Reality versus Scripted TV

Why is Scripted TV considered more high brow than Reality TV?

Reality TV is here to stay. Producers have worked out that it’s cheaper to produce, it requires less crew, and it can be made quickly.

Actors and people who are from traditional television despise reality TV. Probably because they know that the more hours of reality TV there is, the less hours of scripted shows, which means less jobs for them. There’s also a lot of really awful reality TV out there. However, there’s also some reality TV that is pretty interesting to watch.

What I don’t get though is why people say that reality television personalities are all no talent brainless people who just walk around doing nothing and getting filmed. Then it gets edited to be interesting. They’re all just attention seekers who should get a real job.

Here’s the thing. It’s gotta take balls to be on reality TV. You also, for the most part, had to have some kind of talent to get on reality TV. It’s not like you can just call up MTV or E! and say you’d like a reality show and they’ll give you one. There’s also some major differences in how you work.

A traditional actor has someone write all their lines for them. They have someone who dresses them. They have a make-up artist. They have a director who tells them what emotion to have. They get told where to stand. They have set work hours. The cameras are there while they’re working, and then they go home. Most importantly, they’re playing someone else. Actors are secretive people. They talk about how they have to be choosy with parts because they’re worried about what people will think of them. They’re super careful in interviews, because even their real lives are mostly carefully crafted fronts. Another character almost. They’re terrified of saying the wrong thing. Of alienating their audience.

On reality TV however, they don’t get a writer who spends a couple weeks coming up with witty things for them to say. It’s all them. They normally are in charge of their own wardrobe. Sometimes producers will create a scenario for the actors, such as in the Kardashians they’re going to dinner, but after that, it’s all on them. They’ve got to be interesting on their own. People love actors who do some adlibbing. For reality people, it’s all adlib.

There’s also not much private time. The cameras are there, all day, all night. They’re in your bedroom, your bathroom. They’re there while you have breakfast, lunch & dinner. They’re there while you’re trying to get your freak on. When actors go out and party, they hope there’s no paparazzi there to snap a drunken shot. With reality, the whole crew is there, documenting every stupid thing you do….

kim-kardashian-crying-face — Kim Kardashian. Monster face, but no award...

Reality people have to be very secure in who they are. They’ve got to have the balls to say whatever they

monster — This fugly look got Charlize Theron an Oscar...

want, and not worry about offending someone. While actors are getting Academy awards for cutting their hair or looking ugly, reality people have to deal with looking fugly while crying and not getting any love for it.

There’s also so many kinds of reality show. You’ve got things like The Kardashians, which is probably the first thing anyone thinks of when they hear reality stars.

But there’s a whole bunch of different types of shows out there. Some are pure mind numbing entertainment, some are voyeuristic, some are actually educational or more like documentaries.

Shows like Being Lara Bingle, Mrs Eastwood and Company and the newest show, Chasing The Saturdays give us a glimpse into the life of people we already know. People that we’ve seen in magazines, or on red carpets. People who we want to know more about. We get to follow them around and see if their life is really as fabulous as we think it might be, or if they’re just like us.Chasing the Saturdays is about a British girl band that’s come to America and trying to make it. If it was a scripted show, it would be The Monkees. Instead, they show the real drama of moving across an ocean, trying to keep it together away from their family & friends. They show it’s not all glamour and red carpets. There’s lots of hard work and tears too.

Shows like Deadliest Catch and Pawn Stars are more documentary. In some ways, even educational. Sure, most of the time they edit it to focus on the personal drama, but producers seem to think that’s more interesting than just watching a bunch of regular office stuff.Think of The Office. All that goes into the daily drama of work. But there’s no witty Ricky Gervais to come up with funny punch lines. This is all real.

Then there’s a bunch of drama type reality shows, that don’t seem to focus on anything, except the interactions of people. Whether it’s a bunch of people thrown together like Jersey Shore, Big Brother, The Real Life or real families like The Kardashians, it’s about seeing how people interact. It’s about relationships. Shows like Here comes Honey Boo Boo give us a glimpse into a redneck heaven that most people have probably not witnessed in real life. It lets us see how other people live. Honey Boo Boo and The Kardashians are at two ends of the spectrum. One set is poor, and people look down on them for eating road kill. But their mother loves them and is putting all that money into trust funds for them. The Kardashians are rich, and their momma also loves them. She also manipulates them into making money any way possible… Both families though are probably nothing like our own, and it’s interesting to see how people live. Kinda like The Brady Bunch.

There’s a whole bunch of challenge type reality, like The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, Survivor, even any of the cooking or singing competition shows, like Master Chef, Idol or The Voice. Whether they’ve got celebrities competing for charity, or regular people competing for a job or money. They’re all still entertaining. They still have drama. Sometimes they’re even doing something good for the world, like helping to raise money or awareness about something.

I love good scripted television. I love dramas like House, NCIS and Lie To Me. But I also loves me some Ice Loves Coco or anything where Gordon Ramsey is yelling at people. With several hundred tv channels on cable, there’s more than enough room for all types of shows. I don’t think we should count reality TV as the bastard step-child to scripted TV. I find the real life stuff just as fascinating as the carefully scripted, edited stuff. Yes, there’s a lot of awful reality shows, but there’s just as many terrible scripted shows. I also find myself having more and more respect for those that are willing to just be themselves, who spend hours getting followed around, who have to be witty, smart and interesting without the help of dozens of people to make them look witty and smart and interesting.

Next time, before you bad mouth reality tv, trash a Kardashian, or bash a Bingle, ask yourself whether you could do what they do. If you were followed around all day. Could you handle it. I don’t think I could. Then ask yourself, is what you’re seeing when you’re watching Deadliest Catch any less interesting than something like The Office. Is the acting on Home & Away really any better than The Hills?

I know thespians and their respective unions hate reality TV. They hate that they’re taking up air time. I think the unions brought a lot of it on themselves. They make so many demands, and make productions so expensive, some studios just can’t afford to make scripted TV anymore. There’s too many channels, not enough advertising dollars. Reality is easy, cheap and in a lot of cases, not subject to unions.

I think reality TV is here to stay, and I’m going to enjoy it.

January 17, 2013January 17, 2013

Can’t celebrities be civilians too?

Why is there such a double standard for Celebrities?

I’m so glad I’m not a celebrity anymore. Sure, there may be some perks to being famous. You get to cut the line at clubs, people buy your drinks. You might get to go on cool vacations. But the reality is, most of those things aren’t that much fun, because you’ve always got to wonder who is watching you, or whose going to pick a fight with you in the club and sue you next.

I mean, you may be in First Class on the plane and think you can get some sleep, but who knows who is going to snap a pic of you while you’re drooling and then stick it up on the internet?

Then there’s this:

I mean seriously? Mila Kunis is smoking hot. She was just voted Esquire Magazine’s Sexiest Woman Alive. I personally think she’s on of the most beautiful women ever. Even in her trackpants and workout wear. But apparently the Editor of Teen Vogue is unimpressed with Kunis getting around being comfortable. She is tired of seeing her in gym gear. How does she think she stays that hot? She works out. If they only place the stalkerazzi manages to get pics of her is when she’s out on a run, then yes, you’re going to see pics of her in her sweats.

What made me really upset when I read it was that it was the editor of TEEN VOGUE who was pushing that Kunis should be dressing better. Do all celebrities have to go out in full make-up and 6″ heels like a Kardashian, even to get their morning coffee? I mean, what are they teaching teenagers? That they have to be glamorous ALL the time? Maybe she’s dressing down because she hopes if she’s not all glammed up, then nobody will notice her. She’s hoping to just blend into the crowd. Or maybe she just didn’t feel like spending an hour doing her hair and make-up just so she could grab a latte. Of course, even if she did dress up, if she wore the same shirt, or pants, or shoes she wore last week, somebody would jump on her for that.

Then if we’re not berating a celebrity for their fashion choices, we’re picking on their weight. If you’ve eaten a burrito for lunch, some pap will take a pic and claim that you’re pregnant. If the celebrity sees it, feels like shit, works out and eats less so they don’t get pregnancy rumours, then the magazines will talk about them being skeletor and how they’ve gotten too skinny.

Remember Nicole Ritchie? She was a normal sized person when she did the first season of The Simple Life. Next to Paris Hilton, who had bones sticking out, she looked bigger. But I wouldn’t say she was fat. But a lot of people did. She lost the weight. Then lost more. Then magazines complained she had an eating disorder. Well Duh. If everyone in the world is calling you a fat ass, it’s probably going to give you some kind of complex. Thankfully Nicole found a balance and these days she looks healthy.

I’m so glad that nobody here cares who I am. When the dog wakes me up in the morning and wants to go outside to pee, I don’t have time to fix my hair and makeup. I normally don’t even have time to brush my teeth. So when I roll outta my trailer, I’m all kinds of unkempt. If I feel like hanging in my PJ’s till I have to get dressed for work, I do. Nobody at my RV park cares.

I can’t imagine the pressure of having to be glam all the time. I’m so glad I can go out and eat lunch and not worry. I can go out and have a drink with my friends without ending up in the paper. I can go swimming at the beach and not end up on some Worst Bikini Body list.

Why do we have to be so mean to famous people? Are we jealous because we perceive they have a more fabulous life, so we have to nit pick over stupid stuff? Or are people just generally unhappy and so they have to make themselves feel better by picking on someone else?

I wish people would remember that Famous people have feelings too. They also see the gossip magazines. They watch Fashion Police. They get told when they’re on a worst dressed list, or when people point out their cellulite, or when they’re on a Stars Without Makeup feature.

Can you imagine if everytime you left the house, someone was just waiting to see what bad thing they could say about you? Megan Fox is right when she says that being famous is like being bullied by millions of people. Sure, it’s easy to say just to ignore it, but it’s kinda hard. When your face is on the TV and magazine covers, how are you supposed to leave the house and not see it? Or even stay at home and not see it? Famous people watch TV too….

We also need to think of the trickle down effect. If we keep finding flaws in beautiful famous people, then what hope do regular people have? I see someone who I think is absolutely gorgeous, and I’m told by some editor that they’re flawed because they have a single dimple of cellulite, and I look in a mirror, and I think shit, I better not leave the house. My arse is full of it. What about my hair? Is it the right shade? Is it the right length? Are my friggen eyelashes full enough?

I think we all need to just start accepting people for who they are. Maybe if we can accept our own bodies, we can accept a celebs body. Or maybe it’s the other way around. I’m not sure anymore.

January 17, 2013January 17, 2013

Illegal Immigrant Sex Offender protected by Democratic Senator

Elections are more important than laws….

According to police records, Sanchez was 15 when he was arrested on a charge of aggravated sexual assault in 2009. The records show he was accused of sexually assaulting an 8-year-old boy at least eight times and sentenced to two years’ probation and required to register as a sex offender.

He was working as an intern in the office of New Jersey Democrat Senator Robert Menendez. When he failed to update his sex offender registration, local prosecutors considered arresting him. At that time, immigration officials learned that Sanchez had applied for the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which would have allowed him to stay in the country and legally work for two years. He did not disclose his arrest or status as a sex offender on the application and was eventually denied, according to the documents. – Which means he applied for the Dream Act that we keep hearing about.

So what’s interesting, is that Sen. Menendez is known to be very pro-immigration. He claimed they didn’t do a background check on Sanchez, since he was a volunteer. – I’m going to call Bullshit on this one. No matter where you volunteer these days, they do background checks on you. I can’t imagine anyone who is allowed near sensitive documents, is not going to have been put through a background check.

Then, when ICE moved in to arrest him, they were asked to delay it till after the election. – Which the Senator won.

So, there’s a few issues here. The Dream Act. Anyone who works on the border can physically see this one is a bad idea. When they announced it, we saw a flood of people running the border. At least they managed to catch the fact that he wasn’t a desirable.

Politicians. Time and time again we see them putting their own agendas ahead of anything else. Hey, this guys a sex offender and an illegal? No worries. Let’s just hold off till after my election, eh?

The fact that ICE did hold off on arresting him instead of doing their job. They categorically denied this was the case. Yeah, right. I’m sorry, but I have trouble believing anyone who uses the term “categorically deny”.

So we’ve got all the shit going down in England with Savile, who apparently was sheltered from very high up, we’ve got Senators in the US hiding their sex offenders. For years people in Australia have been protected. When will people start to see that sometimes you just have to say fuck it, to hell with my job, I’m going to stand up and do whats right?

January 15, 2013January 15, 2013

Weight loss reality TV

Losing weight on TV

It seems like the two most popular types of reality shows on TV these days are cooking shows and weight loss shows. People want to eat, people want to get thin. Seems like maybe one is leading to the other….

excessbaggae — The cast of Excess Baggage

I remember when they started talking about Excess Baggage. To me it seemed like it was going to be an awesome show. So many people have complained that celebs get special treatment, and if they were given trainers and chefs like the stars, they’d look just as fabulous. So, here they made a show where they paired up a celebrity with a civilian. They got to travel all over Australia. So not only was this a weight loss show, but it was also part travel series. It wasn’t just about losing weight, it was going to be about getting mentally right, since that’s what’s behind most peoples weight issues. We would get to see some of Australia’s most beautiful locations. I told Stephen, my publicist to see what he could do to get me on there. I couldn’t imagine anything better. Getting the opportunity to get in shape, both physically and mentally, while getting to spend some time in Australia, seeing my beautiful homeland.

Well, it didn’t happen. Apparently, I wasn’t fat enough. Then, after only two episodes, the show got yanked off Channel nine and was banished to some sub station. I saw the first couple episodes online, but haven’t been able to watch the rest. I didn’t get why it was moved so quickly though. I think they could have given it more of a chance. Was it the viewers didn’t like it, or was it simply a network decision? People seem to love the Biggest Loser and the other weight loss shows….

But then I got to thinking, how come all these weight loss shows are about people who are grossly obese trying to lose weight? People are always looking to actors and models for inspiration on what they want to look like. These weight loss shows do a great job of getting someone from 350lb down to 290lbs. But they never show people who get into super shape.

I think it would be awesome to have a weight loss show where they show someone who is maybe 20-30 lbs overweight, and they have to go through a typical Hollywood eating and workout regime to get into shape for a movie. Show just how hard those celebrities work to get into shape for a film. People like Jessica Biel worked out for hours a day before some of her films. Think of the workouts Hugh Jackman or Russell Crowe go through before being a Wolverine or Gladiator. Any girl who makes a movie where she has to be in a bikini is going to be training like crazy to good look on camera.Think of the actresses who are getting back into bikinis or haute couture dresses for the red carpet a couple months after having a baby.

All these makeover shows show people who are going through dramatic weight loss. But what about people who are just pudgy? What about when you’re just chunky enough to not feel good in a bikini, but not really considered fat? It’s always said that that last 10-20 lbs is the hardest to shed. Maybe it’s just so much more dramatic to see someone lose 100 lbs, than see someone who goes from slightly chunky to super ripped in 8 weeks.

I’m still in the healthy weight range. But I think the BMI is bullshit. When I first moved to the US and did my physical for my life insurance, I was smoking hot. I looked great. I was toned, I was thin but still had boobs and an arse. I was penalized for being underweight according to the BMI. Then, a few years later, I got into the so called “healthy weight range” but when I put on a bikini, I look pudgy. When I went on ACA, everyone commented on how fat I looked. Being a shortass at 4’11” can mean that a burrito is the difference between looking good and looking pregnant. Most people fluctuate 3-5lbs during the week. I do too. But on me its very noticeable. 2lbs can mean the difference between a size 2 and size 6 pant…..

Anyway, I propose someone make a show where you get some people who are just mildly tubby, and you subject them to the kind of grueling regimes that celebs go through to look awesome. You could even do like Kyle and Jackie O did for their weight loss challenge, and if people don’t get down to the proper weight or dress size, you stick their pics up on a billboard of them in their undies, looking so not great. Then people could really understand what it’s like to be a celebrity. If you’re not flawless, everyone will point it out!

We could get some of the big trainers to the stars, some celebrity dieticians. We could have the paparazzi follow us around for motivation. We could get some big name celebs who are between films and let themselves go a little. Match them up with some regular people like me who just want to get back into shape. To make it more interesting, you could make it like the Kardashians and follow everyone around all the time, instead of just being about the training…. Or you could just get a Kardashian on there. You could show them trying to fit in all that working out and eating right while still attending auditions and parties and functions. Trying to balance out the whole thing. While the average person is complaining they don’t have time to exercise and eat right, how do they think people like Miranda Kerr can do it while constantly flying from country to country? Have a quick thought of your last airline meal….

It’s be interesting to see whether it really is just good genes, as people always claim, or if it’s just that these people have way more drive and discipline.

Whose with me?

January 12, 2013

The Royal Commission

A chance for ALL our voices to be heard

I’m so happy that Julia Gillard is pressing on with the Royal Commission into child abuse. I’m so grateful for people like Detective Inspector Peter Fox who had the balls to go on television and talk about it when no-one else would. I’m grateful to all the people from all the different support groups that kept up the fight for all these years.

When I was asked to go public, I wasn’t sure about it. I was tired of seeing other kids in the industry falling to pieces after all they had been through. I knew I didn’t want any other kids to go through what I did. I was very fortunate that I was able to speak in magazines and on television about my abuse. I copped a lot of shit about it. Hell, people on the whirlpool forum are still bitching about me having gone on TV to talk about it. I’m glad I did it though. The last three years have changed me so much personally. Being able to talk about it, being able to let it go and not keep it inside anymore has changed my whole outlook on life. Sure, there were super hard days, there were days when I was so heavily criticized I wondered if I had done the right thing.

I was grateful I had started a discussion. I was happy that people were finally openly talking about abuse, even if they were bitching about me while doing it. The main point was, it was no longer a taboo subject.

My only sadness was when people commented that while it was great that I could talk about it, because I was given that platform where I could, what about all the other victims out there. The ones who weren’t famous enough to go on TV and talk about it. What about them? Would they ever be given that opportunity to speak? It’s true, it’s not fair that some people get the opportunity to be heard while other don’t.

Well, now they have. I’m so glad that EVERY victim of child abuse out there will be given the opportunity to tell their story. That we can all go forward, we can all add our piece. We can all seek a little bit of justice.

I hope that everyone uses this opportunity to be heard. I know it can be tough. It can be very scary to talk about your past. It can be horrific reliving it while talking about it. It can be soul baring. But it’s totally worth it. It might take a while for you to realize the difference the talking has made, but it will make a difference.

I urge all of you to take this opportunity to tell your story. Do it for yourself. Do it for the others before you, and do it for the others behind you. If we all stand up and talk about the past, hopefully the ones in the future won’t have to….

January 9, 2013January 15, 2013

Starting a bucket list

You’re never too young to start working on your bucket list.

My dad was 36 when he died. He died 13 days after his 36th birthday. He had cardiomyopathy, and it was his 3rd heart attack that killed him. He taught me an important lesson, which I’ve never really put into practice, but now that I’m only 3 months away from being the same age he was when he died, I’m going to start putting those lessons into practice.

Dad could have had a heart transplant, but he would have had to change his lifestyle. He was a fashion designer. He loved to travel. He went to Disneyland 11 times. He was a bit of an alco, and he had a mistress. But he packed more into his 36 years than some people pack into 90. Dad didn’t want a transplant because he liked his life the way it was and if he had surgery, he’d have to be on medication forever, he’d have to give up alcohol, riding the Matterhorn, and maybe even the mistress… He said he’d rather die young but live a full life than grow old but be bored to death. I miss my dad, and wish he was still here, but I’m glad he went out with a bang. (Literally. He came home from a “business trip” that involved the honeymoon suite & lingerie) Mum got the CC bill….

His important lessons included Dress for comfort and not for style. You can’t please everyone so you might as well please yourself. You can claim you’re going to see the fashions in LA but you’re really going to Disneyland. He also taught me that you might not live to old age, and you should live life to the max while you can. You can’t keep putting the good stuff off until you’re too old to enjoy it. So I’ve been thinking about my bucket list. They’re kind of divided into two categories though. Some are regular civilian things that I want to do, and some are more along the lines of things I wish I had done when I was young. I can’t believe I’m at an age where I wish I had done things when I was younger, but hey, I’m a former child star, and we have slightly different childhoods than most…

I guess I can start with the kid stuff, cause maybe when all this court shit is over and I can come out from under my rock, I can get some of it done. Unlike today, when kid stars are everywhere, we were meant to be seen and not heard. We didn’t get to rock a bunch of red carpets, or do all kinds of awesome photo shoots. I remember I wanted to be on the cover of Dolly magazine so bad. Apparently I got a pic on the inside of a 1992 edition, but it’s a picture of me as a 3 year old in a tracksuit. – Not quite the glamour look….

I still think it would be fun to do a full glamour photo shoot. I’m too old for Dolly now, but I want to dress in couture, be fawned over by hair and make-up for hours, and still be photoshopped like crazy. I want to spend a day being fabulous and then have a bunch of beautiful shots that I can show off to the folks at the old people’s home and say, See, I was hot once.

I’d like to get in shape this year. I want to get motivated to work out, eat healthy and look fabulous in case I get asked to do a photo shoot. Also, so I don’t have a heart attack while I’m 36….. I know it’s a physical impossibility, cause she’s 5’9″ and I’m 4’11”, but I’d like to get into Miranda Kerr kinda shape. She’s so beautiful. Although I think the reason I love her so much is because she always looks like she’s so happy. She just radiates happiness. It’s so refreshing.

I’d like to go to an awards ceremony as an adult. They’re really not all that fun as a 14 year old. You can’t drink, hook up, go to after parties, etc. I don’t want to hook up, but the drinking and partying would be fun.

That’s actually about it on the childhood stuff. I thought there’d be more….

As for regular stuff, there’s a much bigger list. First of all, I’m looking forward to court. I want to get that part of my life taken care of. I want to really get involved in changing laws to make the world a safer place for kids.

I want to pamper myself a little.

I want to take a trip with Matt to Italy to visit our exchange student, Giulia.

I want to do some more scuba diving. I want to document it & share all the cool locations with everyone on Going Down.

I’d like to meet my new niece, and see my nephew again.

I’d like to do a crazy celeb reality show where I get to win a chunk of change for charity.

I want to build an earthship at the ranch.

I want to be the breadwinner for a year so Matt can take a year off & do whatever the hell he wants.

I’d like to learn how to do my own hair & makeup. (And actually look good afterwards)

I want to take Matt on a Kardashian style vacation where it’s totally first class.

I’d like to be like all the other cool kids and create my own perfume.

I’d like to grow olives and grapes and release my own lines of Olive Oil and Wine.

I want to kidnap Lindsay Lohan, help her work out what’s wrong, how she can fix it, keep her away from the paparazzi for a while and then re-release a new fabulous LiLo on the world.

I want to make a movie or show that uses a bunch of former child stars, ala Dickie Roberts.

I want to buy a small yacht.

I want to start a retreat at the ranch for current & former child stars where they can chillax away from the media.

I want to have a law named after me.

I want to do something awesome that people will always remember me for. – I don’t know what this is yet, but it’s going to be awesome!

After seeing 10 years of the G’Day LA events, and every year saying we should go next year, I’d like to actually go to LA for the weekend and attend the Black Tie Gala.

I think that’s all that’s on there for now. Like most people, I’m sure I’ll add to it. When I look back at articles I did as a kid, I’m surprised at how many I’ve already crossed off my list. In one article I wanted to be in the Army when I grew up. Another I wanted to own a ranch in Texas or Montana. So there’s at least two done. 🙂

December 30, 2012December 30, 2012

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Well, it’s almost 2013….

Matt & I are out at the ranch, trying to get some work done on the camp out here. I turned on my live stream from 2DayFM and realized its already New Years Eve in Australia.

Without a doubt, Sydney has the best New Year’s Eve party in the world. The problem with growing up in Sydney, is that any other NYE party seems lame in comparison… When I explain to people here the massive scale of the fireworks, all over the Harbour, with a live simulcast on the radio, with everything choreographed, people are amazed, and jealous. I just don’t get the oohing and aahing over the ball drop in New York. The 15 minute display of fireworks in other cities, that just seem like someone sets off random boxes doesn’t compare.

Tomorrow it’ll be NYE here in America. I’ve got watch at work, so I’ll be busy till about 10pm. Matt will be joining me in my little town. We’re not really sure anything will be going on at all, but at least we’ll be together. That’s all that really matters.

I hope 2013 is a big year for all of you. A lot of people got hyped up over the end of the world with the Mayan calendar. It was never supposed to be the end, just a new beginning. I see several things changing in 2013. A few things got started in 2012 that will really evolve in 2013.

The Royal Commission should get into full swing in 2013. The Jimmy Saville case in England is only going to get bigger. I have a feeling that I’ll be in Australia taking care of business in 2013. 😉

Come January first, I’ll have been at my job for a year. I actually really enjoy it. Next weekend I go off for some training, and then I’ll get put in for a promotion. No pay change, just a shiny new rank.

I’m not making any New Years resolutions, but I am going to be good to myself this year. I’m going to get back into shape, both physically and mentally. I’m going to do all I can to keep up the fight to make changes in the world. I’m going to enjoy work this year. I’m going to give Matt as many kisses and home cooked dinners as I can.

I hope all of you have an awesome New Year, wherever you are. I hope 2013 brings you joy and happiness and all that you want to achieve.

We just have to hope on January 1st in America we don’t all get pushed over the “Fiscal Cliff”….

If we survive, maybe we’ll make it to Sydney for 2014!

Sorry about any typos. I’m doing this from my iPhone at the ranch…

December 11, 2012December 11, 2012

An Army of One

One lowly Private against the Drill Sergeant

The Staff Sergeant came back to the office yesterday with the Army Times magazine, and the cover story is about a Private who was sexually harassed by her Drill Instructor.

I tried to find the story on the Army Times website, and I couldn’t, but they did have a link to the video interview on the now PFC. She’s very calm, eloquent, and discusses what she went through trying to get someone to listen to her.

PFC Woodruff says he kisses and groped her, and she told her battle buddies about it. When she tried to report Staff Sgt Corral, she was told she didn’t want to “open that can of worms”. Eventually, word got round that she was speaking up. While she heard rumours of other girls involved, higher ups on base were calling her a piece of shit and a liar.

Eventually, somebody listened. The other girls came forward. Some were scared to speak up because they saw what Woodruff was going through. While he had “only” groped and kissed her, he was found to have attacked several women and was charged with Five specifications of violating a lawful order, five specifications of maltreatment of a subordinate, one count of abusive sexual contact and two counts of indecent conduct, one specification of forcible sodomy, one specification of assault, and one specification of adultery. (Yep, he was married)

Apparently he was a very likeable person, and people were surprised by the charges. Instead, when PFC Woodruff finished basic and went to AIT, they sent an email to her supervisors there that she was a troublemaker. She was ordered to counseling, but they wouldn’t help her because she wasn’t a victim, she was just an accuser.

After all that, when Staff Sgt Corral was eventually arrested and is sentenced to 5 years in confinement, busted down to Private, forfeited all pay and allowances and will get a bad-conduct discharge and will have to register as a sex offender when he gets out of the brig.

I am so proud of PFC Woodruff. Just because he didn’t rape her, doesn’t mean what he did wasn’t wrong. She knew what he did was unacceptable. She had the guts to stand up and say something. Even when people were putting her down, she stayed strong. Because of her, others came forward. Others that he had done awful, terrible things to. She made it possible for the girls he raped and sodomized to come forward.

For all the girls out there, if someone does something to you, don’t ever let anyone tell you what that person did to you wasn’t really bad enough for you to complain about. That other people out there had shit done to them that was much worse, and you’re just being whiney. Maybe that same person is the one doing worse things… Speak up. Speak loud. Don’t let people shut you down.

PFC Woodruff got a happy ending. She ended up staying in the army, found a great husband who knows what happened and is now much happier. The Army is also looking into the way things were handled and is changing things up because of her too.

HOOAH PFC Woodruff!

December 10, 2012December 10, 2012

More International Judges?

Are there no qualified Aussies?

I’m sorry, I just need to have a little rant. All the papers and gossip sites are buzzing about who the new judges will be on talent shows in 2013, and I just need to have a minor patriotic hissy fit.

When I was a kid, my mum asked what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said I wanted to be black. She asked what I meant, and I said that black people were so talented. They could sing, dance and act. They were a triple threat. She looked at me and said, Don’t you know that black people are oppressed? They’ve been enslaved, they got a bum deal? I, at that tender age had no clue what racism was, or understood slavery. I just knew that when I watched TV, black people were talented. Most people get one gift, singing OR dancing OR acting. It seemed like every black person on TV was just mega talented. I wished I was black….

It seems that whoever is doing casting for all these judging shows has the same glasses I had as a kid. Maybe not necessarily black, but it certainly is a foreign thing. They think all the talent lies in someone from overseas, and there’s no good talent in Australia. Well, maybe the producers of Everybody Dance Now thought the same as me…..

I get that these shows like Australia’s Got Talent and The Voice are international concepts and we live in an increasingly global market. People in Australia really do have to break into an overseas market to make money, and having an international Judge or Host brings some international perspective to the mix. But when your show is ONLY foreigners, or all but one, it’s getting a little ridiculous.

Take The Voice. It had Delta Goodrem, Keith Urban, Seal and Joel Madden. Two Aussies and two foreigners. Now that Keith is gone, they’re getting Ricky Martin. Now, I have to say, I’m conflicted on this one. I love Ricky Martin. I adore him. I could stare at him all day long. I first heard Ricky back in 1993, when I went to Honduras. When he was singing in Spanish, and hadn’t crossed over to the English market yet. I got back to Australia, and had to order CDs internationally. I loved his long curly hair. I loved that he was in a boy band called Menudo and had successfully transitioned out to being a solo artist. I was so excited when he crossed over to the English market, because then all my friends could understand who this Latin God was. I think Ricky is an awesome choice. He’s been an artist since he was a child, he’s a true cross over artist, and lets face it, the guy is sexy as hell and we all want to look at him.

But, the little patriotic voice in me asks why the hell do they need THREE foreign judges and only one Aussie? Delta will be the only Aussie left, and lets face it, she’s not the most popular judge on the show….Even the host of that show is only kinda Australian. The X Factor has Mel B and Ronan Keating, so they’re 50/50 too. They’ve got an Aussie host, so they’re kinda doing better in the Patriotic factor.

Now that Australia’s Got Talent is moving to nine, they’re going to revamp the show and there’s much speculation on who the new Judges will be. Victoria Beckham is being touted as the biggest want, and the news.com.au poll asks which International artist would we like to see? How about a button for pick a fricken Aussie?

It’s bad enough that all the TV shows are now based on music. It’s hard enough for Australian actors and presenters to get a job without making everything about music, so that singers and musicians are not just on our radio, but they’re taking over TV as well. Now all those jobs are going to foreigner singers, it’s a double insult to Australian artists.

I guess it’s not just singing talent shows either. Even things like Celebrity Apprentice seem to have a token American. Is it that Australia just feels like they HAVE to have the validation of foreigners, or is it that no Aussie wants to work on these shows? I see all that’s written about Delta and Natalie, and I think that maybe Aussie’s are scared to step up into the role in case they’re hated on like those two are.

If I had any shred of singing ability, I’d leap at the chance to work on a judging show. Realistically though, for something like Australia’s Got Talent, you don’t need to be a singer. Most music producers can’t sing themselves, and AGT is about more than just singing. Plus, you really don’t need to be talented to say whether someone else is good or bad. We all judge from our couch, whether we have any talent or not. You don’t need to be able to make an apple pie to know whether one is good or not when you eat it.

I tell you what; I can’t sing to save my life, but I can act. I can talk in front of a camera. I even used to teach acting classes to kids. I’ve worked in Australia and the US, and more importantly, I’ve got TWO passports. An Australian one and a US one. How about I come home and at least host one of these talent shows? Australian audiences will get an Aussie on TV, and the producers can have someone with a US passport to fill that ever important foreigner slot…..