The worst home decorating blog

http://discountdesign.blogspot.com/

OMG - you have to see it - to believe it

I think the Plate thing is my worse
(Believe it or not it's supposed to detract from the switches on the wall)...and the writing is not much better - Especially hate it when she says 'Urgh'

Shame Allyson Shame

(Cheers to Jez for letting me know the foul blog)

Oz TV continued - The 60's....

Variety was word 'Du-jour' in 1960's OZ TV

Forget a night at the theatre or a double maitenne at the Tivoli with a chop top and coke for 2 and 6 - just get cozy on the vinyl settee with Mum, Dad, Little Johnny & Jemina (and Rex the dog of course)... Oz was still importing foreign TV shows...but started to develop it's own...

Let's start with the kiddies - 'Uncle Norman's Tarax's show' (who looked a bit like a drunk and a child molestor to me)& 'Romper Room' (a rip off of the UK kiddy show) for starters - but bless Auntie (the ABC)- creating 'Play School' (I always liked the arch window myself) and 'Mr Squiggle' (hated that pencil poof but loved grumpy Gus - the TV snail) - both shows surviving today... which either means there are universal or we think our kids like the same shit...

For the teens? How cool was 'Bandstand' - a complete rip off of the American show - with Mr Brian Henderson - the hippest cat in a knitten cardigan and scientist glasses, playing the latest discs of the day - the Beatles, the Rolling stones, Little Patti(was this Patti Newton?), Cole Joy(a bit like your daggy Uncle)...and Rock & Roll demi god and Oz's answer to the wild American rockers - Mr Johnny O'Keefe...

Not up for music...need some comedy? Well then it's 'The Mavis Bramston show' - which featured everyone except for Mavis Bramston( who was obviously called away to a tupperware party or the making of pickle relish) - this was the first satire show of Oz life, politics and society - this would pave the way for shows like 'The Naked Vicar Show' of the 1970's, 'D-generation' of the 80's & 'Fast Forward'/'Full Frontal' of the 90's...

What about Drama? The love of Cop shows begun in the 60's with 'Homocide' blokes in hats & black suits with thin ties driving Holdens about Melbourne...solving big city murders - the opening theme is very Oz Film Noir... Oz's romance with the soaps also started... However the soapies of the day were very staid (and dull) 'Bellbird' - about life on the farm in rural oz...complete with a dog on a tucker box - well almost...

Talk Shows were probably the most successful and popular - whether it was 'that yank' Don Lane in Sydney...or Graham Kennedy's IMT - 'In Melbourne Tonight' - a mix of variety, humour, singing, guest stars and the start of 'info commercials' - about lemonade with 'sparkle-arckle', Pal dog food with Rover(the dog wee'ed on air), Ladies Shoes 'in the latest styles and fashions', toothpaste 'with extra zing' or anything else that would sponsor these shows...all live mind you...sometimes the ads were as interesting as the guests...

And interesting too that during this time IMT also became a National show - in fact networks all over little Oz stopped being local and started to form national networks. The Channel 0/10 network also began, so by the end of the 60's most urban areas of Oz got 4 channels to choose from - and now the channels were broadcasting from early morning to late at night - bigger variety for a bigger audience...

Oz TV in the 60's were definitely a reflection of the changes in society - we were shaking off the old plain & conservative Menzies era and really started to develop the 'aussie image' - we even got our own currency ('66) and started to finally move away from the mother country...

If the 60's were about standing on our own two feet and becoming our own with aussie variety, the 70's were about lying on our backs and having fun with aussie taboo's... so put away the lounge suits, the martini's and cheese on sticks - get out the punch bowls, the fondue sets and chiffon gowns in your sunken open planned homes, complete with lime green formica, shot silk orange curtins and shag pile brown carpets (OMG I just described my parents house from '75)
It's time to let it all hang out and go wild - in fully blown techicolour no less...

To be continued...

You Tube: Fast change of clothes

Please watch this - Its the most amazing thing ever - I wish I could change clothes this fast...In the words of a friend 'Ammo ' Cher could learn a lot from this Doll (for those lucky enough to attend a Cher Concert - it's Cher-tastic but christ does the woman take time in changing of the wig/sparkle costume/earings)

Oz TV continued - The 50's....

'Good evening and welcome to television'...
(Spoken in crispy UK accent)

Who would have though it ehhh? Little battler oz getting the black & white telly box back in '56...as long as the presenters were either English (and v.posh English at that dear sir) or (shudder) American...it seemed in the early days of the box we didn't want our own brash accents barking to us...Preferring foreign accents (as long as they were white) shouting at us instead...Very much Menzies Oz..er - oust-tray -lia...

Television was going to encaptulate the post war world...especially good family values and clean fun...(well initially...but more of the Kennedy's Crow Call and Abigail's bosom's from 'No.96' later) Telly was the new media...but the world was still used to the old media..newspapers,radio and the newsreel at the 'flicks'...what was Telly to do... ?

Well they just transferred the stars of the old medium to the new medium...vaudleville acts like Bobby Limb and Dawn lake; Bert Newton, Graham Kennedy & Brian Henderson were from the radio...These became the stars of entertainment, variety and comedy shows...

Probably the highlight of '56 was the televising of the Olympic games in Melbourne - a world first ( also the first Games with a closing ceremony!) And weren't we proud- Dawnie & Murray in the pool ( Bless the Glammorheads would do it again in Montreal for the gay games in '06), Shirley on the track and Browne & Marchant on the bikes...

And the sports presenters at the time would say
Go oust-tray -lia... GO!
(said in best English accent with nose held)

Telly would only start around 5pm or 6pm at night...and close around 10'ish - so in Melbourne you could get to Young and Jackson's at knock off - have a few before closing at 6(yes all pubs had restriction of licenses in those days) grab a red rattler or trammy from Flinders Street to home and settle down to watch 'Pick a Box','Name that tune' or 'In Melbourne Tonight' - and in '56 - only one or two stations operated per capital city...so if you didn't like Gra Gra or Bert - you were stuffed...

It wasn't really until the 1960's when Australia started to loosen up a bit, putting aside the lardy cakes and tea things from the church fete & picnics of the 50's, and started to serve champers (domestic) and cheese & cabanosi on jatz's at cocktail do's or sausages, salads & wine coolers at pool parties in the 1960's... OZ wanted variety and change...

...And variety was going to hit OZ TV in a big way...

to be continued...

Panic Attack - South of the Border way-o

Benicio Del Toro isn't your average actor - he's severe, harsh and sometimes looks like he needs a bec's and a good lie down (please those eye bags I could pack for the weekend) but when he is on the screen...I so get him and he becomes this Mexican Sexy beast - and the rough ruggedness manly exterior mixed with the whisky pack a day voice is rather hot...




Its just me...right?
Ah well I must be wearing my Margarita glasses muchacho!

50 Years of TV OZ - Happy Birthday !

Well its 50 years since Australia got the box...
it turns out Australia was thinking about telly back in the 1940's - but was postponed due to the war...It wasn't until 1956 when Channel 9 launched TV with Bruce Gyngell saying those immortal words..."Welcome to television." And who would have ever thought this media would have such a massive impact on society...( other than Sir Frank and son Kerry Packer - R.I.P.)

As much as I hate The Herald Sun Newspaper here in Melbourne ( my favorite newspaper 'The Age' uses not only correct grammar and english in it's publications but big words other than 'terrorist' 'dole-bludger''migrant' & 'battler') - I did buy 6 copies so I could purchase my trashy history of OZ Telly Dvd's...yes I was even geeky enough to get the box to store them in...

But...SHOCK...it's fantastic...from Graham Kennedy to Bert Newton to Bandstand to Don Lane to Graham Kennedy to the Footy Show to Dame Edna to Bobby Limb to Dawn Lake to old Logies and to Gra Gra again - Yes Im a bit of a fan of the Kennedy Humour much to Andrew's dismay (however this is the man who still thinks 'Dance yourself Dizzy' Should still be on the hit parade.)

Not only clips of old long forgotten shows but TV clips of News of the day, local and world wide...The only drawback of the dvds is it's only Channel 9 shows - that damn rivalry between the networks - it would have been better to see all the shows like No.96 to Countdown to Cop Shop to Chopper Squad and more...

So needless to say Im going to take a walk down tv's memory highway - which must be like Route 66 - though it is a bit silly as I was only born in 1974 so there will be so ad lib and more research to be done...

Spunk Alert 5 - Ryan McGoldrick

Just another hot Rugby player...

Book Review: The shock of the new again...'Case Study Houses' Revisited.

I re-discovered a subject(bless Amazon)I have not thought about for over 10 years...in fact I completely forgotten about the Case study houses and how much they have influenced how we live today...

Back in 1945, John Entenza's Arts & Architecture magazine, commissioned major architects of the day, to design and build inexpensive and efficient model homes for the residential housing boom caused by the end of World War II and the return of millions of soldiers.

The houses are amazing to say the least - architects (Like Richard Neutra, Charles & Ray Eames for example)experimenting with materials from wood to steel to even plastic...creating open planned abodes with floor to ceiling doors & windows opening up these dwellings to natural light and views of the surrounds... or to the new to patio or terraces..from bedrooms with built in robes and furniture...to kitchens with all mod conds and bench seating...to ensuite bathrooms with double vanities...to open fireplaces, sunken rooms and split level floors - all of which we take for granted today...the indoor and outdoor blended, and the home started to take form and life ( or should I say 'lifestyle') of it's own - not just a art deco or colonial or Spanish mission revival box - it became a living functional machine...

The program ran from 1945 until the mid 60's. Most of the houses were built in California. The case study houses in their time started basic and pure, but ended up costly and a luxury item for rich americans...Was the idea of a low cost architectural abode lost?

Well yes and no...it exploded the idea of the traditional house - and the way we interact with it...in fact if you look at homes from the Mc Mansions of the new estate suburbs to the more expensive commisions some architects are lucky enough to create - all (yes even the ones which look like a copy of Tara) have used, abused and quite frankly stolen ideas from the case studies...that is the legacy which has survived.

'Case Study Houses 1945-1962' by Esther Mc Coy First published 1962, Reprinted 1977
(NB - Originally written for an Review for Amazon)

Spunk Alert 4 - Bond naked

When I heard that the new 007 is in the buff for 'Casino Royale' I had to google for his doodle...

Yeah he's a spunk...and yes there will be more later...on the films and yes him too...

Quiz time 2...Can you tell me how to get to Sesame St?

Great...after all these years thinking I was Ernie and Bert's love puppet...it turns out I have similar characteristics to the old Cookie Monster...

"Misunderstood as a primal monster, you're a true hedonist with a huge sweet tooth.
You are usually feeling: Hungry. Cookies are preferred, but you'll eat anything if cookies aren't around.
You are famous for: Your slightly crazy eyes and usual way of speaking
How you life your life: In the moment. "Me want COOKIE!"

(Actually when I used to go out dancing all weekend at dance parties the above description is pretty much accurate).

Go on...have a go at the quiz...Tell me if you are Dawn Prairie or Bert or Oscar or one of the velvertine thing that sung the Ban-na-na-na song...

http://www.blogthings.com/thesesamestreetpersonalityquiz/

Spunk Alert 3 - The new Bond

This is the new 007...Daniel Craig...
well after this shot I think there will be more...

Spunk Alert 2 - Poolside

What is it about five hot naked guys in the pool?
I think the second from the right sums it up brilliantly...

DVD review: 'Grey Gardens'

Well what happens when the socialite lights fade to a dim shade of grey?
They make a movie...

'Grey Gardens' was, and still is, one of a kind. This documentary film about estranged relatives of Jackie O's living in a dilapidated mansion in South Hampton, was beyond it's years in 1975. From the moment it starts to it's glorious end, you are drawn into the life of Big & Little Edie...

Little Edie and her amazing technicolour 'costumes' and headscarfs of Pucci Print to Terry Cloth, with that amazing eastcoast-Kennedy-come-Brooklynese clan accent is quite grotesque and charming all at the same time...Big Edie (the mother) tends to sit in states of undressed to overdressed (like the scene with her in the bed with lace, jackets, glasses and an old summer hat) while singing 'Tea for Two' in what can only be described as a warbling voice best left in 1934...

But its the snippet of their crazy life they lead which is starring role in this film...which is both sad and funny...from watching them eat pate and butter pecan icecream in their bedroom while cats shit behind a beautiful portrait of Big Edie (The wonderful line here is "At least someone is doing what they want to")

And it is the dialogue - from funny to sad to downright crazy back to funny again...

Little Edie on dresscode...
" this is the best costume for the day..."
Little Edie on the day...
"It's getting bedddddda!"
Little Edie on dresscode again...
"Mother wanted me to wear a Kimono - we had such a fight"
Little Edie on the raid ...
"this is the most atrocious this that has ever happened to anyone in the history of America"
Little Edie on her...
"They didn't realise they were dealing with such a S-T-A-U-N-C-H charac-da"

(So many lines...so many lines I want to share with the world...)

So if you are wanting to see what happens to the other half when the other half grow wild in the Hamptons...or rather what happens to people when they grow wild...get scarf, tie it around your head and watch "Grey Gardens"

It's getting so much bedda...

(4 Choctops out of 5!)

Ps - Little Edie does a dance with the American flag is so funny it leaves John Cleeses walk for dust...