The Way Way Back

So tonight I attended the screening of The Way Way Back (see below for trailer) which is such a good movie. Before I go on I would just like to thank Mix 101.1 for allowing me this opportunity and for selecting my entry as one of the winners of the competition. I attended the screening at Hoyts Melbourne Central which are great (large) cinemas. The Way Way Back stars Steve Carell, Toni Collette and Allison Jenney among others. It's a great story of a shy 14-year-old Duncan who goes on Summer vacation with is mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend's daughter. Duncan has a hard time fitting in but finds an unexpected friend in Owen, the manager of the local Water Park. Along the way he also meets a girl and grows in confidence. It is a touching and relatable story and is not superficial at all. I really recommend you see it and give it a 4/5 which is a very good score. Even my 17 year-old brother enjoyed it.

I believe all the actors played their role very role. If you are not thinking of going as you believe it will be an all-comedy movie with a very superficial story line I tell you to disregard your prior knowledge. It may have actors like Steve Carell but it is still a touching and relatable story that will leave you hooked until the end. Toni Collette plays the role of Duncan's mother very well and portrays the emotions the character is going through very well. It really is one of those movies you have to go see as it has both comedy and drama which complement each other. Liam James also plays the role of Duncan exceptionally well and really does remind me of someone very awkward. Duncan is still trying to find his way around the social world and does have some elements of a socially awkward teenager. However, when he gets a job at the local Water Park his confidence increases tremendously and he you see a definite change in his persona from the beginning. In short, which I am sure I have actually said a lot above, The Way Way Back is a success that I highly recommend you go and see.

Image Source: 

http://www.digitalspy.com.au/movies/news/a493373/the-way-way-back-sam-rockwell-steve-carell-in-new-poster.html

Thanks again to Mix 101.1 for the opportunity, see you tomorrow!

Way Too Much Information!

We all know someone who over shares everything. We may not always know them in person but we may know them via the internet through sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Sometimes this over-sharing can be annoying while sometimes it can just be plain interesting (for those of us who are sticky beaks). Don't try to deny it, you can hang on the words of an over-sharer. Sometimes we can even go through phases where we share so much and we look back at it later and think "Why did I post that?" Over-sharing can be unhealthy but it can also be a good thing as it can help people get to know you as well as see signs of potentially dangerous or antisocial behaviour. An over-sharer can either be their worst enemy or their greatest companion.

Image Source: http://performancing.com/oversharing-vs-undersharing-in-social-media/

Sometimes you just go on Facebook and want to shout at an over-sharer because you see a post you either a) have no idea what it means, or b) was so stupid you wish you had no idea what it means. Sometimes I get so frustrated I have to just quickly scroll or exit the tab so as not to act rashly. However, some people make a living out of over-sharing. Video bloggers (vloggers) on YouTube make a lot of money as their channels grow in popularity. They basically carry a camera around with them all day and record the more interesting parts of the day. Personally, I enjoy watching it but I would never be able to do it myself as I need my privacy people. Please, do not get in the way of me and my privacy time. I just could not do that as I would feel it is invading my privacy as well as the privacy of those who are with me. I do not want my life put up on YouTube for everyone to see and I am pretty sure none of my friends do either. Then you have the people you meet at parties or school who, before you even tell them your name, have given you a 'brief' run-down of their lives from conception (yes conception, not birth) to where they are at the present. Sometimes all I wanted to say was hello or just be polite. Also, it is not as if I am suddenly going to spill the beans on every little secret in my life (and I have a few) just because someone else did, that is not how I roll. How I roll? Did I seriously just type that? Anyway, as always I love to hear from you guys and ALWAYS reply to your messages which you can send via the contact form to the right or by commenting on this post.

Also, tomorrow I won two double passes (through Mix 101.1 [thank you so much to them by the way]) to the screening of The Way Way Back with Toni Collette and Steve Carell. It comes out August 1st and so tomorrow, after the screening, I will be posting my review of it. It looks really good and I thank Mix 101.1 for actually picking my entry to win. All I had to do was (in 50 words or less) say what my favourite holiday experience was and why. I did not expect to win it and only entered because I was bored. I was very surprised to receive the tickets in the mail yesterday but I guess now you guys get the low-down (wow, again with the weird words) on this awesome new movie.

You will never get anything or go anywhere if you do not even try, see you tomorrow!

Study Distractions

We have all experienced distractions. We all know how annoying they can be and how destructive they are to our planned events. For someone to be always able to study without experiencing any distractions is to be very lucky. It is no easy task being able to sit down and study for an extended period of time without being distracted a few times. It is incredibly frustrating and so I have decided to compile a list of sorts that contains certain things I find distracting when I am trying to study. Chances are that you guys have experienced at least one of these and if you have not then I envy you. Oh, do I envy you...

Image Source: http://studysuccess.org/

The first, and main, distraction I come across while trying to study is people. Have you ever tried studying with your friends? It is really hard to do it well when every few seconds you start talking about something else or going out on a tangent that is in no way related to what you are trying to focus on. Sometimes you end up spending half the time studying and half the time socialising. Of course, this is not a bad thing but it can be very distracting and frustrating afterwards. Having people watching you while you are trying to study is also very distracting. Suddenly you become very self-conscious and think twice about every move you make. Suddenly a task that should have taken only forty minutes goes on for an hour. You can see why I do not like people staring over my shoulder when I am trying to just get my work done. Electronics is another major distraction. This is especially annoying when you are on your laptop researching something and  you just say to yourself that you will spend ten minutes on Facebook for a break. However, this break tends to stretch into time periods that are much longer than previously intended which is why I like just going in and getting things done. That way there is less chance of me being distracted while on breaks. Then there are the background sounds like television or radio that distracts you and all you can think about is storming down there and switching the offending article off. This happens way too often to me and as you can see, even this Blog can be distracting. The above list is but some of what distracts me and there is a lot more but I will not list them all here as it would be very long.

Don't let distractions stop you from studying and never take breaks on Facebook or technology, see you tomorrow.

Stupid Things People Say in Court

So I was scrolling through news.com.au as some people tend to do so as not to have to watch the full news programs or skim through the newspaper. As I was doing this I came across an article about issues in courts with what people say and how they present themselves. I tried searching for the article to link it here but I could not find it. Therefore I did some further intensive research (as in a quick Google search and then click on the first site to pop up) into some of the stupid things that people say in court. Below I have compiled a list of some of my favourites and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. These are all taken from official court records from all around the United States of America.

Image Source: http://lawyer-jokes.mytwotails.com/topics/all-kinds-of-funny/courtroom-humor/

The following is what the accused perpetrator (representing himself) asked to the prosecutor. Needless to say he was found guilty and sentenced to a term in Jail.

ACCUSED: "Did you get a good look at my face when I took your purse?"

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "Can you describe what the person who attacked you looked like?"

WITNESS: "No. He was wearing a mask."

LAWYER: "What was he wearing under the mask?"

WITNESS: "Er... his face."

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "This myasthenia gravis -- does it affect your memory at all?"

WITNESS: "Yes."

LAWYER: "And in what ways does it affect your memory?"

WITNESS: "I forget."

LAWYER: "You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?"

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "How old is your son, the one living with you?"

WITNESS: "Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which."
LAWYER: "How long has he lived with you?"

WITNESS: "Forty-five years."

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "Trooper, when you stopped the defendant, were your red and blue lights flashing?"

WITNESS: "Yes."

LAWYER: "Did the defendant say anything when she got out of her car?"

WITNESS: "Yes, sir."

LAWYER: "What did she say?"

WITNESS: "What disco am I at?"

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?"

WITNESS: "No."

LAWYER: "Did you check for blood pressure?"

WITNESS: "No."

LAWYER: "Did you check for breathing?"

WITNESS: "No."

LAWYER: "So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began the autopsy?"

WITNESS: "No."

LAWYER: "How can you be so sure, Doctor?"

WITNESS: "Because his bran was sitting on my desk in a jar."

LAWYER: "But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?"

WITNESS: "Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere."

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?"

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "And you check your radar unit frequently?"

OFFICER: "Yes, I do."

LAWYER: "And was your radar unit functioning correctly at the time you had the plaintiff on radar?"

OFFICER: "Yes, it was malfunctioning correctly."

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "What happened then?"

WITNESS: "He told me, he says, 'I have to kill you because you can identify me.'"

LAWYER: "Did he kill you?"

WITNESS: "No."

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "Now sir, I'm sure you are an intelligent and honest man --"

WITNESS: "Thank you. If I weren't under oath, I'd return the compliment."

_____________________________________________________________________

The following is a collection of sentences a number of Lawyers have said. Still from official US transcripts.

LAWYER: "You were there until the time you left, is that true?"

LAWYER: "So you were gone until you returned?"

LAWYER: "The youngest son, the 20 year old, how old is he?"

LAWYER: "Were you alone or by yourself?"

LAWYER: "How long have you been a French Canadian?"

LAWYER: "You don't know what it was, and you didn't know what it looked like, but can you describe it?"

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "I show you Exhibit 3 and ask you if you recognise that picture."

WITNESS: "That's me."

LAWYER: "Were you present when that picture was taken?"

_____________________________________________________________________

The Lawyer said the following when he knew he was on the verge of asking a stupid question:

LAWYER: "Your Honor, I'd like to strike the next question."

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "What is your brother-in-law's name?"

WITNESS: "Borofkin"

LAWYER: "What's his first name?"

WITNESS: "I can't remember."

LAWYER: "He's been your brother-in-law for years, and you can't remember his first name?"

WITNESS: "No. I tell you, I'm too excited." (Rising and pointing to his brother-in-law) "Nathan, for heaven's sake, tell them your first name!"

_____________________________________________________________________

LAWYER: "What is your relationship with the plaintiff?"

WITNESS: "She is my daughter."

LAWYER: "Was she your daughter on February 13, 1979?"

I hope you enjoyed these as it took a long time to type!

Remember to think before you speak, see you tomorrow.

Advertisements

Have you ever driven somewhere and seen really 'interesting' advertisements? Have you ever watched a television show and then an entirely out-there advertisement comes out of the blue? Even some of the normal advertisements can be so annoying that you just love to hate them. The Rivers commercials are great examples of those advertisements where you have no idea what to think. That monotone of a voice-over just makes the whole thing really boring. There are many other advertisements out there that are just as bad, for want of a better word, in other areas outside of television commercials. Advertisements can really be interesting and, sometimes, very relatable.

Image Source: http://www.funofart.com/cool-informative-advertisements/

Sometimes the most interesting (and hilarious) advertisements are ones that are paired together often just by coincidence. This happens a lot with billboards where you have one advertisement and then, on the next billboard, there is another advertisement that fits in so well with the one before. It is sort of like when you switch between channels mid-sentence and the channel you changed to finished the sentence in an hilarious manner. Have you ever actually done that? It is actually pretty funny sometimes, especially with news bulletins and other shows put together. There were two billboards like what I talked about above a while ago as you come off the Westgate Bridge leaving the City. The first was a work safety advertisement with a little girl asking "Where's Daddy?" Then the next advertisement was a billboard advertising a men's club/lounge (basically a strip-lounge). It went together so well that it made for a few good memes on some of the Australian Facebook Pages. Then there are the all too relatable television commercials. These are the ones that present something meant to be ridiculous but you are actually able to think when that happened to you. This happened to me recently when there was an advertisement where a family was taking a photo together in their living room and then the dog bum-crawls across the scene with a look of ecstasy on his face. It reminded me so much of all the times Sandy has done that, it really was very sad. That is why advertisements can be so annoying and weird. Sometimes this can be because of where they are placed and sometimes it can be because the content is too damn relatable.

Advertisements can be very entertaining so always look on the bright side, see you tomorrow!

Yet Another Late Post

I am making too much of a habit out of this. It just cannot be good but, alas, it must be done. Yes, I did just type 'alas', don't judge me, I am tired. It has been just one of those nights you want to move on from but enough of that. These late posts are really making it hard to think of topics to write about.

That's just one of the reasons why writing daily posts is hard. I always have an idea of what to write some time before I write these posts. The problem is just remembering it. Finding inspiration is no problem, it is just the translating into words that is an issue. So if you ever wish to write a daily blog think very carefully about it as it does require a level of commitment. I better stop here or it will not be out before midnight.

Blogging is a challenge to be overcome, see you tomorrow.

Another Late Post

So today is yet another late post. As I am typing this on my phone it will not be as long and, of course, will not include pictures. As it is late I thought I would just update you guys on what has been going on for me recently. It has been a while since I have done one of these but from my previous posts you may have gleaned a bit of an insight into what I've been up to.

As you may have realised from my previous post on Acronyms I am currently part of a recruit course for my local CFA as I was in juniors but once you turn 16 you can become a full-firefighter. I started this just before the holidays finished but there is still a long way to go yet. Just a warning that if you do want to become a firefighter there is a lot of theory to cover including tests. In other news, on Monday it is the start of LOTE week at my school and at lunchtime there is a house captain cook off. Apparently though this is just decorating something though which is lucky otherwise they would have had a burnt entry. Nothing much else has happened really so I do not have that much to tell.

Don't let the mundane get you down, see you tomorrow!