigh Cummings, Kip Gamblin, Damon Herriman, John Howard, Lachy Hulme, Judy Morris, Bojana Novakovic, Kat Stewart, and Ashley Zuckerman.
This agency works with some very successful people. I'm impressed.
Names and faces I recognize, but I'm not sure why: Jane Allsop, Tina Bursill, Danielle Carter, Richard Carter, Brett Cousins....
60. Started to worry that I'm recognizing people from two minutes ago when I looked through the list the first time.
But I'll continue, anyway. There's Wadih Dona....
61. Stopped looking, because I think I really am just recognizing people because I just looked at them.
62. Wanted to mention that Bruce Spence is recognizable to me. I've looked at his IMDb profile multiple times. But I can never manage to remember what's on it.
63. Saw that I would have seen Jane Allsop on House Husbands, Tangle, and The Slap.
64. Thought that Tina Bursill's identity is on the tip of my brain—that I'm going to be embarrassed that I didn't know who she is.
65. Thought that maybe she's from Neighbours—Paige's grandmother?
66. Found out I'm right!
That's good.
67. Saw that I would have seen Danielle Carter on The Elephant Princess, House Husbands and Paper Giants: Magazine Wars.
68. Saw that I would have seen Brett Cousins on The Secret Life of Us and Howzat: The Kerry Packer War. But I think really, I recognized him from the first time I looked through the list.
69. Saw that Wadih Donah was on a few episodes of Farscape.
I probably recognize his face from looking at the Farscape episodes on IMDb. On the show itself, he might have been covered with alien make-up.
70. Learned, from Lord Wiki's cousin, that Donah didn't play a character with tons of creature make-up. He played Crais's brother—the one that was accidentally killed by Crichton.