Random Thought Saturday: Thinking Ahead

Again, I bring you another Random Post Friday on a Saturday. That means that I have done more Random Thought Fridays on a Saturday than I have on a Friday. As such I had to change the name of the segment to Random Thought Saturday as it is more realistic that I can get these regular posts out on a Saturday as compared to a Friday. Anyway, onto the inaugural Random Thought Saturday! As you will know I recently missed two days in one week (very weird considering that over all I have only missed maybe 4 days (excluding the few days right at the start of this Blog where I was getting into the swing of things)) due to scheduling woes and late nights that went later than expected. Anyway, I would just like to say that every time this happens I feel bad about it as my blog is called "Daily Lukey" so I can not just get away with missing days every so often. I promise to work harder on this to prevent this from happening again but I can not make any promises that it will not happen again as it most likely will. In other news, I was surprised to realise that this is the 247th Post on this Blog. Seeing how far I had come made me think about where I was going and, as such, I got thinking about my one year anniversary which will be on March 24 2014. As part of this I began thinking of how I was going to celebrate it and make it special. Some ideas have already been drafted but you will have to wait until next year to find out what I am planning.

Source: https://museuminsider.co.uk/2011/11/10/feature/looking-and-thinking-ahead-libraries/

Thinking ahead another month and I will be in Papua New Guinea. This will, of course, mean no internet (how will I survive?) but it does not mean no posts. I will be scheduling posts to appear while I am away (16th to 25th of April 2014) and I have kind of an idea as to what I should write about but I also have to plan it out. After those dates there will probably still be a few days after where the posts will most likely focus on my experience. This may be a day-per-post or maybe one or two depending on what happens but I am planning to fill you all in on my experience when I return. If you have anything that you want to know about the journey, feel free to send them in via the contact form to the right, send it through my Facebook Page, comment below or email me directly at legolukeytutorials@gmail.com. Your question very well may be a part of one of my posts, if not the whole post (depending on the breadth of answer I can give). They will most likely be my experience of preparing for Kokoda and what the program has been like for me and how I got to where I am at that time. Basically the last half of April and most likely the beginning of May is all going to be about Kokoda and things in relation to it, so get ready for that! I may even give you all a little lesson in the history and significance of the place if I have space. Those posts will most likely be written sometime in March and April so they should be relevant and up-to-date. Thinking a little bit back from that point but still in the future, let us discuss Christmas and New Years. Since December (and Summer for Australia) begins tomorrow one of the main things on the majority of people's minds is Christmas and the new year. Today, after I returned from my training and boot-fitting for Kokoda, I helped my parents set up our Christmas decorations because Mum loves having them up before December because she really gets into the mood of Christmas for pretty much the whole month (it can take the remainder of December after Christmas for Mum to cool off from the buzz of the occasion). It is great though because it is a family tradition and what is family without a few traditions?

Sometimes we must look into the future to really appreciate our past. See you tomorrow.

What Songs Really Mean

Have you ever been listening to a song and thought "What is this person trying to say?" Of course, I am not talking about some of Miley Cyrus' new songs but instead some of the other popular songs you hear on the radio. Well, in today's post, I am going to talk to you all about what songs actually mean. Before we continue on I just want to apologise for yet another lack-of-post yesterday but my brother's Valedictory dinner went later than expected and all you would have got from me anyway was a hastily written "Sorry I am so late right now but I am writing this on my phone.." and the rest you can just guess. I was sleeping most of the way home anyway so was in no state to share my views with the world because, most likely, the world would have rejected them. So, on with the show!

1. Do What U Want by Lady Gaga (Ft. R. Kelly)

Source: http://www.celebuzz.com/2013-07-30/here-is-everything-we-know-about-lady-gagas-artpop-so-far/

Looking in on this song it just sounds like Lady Gaga asking you to do literally anything to her. However, if you actually look at the lyrics you get a whole different perspective. The first verse is all about how she puts herself out there and yet is judged by other people who do not know her and it makes her "want to scream". Then she goes onto say that you can do what you want with her body and you can say what you want about her but you can never take her heart and her mind. It is basically her fighting back at her critics saying that they can say whatever they want about her because she does not care. It really is a great message from a song that, from the outset, looks to be all about sex. That is merely one interpretation and the beauty of this is that it is open to all these interpretations and so how I read it is going to be entirely different to how someone else reads it. It really is quite fantastic.

2. Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus

Source: http://globalgrind.com/2013/10/16/acoustic-version-miley-cyrus-wrecking-ball-new-music/

This song is again one that people come into with a lot of prejudice. If you take away all your prejudices you actually realise that this is a very emotional and from-the-heart song that is just Miley trying to be sincere. Even the nudity is artistic in this context as it is intended to show her raw emotions and what she is going through. The song is about Miley Cyrus putting herself out there only to be heart-broken just when she let her guard down. It is all about her struggles with giving the person her all only to be shut-down. At some points she blames herself for coming in too hard (the wrecking ball being a metaphor for her love) and trying to get through to the other person. Even without the lyrics you can tell that this song is more than just Miley Cyrus trying to get some more attention, it is nothing like that. For all we know, it could be about her break up with fiance (sorry, it will not allow me accents on blogger) Liam Hemsworth.

3. Royals by Lorde

Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5770722/lordes-royals-crowns-hot-100-for-fifth-week

It is hard to believe that this relatively new artistic sensation only just turned 17 this month but wow, he career has sky-rocketed. The song for which most people know her, Royals, is one that most people have listened to and liked so let us dissect the lyrics. She starts by saying that she is not rich and does not live in a rich-town. She then, correctly, says that every other song is about wealth, fame, drugs and sex and it is partly this true fact that makes the song so popular. People are finally getting something different and wholesome and have a new platform to support this view. Lorde than goes on to sing about how they will never be rich and famous but in their dreams they can be whoever they want to be. Lorde even says that she never did it for the money (here we can assume she is referencing her fame) while every other song is "like gold teeth, grey goose, trippin' in the bathroom. Blood stains, ball gowns, trashin' the hotel room." It really is an honest song that takes a different perspective to all the other songs out there. It really is a great song.

Not all songs are as they initially appear, see you tomorrow!

The Wrong Lyrics

There are many horrible things in our world today. One of the worst is what I am going to be talking about today. For those of you who actually read the title (you would be surprised how many people do not) of this post would know what I am going on about. Of course, I am talking about the times when you have a song stuck in your head and you do not know most of the lyrics. But wait, this is not even the worst part. It is even more annoying when you think you have the right lyrics but all you end up doing is singing the one line over and over again (for some songs this works) or just putting in random words. For instance, I have only actually listened to Royals by Lorde once (do not judge me) and so I know the general sound and rhythm as well as a lot of the lyrics. However, there are some parts where I either just hum it or I insert some random words. Once, after watching Fringe, I found myself singing "And we will never be Broyles (Broyles)". It really just stuck and so now, almost every time, I find myself singing that line instead of actually singing the right words.

Source: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5770722/lordes-royals-crowns-hot-100-for-fifth-week

The worst part is sometimes what part of the song that you remember. You know how some songs make sense all together but if said in dribs and drabs it makes absolutely no sense and makes you look crazy. As my favourite artist is Lady Gaga and most of her songs are a little "out-there" as it is sometimes the parts of her songs I can remember can make me sound like a sexual predator. For instance, in Aura (one of her new songs from ARTPOP) the only part I can clearly remember besides the beginning is "Do you want to see me naked lover? Do you want to peek underneath the covers? Do you want to see the girl who lives behind the aura, behind the aura? Do you want to touch me cosmic lover? Do you want to peek underneath the cover? Do you want to see the girl who lives behind the aura, behind the aura, behind the aura, behind the aura?" Do you know how weird that would sound if you passed someone singing that on the street. Do not even get me started on the only parts I can remember of her songs Sexxx Dreams, Jewels and Drugs, and Dope. Even though Dope is actually a very emotional and deep song, the main parts I can remember make me seem like a drug-addict. Although, in Werribee that might not stand out as much (no judge). Admittedly, even if I knew all the lines of Sexxx Dreams I would still sound extremely weird to anyone passing by. At least Gypsy is a relatively normal song with no explicit sexual innuendo so I can get away with singing that in public, Venus not so much. Mary Jane Holland sort of though I would seem like I am having a delusion of stardom with someone called Mary Jane Holland. Donatella would just make me sound like a superficial rhymes-with-witch and Fashion would make me seem like that guy from the Target advertisements.

This is a very serious issue, see you tomorrow! 

Weird News Tuesday: What?

So we are back again to this day, Tuesday. I know you guys were expecting a post yesterday and, believe you me, so was I. However, scheduling again messed me up so instead I am doing another Weird News Tuesday post. I really do not know what is going on with my Random Thought Friday posts because each week, for whatever reasons, my Fridays get busy (or I forget) but you can always rely on the Weird News Tuesday: Keeping you up to date with the news that matters. Today I will be using the news site: The Daily Telegraph (Australian). We begin with the infamous Lara Bingle with a story I have seen on every news site I have visited tonight. Apparently, the weekly magazine Famous published a photo of her where they allegedly photo shopped more "Cellulite" onto her thighs. Yes, you read that right. They added more "cellulite", not fat, "cellulite". What do they stand to gain by saying cellulite instead of fat? It saves ink (and a few milliseconds). Also, in major news (according to every news site I have been on), the death of Brian Griffin from Family Guy has left fans all over the world reeling. Apparently this is news. Do not get me wrong though, I love Family Guy so I am dedicating this post to Brian Griffin (1999-2013). May he rest in animated peace.

Source: www.unrealfacts.com

In other 'news', a woman (Lucy Cavendish) gives an insight into what it is like living as a 'white' witch. I mean 'white' as in good, not talking about skin colour here. Her book 'Spellbound' gives an insight into how her spells work and how to incorporate witchcraft into everyday life. A man's life was saved after his old boss accidentally butt dialed him. The boss was actually plotting how to kill this man and if he had not have butt dialed him. First, why was that guy's number the one that pops up first. Was his name "Aardvark" or was his number "1111111" or "2148701273"? Seriously, how does that even happen. I have heard of drunk-dialing someone but this is reaching all new heights. A London woman has hatched an 'Ingenious"  plan to get a date with Ryan Gosling or someone similar. Basically she puts up "Lost" posters all around the place with Ryan Gosling's photo on it with her number underneath. Talk about new ways of picking up people. Apparently now there is a legitimate occupation where you go around to different toilets all around the world and use them to find the best toilet in the world. So that is a thing now. Also, an unlucky burglar got stuck in the bathroom window of a house he was trying to break into. When the victim came home the burglar actually had to ask him to call the police. If it were me, I would have waited an hour or so to let him sweat it out (Payback is a bitch and bitch is my middle name). Kids these days bring all sorts of things to show-and-tell. On the list you have toys, books, magazines, parents' "Vibrating Rocket Ship", teddy bears among other things. I could make a really bad pun about rocket ships and Uranus but I will not, I am above that (for now). A group (I do not know which one [there are so many out there these days]) has banned the consumption of soy because they believe it can turn you gay. Yeah, of all the ridiculous theories I have heard that has got to be up there as one of the most ridiculous. The worst part is that someone obviously believes this. Finally, family's had to rush from their homes in Brazil after a fire at a sugar warehouse released a flood of caramel that threatened the surrounding houses. That would have been quite the sticky situation.

The news just keeps getting weirder and weirder. See you tomorrow!

50 Reasons why I Love Doctor Who (Part 2)

This morning I was awake, as I said I would be, at 6:50 for The Day of the Doctor which, for those of you who have been living under a rock, is the 50th Anniversary Special Episode of Doctor Who. It was actually a pretty awesome episode with emotion, comedy and a great story. It exemplifies the many reasons why Whovians all around the world have stayed true over 50 years, even when Doctor Who was not running. If you missed out on part 1 of this post yesterday where I mentioned the first twenty-five reasons why I love Doctor Who, then click here. Please note that these reasons are in no particular order.

Source: http://whatculture.com/tv/doctor-10-awesome-episodes-weary-waiting-50th-anniversary.php

26. The Soundtrack. What Whovian could not pick out the tunes from a Doctor Who soundtrack. They are so amazing they convey a story without words or images. Sometimes you even have memories of episodes and experiences you had surrounding that episode when you listen to the soundtrack. Music really is magical.
27. The Time Lords. These lords of time have been seen in many ways over the years. They have been seen as wonderful, as scary and as horrible human beings. As the Doctor aptly says "The time-war changed them." They really are the worst creatures in the Universe.
28. The Master. Who could not fall in love with an insane psychopath? The least you can do is love to hate him.
29. Sexy. Those of you who have watched the episode The Doctor's Wife when I say Sexy. I am not using it as an adjective but rather as a name. Sexy: the human form of the TARDIS mainframe which was ripped from its home by House (not the doctor, an asteroid on the fringe of the Universe) and placed inside a human's body only later to die in that human's body and return to the TARDIS. That was one hell of an episode.
30. Gallifrey. This home of the Time Lords which was once thought destroyed in the Great Time War. Those of you who have watched The Day of the Doctor will know at what I am hinting at here.
31. Writers. The wonderful (and ever-changing) team of writers that work on Doctor Who make it as wonderful and as deep as it is today, without them there would be no Doctor Who.
32. Russel T. Davies, the man responsible for bringing Doctor Who back in 2005.
33. The Make-Up Artists who create and change all the actors into monsters or transformed versions of humans. They make magic with some plastic and a lot of skill.
34. Sonic Screwdriver. How many times could the Doctor have died or failed in his tasks if he had not had his trusty Sonic Screwdriver? The answer is too many times to count.
35. Actors. Without the myriad of actors who have worked on Doctor Who, the show would be no where. Part of the success of the show has to be put on the actors who allowed the characters to come to life.
36. No Guns. As much terror and war the Doctor has seen he condemns the use of firearms, especially on people. The one time he was near shooting someone (in The End of Time Part 2) he found the strength not to and instead saved the world, yet again, without the need for fire-arms. America should learn something from that.
37. The Fez. Matt Smith's doctor came with one added attachment, his Fez. Even in The Day of the Doctor, as Clara puts it, "You can never walk past a fez, can you?" No he can not and we love him for that.
38. Steely determination. The Doctor's determination to peacefully settle disputes with as little loss of life as possible is a great strength on his behalf. Even when the opposition does not remotely deserve a second chance the Doctor offers it to them anyway, that is just the kind of time lord he is.
39. K-9. This lovable robot dog who even had his own show for a little while is another of the many reasons why fans love Doctor Who and all his quirks.
40. The Doctor's Darker Side. We see this side of the Doctor on many occasions and each time we see him fight through and realise his wrongs. Doctor Who can be a great moral story at times.
41. Forgiveness. No matter what the enemy has done, the Doctor always feels that they can be forgiven. It is this which separates him from the time lords who changed as a result of the Last Great Time War.
42. Romantic Tension. Who does not love to see the Doctor fight off his companions as many of them (especially in the modern telling of the show) fall in love with this time lord?
43. Story Arcs. Who does not love a good story arc. Some run for just a season (such as the cracks in the universe in Season 5) while others run for much longer (such as the mystery of River Song and Bad Wolf). Most of the time we do not even realise they are story arcs until the big reveal right at the end. It really is masterful writing.
44. Spoilers. River Songs favourite thing to say to the Doctor. Who does not love the story arc of River Song? "The Doctor is her first and her last." There is still so much to be learnt about River Song or, should I say ("Spoilers"), Melody Pond.
45. The Weeping Angels. They are the one new monster that will stand as one of the scariest monsters in Doctor Who history. Who would not be scared of creatures that are statues when you see them but incredibly fast when you can not. One touch will send you back in time while they feed off all the years you could have had if you had not met them. Oh, did I mention they can also turn off lights?
46. Rory Williams, the boy who waited. This couple of the boy who waited and the girl who waited (Amy Pond) sets off a great love story to be remembered by Whovians for decades to come. What love is stronger than waiting 2000 years for the girl you love? Rory Williams is one top bloke. Did I really just say bloke?
47. Putting Hitler in the closet. Who did not laugh at that scene in Let's Kill Hitler. The Doctor did not care (nor apparently did Rory Williams or Amy Pond) that Hitler was, and still is, one of the most infamous people in the world. Instead, he just put him in the closet while he sorted out what had to be done.
48. Human Villains. As much as there are evil monsters, there are also evil humans which the Doctor has to face every now and then. They really do make the story more realistic as who would believe in a world where only aliens are evil and humans play no part?
49. Moral. Doctor Who teaches us a lot about morals in many different ways. You have the Doctor's constant appeals to the monsters to ask forgiveness, then you have his steadfast anti-firearms value. Not to mention all that he stands for.
50. The final reason why I love Doctor Who can only be described using two words. Doctor Who?

I hope you enjoyed this, in further celebration I will soon be posting my top 50 Doctor Who moments. See you tomorrow!

50 Reasons why I love Doctor Who (Part 1)

It is the 23rd of November and we all know what that means? No, I do not mean One Direction Day. I mean the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary! As I live in Australia, the 50th Anniversary special (The Day of the Doctor) does not air until 6:50 am tomorrow on ABC1. Now you know what I will be doing between 6:50 and 8:07. To celebrate this momentous occasion in Doctor Who history I have compiled a list of 50 reasons why I, and so many others around the world, love Doctor Who.

Source: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/doctor-who/images/35308700/title/doctor-who-50th-anniversary-wallpaper

1. The story is timeless and has adapted over time to suit the current era. Throughout its entire run it has managed to give audiences what they want and boy, have they taken it.
2. You never know quite what to expect. Anything can happen where The Doctor is involved.
3. Even though the stories can seem so out-there you are still able to connect with the story which is a very hard thing to achieve with something that is not even human.
4. The stories are believable. For all we know, the silence could exist and we just can not remember them. The vashta nerada could in fact be the reason why people are afraid of the shadows. Everything makes sense.
5. While the show has changed a lot over 50 years, the writers still make references to Classic Doctor Who and even in Season 6 there were references to episodes with the first ever Doctor, William Hartnell.
6. Regenerations keep the show moving. It makes it plausible to have many actors play the same role over 50 years and could even see the show go on for much longer as they are not limited by the age of actors.
7. Companions make up half the show. As much as the show is about Doctor Who it is also about the doctor's companions and their relationships and experiences. They represent us, as humans, and are our 'representatives' if you want to call them that in the story. They give us someone else to connect to, who did not cry when Amy and Rory jumped off the building to stop the Weeping Angels (As River Song would say, Spoilers).
8. The show appeals to people all around the world and it creates a global community that connects so many different people all over the world.
9. It can teach us a lot about history with many episodes featuring historical figures such as Queen Elizabeth the 1st, Madame le Pompadour, William Shakespeare and Vincent Van Gogh, you learn just as much as you enjoy without even realising it.
10. You can jump into the show at almost any episode and still have it make sense. The first episode I watched was The Girl in the Fireplace and that is in the second season (of the modern series) with David Tennant as the Doctor.
11. Comedy. The show has serious times but it also has laughter. It is a great balance such that the show does not become a comedy, but it still has light-hearted moments that always make you laugh such as the Doctor always wishing he was ginger after every regeneration.
12. Heart. Throughout the 50 years this show has been running there is one thing it has never lost, its heart. It may be funny, it may be serious but it is also full of heart and emotion with so many highs and so many lows. It really is an almost all-round show.
13. Continuity. The show always continues stories that it left off in previous seasons, if not decades. Sometimes they are small little references and other times they are huge. However, each time you notice one it does give you a bit of a kick.
14. Whovians. Perhaps one of the best things about Doctor Who is the fans. This big fandom around this show (which I am not going to call little) adds an extra element and makes the show that much bigger. Without the fans, Doctor Who would never have made it this far.
15. Donna Noble. Whilst the majority of the other companions were busy flirting with the doctor, Donna here took no such nonsense and did not let the Doctor take advantage of her. She also added another layer of comedy as well as a lot of emotion (have you seen The Fires of Pompeii?)
16. Exterminate! After all these years, the one creature that can strike fear into the hearts of every Whovian through the use of one word is, of course, the Daleks. They may not seem very scary to an outsider but to a Whovian it does not get much worse.
17. Catchphrases. Each Doctor has had their own thing, or catchphrase, that you would often hear them say. For David Tennant it was "Allonsy" and for Matt Smith it was "Geronimo". It added another layer to the Doctor that you would only uncover if you looked hard enough.
18. The Mystery. After 50 years you would think that you would know every secret of the Doctor but oh, we only know the tiniest portion. This time lord has many secrets and it only takes a good writer to weed them out and make out like they were planned since the very beginning.
19. The TARDIS, Time-And-Relative-Dimensions-In-Space. This infinite time machine of the Doctor's again hides many secrets, as we discovered in Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS and as such there is still a lot more to uncover. Oh, and did I mention that it can change?
20. Signature style. The Doctors have many things in common but one easy way to distinguish between them was their signature style. This has been the same since the very beginning and the writers have stayed true to this the whole time. You have Matt Smith's bow-ties, Sylvester McCoy's Umbrella, David Tennant's suit and many more.
21. Torchwood. This government agency looks into and covers up events and issues relating to outer space and, dare I say it, 'Aliens'. This organisation even had its own television series thanks to Doctor Who. Torchwood, you are so awesome.
22. Doctor Explanations. These are when the Doctor tries to make things clear by explaining them but only succeeds in making even less sense. For instance, he explains the time-locked time-war as being trapped inside a giant bubble before saying, oh nothing like that. Matt Smith's Doctor is the worst I have seen as he does this every time. He asks you to think of something and then says it is nothing like that.
23. Monsters. The creative monsters never cease to amaze. At first they seem superficial or just scary but then you find out their background and realise how deep their stories actually are. What whovian has not been creeped out by the Weeping Angels, or being afraid of the shadows thanks to the Vashta Nerada?
24. Stormageddon, the dark lord of all. Who did not immediately fall in love with this baby from the episode Closing Time in Season 6. Craig's reappearance in this story only made fans love the story ever the more.
25. The Doctor's Languages. Is it not very convenient, and hilarious, how the Doctor can speak so many languages, even the ones we never knew actually existed? He can speak baby, animal and many other things. Sometimes I wonder if he just makes half the stuff up. Then I remember he is a fictional character.

See 25 more reasons why I love Doctor Who in tomorrow's post! See you tomorrow!

Weird Inventions

Today I had no school due to correction day for teachers to mark exams and for students to complete make-up exams if they missed some for whatever reason. Anyway, so today I went to see Catching Fire (which is an awesome movie by the way) and at the end I had to go to the toilet, as you do. As I was relieving myself I got to thinking how weird inventions came about such as the "pee wall" (I could not find anywhere what the actual name was). Again, this is something you normally do as you pee. Anyway, so today I thought I would go through some of the inventions that would have seemed weird at the time they were conceived. Let us begin with the "pee wall". How did that even come about? Did someone want to make peeing on walls socially acceptable. Before this invention if you saw someone peeing on the wall you would call the police. Now, if you see someone pee on these "pee walls" you could congratulate them for not urinating in a public place. Seriously though, does anyone else think the conception of this idea is just a little weird?

Source: http://francis-moran.com/marketing-strategy/identifying-the-invention/

Next we have the odd yet incredibly popular "snuggie". Basically, it is a blanket that you can wear as clothes. Some people even wear it out (though why they would do that I do not know). It is great in that you have complete protection and do not have "cold spots" which the blanket did not cover. Like the pee wall, did someone think that they wanted to make it socially acceptable to wear a blanket in public? Well they definitely succeeded and have since made millions out of it. Such a weird invention but now the majority of people know what you are talking about when you say "snuggie". Now, what about those "Magic" 8 Balls that people set so much store in. We all know that it is merely chance and there are no supernatural powers working on that 8 ball. Still though, people set so much store in that toy. It just shows how much people do not want to have to make their own decisions. "Should I wear clothes today." "My sources say no." "Am I going to be forever alone?" "You may rely on it." "Will I ever feel better?" "Better not tell you now." Seriously though, all those replies are actually what magic 8 balls say (I Googled it and everybody knows Wikipedia does not lie). Who else hates those incredibly annoying singing fish? Who came up with that? Did someone want to feel like they could actually fish and so they made a fake plaque with a fake fish on it? Then, just for the hell of it, they added the power of speech and (most regretfully) of song. God, I see now what you mean by hell. You hath converted me. Now, for the final and creepiest invention of all I pass over to the furry "Furby". Did some lonely man or woman come up with that and realise that "Hey, there must be other lonely people like me out there somewhere. Let's sell these incredibly creepy dolls that speak their own language to other people like me. #Genius." Yes, I put a hashtag in a bit of dialogue. Do not judge me (I see you judging me).

Now do you see how weird some inventions actually are? See you tomorrow!

Relaxation at Last

Finally, after weeks of preparing for exams and studying for hours on end (obviously with some short breaks in between) my exams are over! Goodbye Year 10 and hello transition into VCE! I know that there probably should be a longer post tonight but I was out pretty much since I got home as we had a family event on. Still though, normal length posts should resume tomorrow. It is going to be such a great and relaxing weekend, I cannot wait. Excitingly, I am going to see Catching Fire tomorrow which is going to be AWESOME! It came out today in Australia by the way and I just can not wait to see this wonder on the big screen. Also in exciting news, I won a family pass to see King Kong Live on Stage in Melbourne again so hooray for that! I won it through Luna Park's Facebook Page. The competition was: "For your chance to win one of 5 family tickets to King Kong in Melbourne, simply comment on this photo with which ride you think King Kong would go on at Luna Park and why?" My submission was as follows:
"I would have to say The Spider. It would come from two instincts: One to be the king of the world (and a giant spider could really get in your way) and another to save his love, Anne Darrow. I can see how a Giant spinning spider could cause this giant ape to get a little territorial."

So much excitement in such little time! See you tomorrow!

I Can See the Finish Line

Just to clear things up. I am not writing this post on my phone as I am about to complete a fun run or something. Anyway, sorry for another short post guys but tomorrow I have my Science and Health and Physical Education exam and once those two are done I have no more exams! Hooray! The end is in sight. However, these two subjects are all theory (except for some of the chemistry stuff in Science) so there is a lot of studying going into these last two exams (as there was for my other exams). I know that once I finish it though I am going to go home and relax. Just relaxing for the first time in weeks would be nice. I will probably watch Fringe. At least there is no school on Friday so I have plenty of time to catch up on some sleep over this three day week-end which includes the 50th Anniversary Special of Doctor Who. At 6:50 am this Sunday you all know where and what I will be doing. That is right: watching The Day of the Doctor on ABC! So exciting!!!

I can finally see the end of exams, see you tomorrow!

Weird News Tuesday: The Weird and the Weirder

It is that time of the week again guys! This week, finding a source was hard. In the end I had to Google News Sites just to find one that had some weird news in it. Anyway, this week we are looking at the Yahoo Australia News site (au.news.yahoo.com). We begin with a story on how Australian Olympians are "not allowed to stagger". The Australian Olympics Committee says that Australian Olympians can get drunk but they draw the line at staggering and slurred speech. I get where they are coming from but that headline really caught my attention. Next we have the Toronto Mayor in trouble again after rushing off stage in a debate to hit another senator. Just when you think he could not get any lower. Seriously though, it has been on every news site I looked at today (it took me a while to find one that had some weird stories). Mayor Rob Ford has finally been stripped of all powers after a council vote. It took them a lot longer than it should have, just saying. The next two stories are not weird but the category they were filed under is. The first is a story about the release of endangered orange-bellied parrots that boosts numbers and the next is of animals dying in a zoo in Indonesia because of over-crowding. Neither of those stories are weird. The weird part is that it was filed under technology. I mean, really? I must have skipped the section about the robot birds and mechanical animals. I know I should have paid more attention in Biology.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-19/this-photo-is-worlds-first-selfie/5102568

So apparently this is the first ever selfie. It was posted in an ABC Online Forum in September of 2002 so hooray for Australian trend-setting! However, I doubt that this is actually the first ever selfie because the poster used "selfie" in her description of the picture. But, seeing as "selfie" is Oxford's Word of the Year (yeah, they chose "selfie" since its usage has risen dramatically over the past year) I am just going to get a little Australian pride going on! The story was obviously copied from the ABC News Site because it contained everything the same as the ABC one except the picture which it said was there in the headline. I think someone let it go there. The next story is a very touching one as it tells the story of a young boy with cancer and thousands of San Francisco people (San Franciscans?) who turned out to help make this "Bat Kid" into a super hero. Even US President Barack Obama got in on that act sending a photo to the boy with the caption "way to go!" It is a little weird, but also very heart warming to know that there are still thousands of good people out there, somewhere. The next story is of University of Adelaide medical students admitting to cheating on an exam. Can someone please explain to me why I have seen this on five different news sites today? How is that news? Since when was cheating big news? Should I just start making some big deal about every silly thing that I do now? Apparently, that is news. Finally, apparently the presenters on Today! (morning show on Channel 9) had Mamograms on air to test for breast cancer. Apparently that is a thing now.

Things just keep getting weirder!

Pre-Exam People

As you probably know, this week is my exam week at school. As such, long posts like these are not going to be as frequent due to the time I need for studying. So do not be surprised if you see another short post either on Tuesday or Wednesday (Thursday is my last day of exams). Today, however, was my first exam and it was for VCE Maths Methods Unit 2. Needless to say, I have been studying very hard for this subject (and my other ones as well) over the past few weeks and so am very pleased to finally have this exam over with. However, right before the exam during the last-minute studying time I noticed a few different types of people that appeared prominently all around me. These types occur every time there is an exam and so in this post I am going to walk you through these different types of people.

Source: http://www.zpsb.szczecin.pl/en/international-business-studies/learning-at-wpbs/photo-gallery/ibs-photo-gallery/

The first type of people you see are the focused study-ers. These are the people who you see just sitting quietly going through review questions or re-reading notes or sections of the text books. They are generally calm and not overly stressed about the exam. However, they are at the right level of stress to motivate study while not allowing it to overcome them. The next group of people are the late-night study-ers. You can generally tell who these people are by the way they are seated at a table. If they are lying across the table with their head in their arms then you know that they are sleeping. They generally have a higher-than-average level of stress as they were silly enough to stay up late the night before without thinking about getting enough sleep. The next group of people are the over-thinkers. These are the people who get hung up over one question that they did not understand. Their stress levels are very high and so they take everything out of proportion. They are generally the people who look worried, are rushing around or appear to be playing a game of twenty questions where the questions just never stop. Other people fall under the category of nervous wrecks. These are the people who have prepared for so long that when the day finally arrives the stress and pressure has built up. Sometimes though, this same type of person may not have studied for that long. Maybe they only studied for a little while and it is only right before the exam that they realise the mistake they made in doing this. This group of people display very similar symptoms to those of the "over-thinking" group. Finally, you have the socialisers. These are the students who do not seem to care about the exam and are only worried about catching up with their friends. Friends who are busy studying and not wanting to be distracted. These are the people who make you wonder if they even realise they are about to sit an exam. Their stress levels are very low and while this can be a good thing, it is always good to be mindful of others. Just because you are sure of yourself and what is going to be on the exam, others may not be.

There are quite the number of different groups out there, see you tomorrow!

Scheduling Woes

So sorry for another short post given it is only 6:30 but my Methods exam is tomorrow and I need to study! Not to mention all the other subjects later this week. That is why I scheduled two posts over the last two days (Friday and Saturday). Generally, I say that I love scheduling as it gives me the freedom to have days off writing for this blog so I can focus on other things or just relax. However, sometimes scheduling does not work so well and little problems arise. You may have noticed a lack of a post yesterday. Well, you can blame scheduling. For some reason it did not post when it should have and now when I go to look for it, it seems to have disappeared as if it was deleted. It was a really 'interesting' one too on The Great Firewall of China which I spent a whole Semester studying for my individual humanities research project. However, you will just have to wait until later in the year or early next year to learn about this 'feat' of the modern world. Anyway, so because of what happened there was no post up yesterday. Generally when this happens I just write another post and schedule it so that it should have come out yesterday. Because of this, blogger posts it with yesterday's date and the time I choose. This is something I generally do when a technical issue such as this occurs but this time I thought I owed it to you all not to lie. Also, I did not want to spend more time than I needed to away from studying for these exams. I will hopefully see you tomorrow with some 'witty' observations from my first exam.

See you tomorrow!

Pandora's Box

There are many stories about the infamous Pandora's Box and what it holds. However, despite this infamous object's fame, very few people know much about Pandora's Box and its origins. Look no further for this post will aim to inspire you and inform you about the mystical mystery (yeah, I went there) of Pandora's Box. Pandora's Box is an artifact in Greek Mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation in Hesiod's Works and Days which I think is some Greek mythology story. The "box" is actually a large jar which was given to Pandora and it contained all the evils of the world. You can see how such an object would appeal to such a wide variety of people and how it can be a source of great story telling. A popular phrase (that I have never heard of) which is "to open Pandora's box" means to do a little innocent action that has far-reaching and severe consequences. I do not know why that is important but it is, so deal with it.

Source: http://www.insanelymac.com/_/osx86/news-pandoras-box-beta2-is-out-r1000

In Greek mythology, Pandora was said to be the first woman on Earth. Zeus ordered Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her and so he did. Athena then clothed her, Aphrodite gave her beauty and Hermes gave Pandora speech. In retaliation of Prometheus stealing fire from heaven, Zeus gave Prometheus' brother, Epimetheus, Pandora. In doing so he also gave Pandora a jar with strict instructions not to open it under any circumstances. Of course, due to her curiosity, Pandora opened the jar and all evil contained within escaped and spread over the Earth. Before Pandora had the chance to shut the jar, all of the evil had already escaped leaving only the one thing that lay at the bottom: the Spirit of Hope named Elpis. Then even Hope escaped into the World. So after this the world was full of every kind of evil, but it was also full of Hope. Pandora's Box has become something of a modern obsession for story-tellers due to its rich history and the possibilities it holds. Some people see the evil as truth and so that by opening the box an unimaginable number of truths, some good and some bad, would be let free into the world. Others see Pandora's Box as something which contains all the secrets of our world and existence and once found and opened our new lives can begin. The point of Pandora's box, however, is not the story. Rather, Pandora's Box is merely a vessel in which the ancient Greeks believed that evil and hope entered the world. It is a nice story.

I do not know how I got onto this topic, see you tomorrow!

Another Busy Study Day

So again, I am sorry for writing another one of these late posts but when you have to study you have to study. Before I continue on this post, I just want to say that I do see Study as important and that no study is a very bad thing. Especially around exam time, study is important. However, it is important not to wake up, go to school, come home and then study all night. Somewhere in that schedule there needs to be a break for relaxation. For me, I try not to start studying straight away unless I have something after school like CFA or my Leaders of the Future Program. This way I am still getting a break from study. This generally means that I relax or do some training for Kokoda after school. This break is very important. Then I do study or homework. Of course, you should be taking regular breaks while studying as always but at the end before you go to bed give yourself at least thirty minutes of relaxation. This will make you a healthier person overall both physically and mentally.

It is getting late though and I need my break, see you tomorrow!

Busy Study Day

So sorry guys but tonight I was caught up studying and so this is another picture-less late-night post written on my phone. I hate when this happens but it will probably begin to happen a lot more until next Thursday. This is, as some of you will know, because of my school exams. I have VCE Maths Methods on Monday which is going to make me study really hard until the day and then my other subjects on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I want to apologise in advance for more posts like these due to my study habits. In the coming days I am going to write a few more posts about studying and how to do it effectively so stay tuned for those because I know how popular they were last Semester. They will include some new things as well as some rehashing of the old yet great stuff.

So stay tuned because exam week is coming up both on this blog and in my life. See you tomorrow!

Weird News Tuesday: It Keeps Getting Weirder

Welcome to the second segment of this themed post series. This time around I am going to be using a different news site. This time I am using The Huffington Post. Last week it was too easy as I was still on the homepage by the time I finished this post. Let us see if it is a little harder this time, I really hope so. We start pretty quickly with a story that is not that far down the page. It is from a comedian (some hope there) and is an interview he did to explain why he cried the first time he did Heroin. It seems like a weird story to find so easily but according to The Huffington Post, it is news. The next story is of a white supremacist whose DNA results show that he is 14% black. Apparently they can still say that in America. Under each story on the Huffington Post website there is a link that says "More..." followed by the category of the preceding post. For this one it reads, "More Black Voices". That just does not seem right. Now for the story accompanied by a weird picture. The story is an alright one and is about how investigators now use a "Nasal Ranger" smelloscope to find people smoking pot. It seems like a weird enough headline but the picture just makes the story a little ridiculous. Just look at that picture below. It looks like a radar gun for your nose. I can see the caption now "See how fast your boogers move! How runny is your nose?" Oh Huffington Post, you have done it again.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/company-develops-nasal-ra_n_4256193.html

Scroll down a little further and you have an aptly named story on the "Penis Church" which is basically a church with quite the interesting aerial view. An architect claims that it does not look much like a penis but judging from the picture that architect must be a lonely female or a stupid male. It totally looks like a penis, just saying. Here is the picture (click anywhere on this sentence) and you tell us if it looks like a penis to you. Guys, brace yourselves. There is a new issue that has hit America and no, it is not the Government this time. After a fire at a factory there is a nationwide shortage of Knish. Apparently this is some kind of Jewish food that they eat during Hanukkah but guys, this is serious. The red cross should seriously go over there and the Government need to order a state of national emergency. Christians have also reached an all-time low as they air-drop Bibles into North Korea. They are literally tying parachutes to individual bibles and dropping them down over North Korea. I thought their main argument against communities like the LGBQTI community was that they "rub it in everyone's faces". Excuse me but does air-dropping bibles not seem like rubbing it in people's faces? Just saying, it is even less subtle than Mum saying she is thirsty and waving her tea cup in my face. Next in the news is a story about a new bill in California that would mean that Porn Stars would have to wear goggles while 'working'. For safety of course but still, who would watch that. Of all the things the Government could be doing they focus on the sexual health of porn actors who probably have more experience than most politicians (again, just saying). I do suppose though that they do have some similarities, most of the time both of their work blows up in their faces. Apparently someone has found out what the Sasquatch's (otherwise known as "Big Foot") favourite food is. This is important news guys, get ready to take some notes after reading this important news feature. Finally, in an epic display of brains a man blew up his house after watching a TV show on the Hindenburg disaster.

There are some really weird stories out there, see you tomorrow!

So Many New Things

November is shaping up to be a really great month for me. I do not know why but this month has just seemed so great. I have no other way to explain it. The past few days has even strengthened my view of this. As most of you will not know, Lady Gaga's new album new album ARTPOP was released just today and even as I type this Lady Gaga is celebrating the release with an artRAVE. You may remember back in August when I got really excited when Applause was released (a single from the album). Now multiply that by fifteen (the number of songs on the album) and you get an idea of how I am feeling right now. I quickly downloaded all the songs onto my phone and so far I have listened to a number of the songs already. I also created a playlist of all the songs I could find on YouTube that was from ARTPOP. To view this playlist just click here. I have also embedded the playlist in this post. It is right under the album cover for ARTPOP below.

Source: http://consequenceofsound.net/2013/10/this-is-lady-gagas-artpop-album-cover/

I am totally dancing in my seat right now as I write this post. I am in total fanboy meltdown at the moment. It was definitely worth the wait. Those who are not fans of Lady Gaga may not enjoy it as much. So please, if you do not like Lady Gaga know this: I do not care. I can not stop singing "G.U.Y." and "Aura". So you guys have probably worked out by now that Lady Gaga is my all-time favourite artist. I adore her and her songs. Lady Gaga is the best. There, I said it. Aside from Lady Gaga (as reluctant as I am to move on) Doctor Who also released two new trailers for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special: The Day of the Doctor. This is just a really awesome trailer that provides some great sneak peeks at what is going to happen in the blockbuster 50th anniversary special. I can not wait until the episode actually airs on the 23rd (or 24th in Australia [I do not know]) of November so that I can actually watch this special episode featuring Matt Smith, David Tennant and John Smith all as the doctor. Obviously though they play different regenerations of the doctor but they still meet at what appears to be Gallifrey. The trailer makes it seem really awesome but I guess that is just the job of the trailer. Anyway, I really want to get back to Lady Gaga so I am just going to finish this post before it becomes more random than my last Random Thought Friday post which I actually posted on Saturday due to time restraints.

I live for the applause (#APPLAUSE), see you tomorrow!

Google Problems

Those of you who have been reading my blog for some time now know that I like to complain. You would also know that I like to use Google sites like YouTube and Google Plus (yeah, I like it. Get over it). Considering the fact that I like both of these there are bound to be some complaints I have about Google. Well, here they are. I have been meaning to write a post like this for some time. I even started writing them into some of my Random Thought Friday posts before I realised that I had enough to write a whole post about them. So here we go, my Google problems:

Source: http://setandbma.wordpress.com/2013/01/15/ecosystem-war/

Google Captions. Do I need to say any more? For those of you who do not know, Google captions is a feature on YouTube that basically places subtitles on videos. However, about 97% of the time, these captions are wrong. It can actually make a boring video really funny. Go on, try out my theory with one of my videos. However entertaining they are however, they are also very annoying when you want to watch something with this feature enabled as you do not have headphones and do not want to use your speakers. It is incredibly annoying how this happens so Google, just stop with the bloody captions. They just make things worse. Plus, death people probably believe everything they say. Anyway, I might actually do a post like that one day where I transcribe what the video is actually saying and then write down what Google captions thinks is going on. Over the past few months Google has been trying to integrate all their sites into using just one account. This way you do not need separate accounts for Google Drives, YouTube and Google Plus. The annoying thing here is whenever the message pops up on my YouTube telling me to change (how dare you ask me to change) and I have to click out of it because every other option sucks. If I choose to use my Google Plus account people will find out my full name and that is just not cyber safe. However, if I choose to have two separate accounts linked to the same one each time I log onto my YouTube through my phone I have to select whether to use it as Legolukey or Luke. On my Dad's iPad however I simply can not use my YouTube because it is such an old iPad that YouTube has basically given up updating their app for that format. Apple does not even let them update to iOS7. Thought that may not be such a bad thing. The point is that now I just have to get out of the box as quickly as I can and it is really annoying.

I do have many more Google problems so there may be a part two in the distant future. Do not wait around for one though because I have a horrible memory. See you tomorrow!

Random Thought Friday: Saturday Again!

You can tell there is a problem with the "Random Thought Friday" name when there are the same number of these posts written on a Saturday as there are on a Friday. I may as well just take out the "Fri" and replace it with something else like "Sat" or "Any". Seriously though, it is becoming an issue. It just that every Friday there seems to be some reason why I am not home enough to write these. In itself, that is weird considering I can stay up later than normal as there is no school the next day. Though I do have Piano in the morning and now with the Leaders of the Future Program I generally have something on Sunday mornings as well so basically I get no sleep in and have to go to bed early to get enough sleep to get me through the week. Wow, I am really starting off this random thought post straight away. Anyway, the next few weeks are going to be a pain mainly due to exams. However, as the exams are later than usual I can sleep in and since my brother does not go to school anymore (as he is doing VCE and their exams finish next Friday) I do not have to get up early to go with him. People do say that every cloud has its silver lining. Anyway, moving on to more random thoughts. This is a really long introduction.

Source: http://blogs.qut.edu.au/library/tag/exams/

You want to know what is really annoying? Well, as well as all the other stuff I complain about on this blog. Why do I even ask these rhetorical questions when it is not as if I have two alternate posts with a link for each answer. Hey, I should totally do that. It could be a sort of "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" post except it is not really an adventure but merely an interactive post. Anyway, back to being annoyed. What I was saying before my random thoughts got in the way is how annoying it is when you are in a rush for something and you need to park but at that one moment in time there are no car parks. Does this happen to everyone else or is it just my incredibly bad luck? Granted, I am generally not the person driving and if I am I tend to stay away from busy car parks (I do not want to make the other drivers self-conscious once they see my driving skills #seatbeltssavelives) but it does happen to me a lot. Talking about hashtags, I am so behind on some of the internet trends. For ages everyone on Facebook was changing their profile pictures to giraffes. It was not until I read a news article about it that I understood that people who did this had answered incorrectly to a riddle that was circulating. Even recently there is another craze going around where everyone posts little cartoon scenes of themselves (generally with others) with a 'funny' caption underneath. It was not until I found a Facebook page full of them that I found out they were called "Bit-Strips" or something along those lines. I am so far behind on some of the internet trends it is not funny. Seriously, you guys reading this may be amused but it is not a laughing matter. Come to think of it, my mind is in a really random mood at the moment and most of what I am saying is probably sending you all on random tangents that never really had any connection in the first place. I better stop before we get to the "bad metaphor" stage.

Now do you see why I need this weekly post so badly? See you tomorrow!

A Late Post But is it Short?

So, the big question on everybody's minds tonight is whether this late post will be long or short. That is for you to decide at the end of this post. I will try to make it as long as possible but since I am writing this on my phone it takes a whole lot longer to type just a few words, let alone a few sentences. Basically, my life write now is just trying to make this post as long as possible even though it is on my phone. As it is on my phone it will not include pictures because the stupid Blogger App does not let you format the picture so it comes up very large right at the end. It is very annoying. Blogger, you should totally get on to fixing that bug. Anyway, so tonight's reason for a late post was actually because of one of my commitments for the Wyndham "Leaders of the Future" program. The commitment in question is attending the Wynbay Blue Light disco. The Blue Light disco is a disco run by Victoria Police and aimed at primary school students. Basically, I felt really tall for once. It was a nice feeling. My role was to basically supervise them and make sure that if they did anything dangerous or bad that I would stop it. I did have to stop a lot of things going on as a lot of the kids were drinking sugary drinks. As you should know, sugar and children do not mix well. The good thing was though that when I was reprimanding them I could do in a way that would not scare them or make them feel bad. It was more of a "Please Stop That" situation and because I was so tall (compared to them) they would listen. All in all, it was a great night and I can not wait to do it again.

Getting involved in the Community can lead to meeting so many new people. See you tomorrow!

You Know it is Exam Time When...

There are so many exams going on at the moment. There are VCE exams and (I am not sure of this so do not judge me if I am wrong) the International Baccalaureate (IB) exams. Aside from these there are also all the end-of-year exams that come up for nearly every high school. There are several markers that can help you recognise when an exam is coming (if you do not know dates or are not very organised). Here is a list of just some of the ways you can work out if an exam is coming. If you have any more, do not be afraid to share them either by comments or the contact form to the right.

Source: http://thecampusminister.com/on-the-cle-1st-quarter-exams/

Work will begin to slow down in preparation for study and revision. This can be likened to the "silence before the storm" adage that works in many situations.

You begin to revise old topics in class. If you are doing this and you do not know there is an exam coming up, I am pretty sure there is. Your teacher would not be wasting precious class time on revision if it was not going to benefit you somehow.

People seem to get more distracted and pay even less attention. At least when there is normal work and students are learning something they need to pay some bit of attention so that they learn what they are being taught. However, since revision is going over things we already have learnt students do not seem to be as focused and spend a lot of class time playing games.

My brother watches even more television. It may not seem possible but a good indication of when exams are coming up is when my brother decides to re-watch some old television show just for the hell of it. When the DVD comes out you know someone is procrastinating.

People begin to stress out the night before and your inbox blows up with messages from stressed classmates doing last-minute fact-checking. This happens even before an assignment is due. Facebook just seems to become even busier. It really is an interesting phenomenon.

Posts like these begin to appear. Posts focused on exams like this one appear more on my blog. I know that last exam week every single day was a full post on one part of exams. You also notice a lot less short posts as I do not stay up as late and find it harder to procrastinate. Who am I kidding, I procrastinate anyway.

Do not leave all your studying to the last minute. See you tomorrow!

The Worst Part of Summer

You may have realised, if you checked last night, that there was no post visible. This was, for some unknown reason, true. However, there was a post published last night it is just that, for some reason, it did not show up on my actual blog. According to my Blogger dashboard it was posted but according to my blog it was not. I am very sorry for this and will try to ensure it does not happen again although this may be difficult since I have no idea what caused this glitch in the first place. I am also glad that I only wrote a short introduction to this post so this paragraph does not seem so long. Anyway, onto the post. Well, Summer is coming around again this year just as it does every other year. With Summer comes many things including heat, humidity and Sun. However, with the season of Summer also comes another annoying phenomenon that can make you look like a wannabe interpretive dancer. I am, of course, talking about the worst part of Summer: the flies.

Source: http://knighthammer40k.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/summer-loving.html

 

Flies are just so incredibly annoying and they never seem to get the damn hint that you do not want them. Every year they come back and every year will kill a few hundred before a few thousand are born to take their place. They are just so annoying and can ruin any good day. As you may have realised, I HATE flies. Yes, I intentionally capitalised hate because I wanted to empthasise how much they annoy me. Even as I write this post a pesky fly has somehow being let in by my absent-minded brother and is flying around me right now. Some days I wake up and just want to go outside armed with a belt full of fly spray and then a backpack for back up. Flies are just so damn irritating. Why can they not be like birds or some of the other insects who live their lives separately to ours? Can we not just have a few years of peace? My message to you flies is to leave us alone, or face the consequences. I hear Mortein is on special next week.

Damn you flies! See you tomorrow!

Weird News Tuesday

So the new weekly segment is here! You know when you read the paper, watch the nightly news or browse the online sites and you see a bit of news that makes you do a double-take? These are the stories that surprise you not because of their content, but because it was considered news worthy. Most of the time, this can be taken as a good sign in that there obviously is nothing too serious going on if there is still room for these stories. This new series brings in some of the weird news stories I have seen either throughout the week or have found on my search every Tuesday night. Let us get started straight away! We begin with a photo found on news.com.au. It is of the affluent horse-trainer, Gai Waterhouse, and her reaction to her horse, Fiorente winning the Melbourne Cup this year. It is one great shot.

Source: http://www.news.com.au/sport/superracing/fiorente-wins-the-2013-melbourne-cup/story-fnjsiw2w-1226753549090

I did not even scroll far to see the next story I am going to talk about. The headline reads, and I quote, "Giant firework penis lights up the night sky in Glasgow; residents love it". You have got to be kidding me, the story even makes a not-so-subtle reference to a "happy ending". You read it correctly, one of the first stories on a news site was that a giant penis lit up the sky and led to a few happy endings. The next story comes straight out of France and is titled "Stole a Llama, now there's drama". It is basically the story of a drunk group of men who stole a llama from a circus and then, just for the hell of it, took it on a tram. Now can you see some of the weird stuff that people consider news? Oh, and the Llama's name was Serge. I have no idea why that is important but make of it what you will. Scroll down to the lifestyle section and you will soon think you are on a porn website. The title of this story is "Teen sells her virginity for $27,950" and I do not need to go into any more detail about what the story is about do I? Can I just say that they are oddly specific. They go write down to the $50 when generally they just go for the nearest large number and say it is either more or less. Just saying, I bet a guy wrote this article. The author's name is not listed so I guess we will never know. Also, if you scroll further, you will soon find out that cat cafes are so last year and that the new trend is owls. I know I am generally behind the trends but seriously, did I actually miss the cat cafe trend? Damn it, now I have to move onto the Owls or else be left behind. Also, apparently there is a robot rock paper scissors champion somewhere out there. I am really not regretting scrolling through the news.com.au homepage. Seriously, this is all on their homepage. I thought this segment was going to be hard to write but apparently not.

The weirder side of the news brought to you every Tuesday. See you tomorrow!

Do Not Test My Patience

Do you want to know the worst time to test my patience? Even if you did not, you are going to. The answer is right now. I have had to put up with so much crap tonight that I am just over it. Plus I am tired. You definitely do not want to test my patience when I am tired. You would not like me when I am tired. So the moral of this late-night post: don't mess with me right now.

Have a great day, see you tomorrow!

What Could Have Been and an Announcement

So today I did a lot of things so, as a result, today's blog post was neglected. Now it is going to be another short one created using the horrible android application for Blogger. On the plus side, I can listen to music while I write this. Anyway, so it is VCE exam time as well as a number of other exams. In light of this I was going to write a post on how to tell when it is exam time. However, due to the way in which this post is being created I am unable to do this. Check out for this post over the next few days. Also look out on Tuesday for something new that will be recurring every Tuesday thereafter. Yes, it is another themed day like "Random Thought Friday" but different. You will just have to wait until Tuesday!

I am very sorry when I have to write short posts like these. See you tomorrow!

Random Thought Friday: Saturday Edition

So another week has passed and another Random Thought Friday has been missed due to reasons out of my control. Namely, losing track of time and basic forgetfulness. To make up for the lack of these posts I have decided to write one today, on a Saturday, to make up for all those we have missed. This is only the second Random Thought Friday post so enjoy and I hope to have another one up next Friday. However, I do not want to make any promises as sometimes circumstances escape my control. Hope you have a random weekend!

Source: http://www.sodahead.com/entertainment/forgetfulness/question-1228853/?link=ibaf&q=&esrc=s

Thursday night was a pretty important night for my Leaders of the Future Program. As those of you who read last night's incredibly short post would know, Thursday night was the official launch of the program. It was a really great time as it did not go for too long (so we were not stuck listening to repetitive boring speeches) and the speeches they did have were all very interesting. We had our local member who took over Julia Gillard's area (the term escapes me) as well as a person high up in the Wyndham Police Force (Super-Intendant I think). We also heard from a past participant from a similar program over the other side of Melbourne and how the program changed him. It was a great night and I really enjoyed it. Talking about this program we finally started our group training sessions on Sunday with a hike up in the You Yangs. It was only ten kilometres but towards the end it got very steep. Still, I wish Kokoda was going to be like that. The You Yangs are going to be a stroll in the park compared to Kokoda. Still though, it is great to have a place like the You Yangs where we can go hiking and it is not too far away for us. Wednesday night we went Fartlek running which is where you run for a while, then walk, then run, then walk and so on. Ours went a little bit more along the lines of Run, Jog, Run, Jog, Run, Walk, Run, Jog, Walk, Run and so on so it was a little more challenging but it was a great time to continue cementing strong friendships with the others in this program. I said today would be a random thought post and, in a way it is, except for the fact that the central focus is on the Kokoda program. Still though, it was a lot of random thoughts on the topic that I never would have been able to stretch over a whole post.

I hope you guys see another Random Thought Friday this Friday. See you tomorrow!

A Tiring Week

You know when you have those really tiring weeks where everything seems to be happening at once? Well, welcome to my week. It started off pretty relaxed on Sunday with a hike through the You Yangs. Monday was CFA until late in the night and Tuesday night was the orientation evening for new students coming into the school next year. Wednesday was pretty relaxed except for another group training session for Kokoda. Thursday was really busy with Tutor, the official launch of the leaders of the future program and Halloween. Tonight was quiet but tomorrow will be busy with Piano in the morning followed by helping out at the barbecue.

I'm tired though so good night and sorry if this comes out just after midnight. See you tomorrow!