MOONRISE KINGDOM

So, like, I'm Currently Obssessing Over, Like...

Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom

Last night I watched The Royal Tenenbaums. In my winter cave, of course (lol look at me making connections between blog posts). I hadn't watched it in over a year and I forgot how brilliant it was. And how brilliant Wes Anderson is.

Then I remembered Anderon's upcoming release, Moonrise Kingdom, his first since Fantastic Mr. Fox in 2009.

If you haven't seen the trailer already (how's that rock you're living under) (oh no I'm alienating my audience) (lol is it possible to have a negative number of readers) you should definitely watch it now. And if you have seen it, watch it another 8 or 9 times.

I don't know what it is about Moonrise Kingdom that looks so amazing. I mean, the cast looks okay? There's Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Francis McDormand, Bill Murray, TILDA SWINTON- oh crap I'm running out of breath. Actually, EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT THIS MOVIE LOOKS AMAZING. I think I initially got sucked in by the scout uniforms. It really struck a chord with my inner 8-year-old who always longed to join the cub scouts. He didn't really want to be 'playing tennis'. No. He wanted to be across the road, collecting badges and baking cookies. That's where he truly belonged.

Anyway. When you watch the trailer you can't help but think: "I should've been born in the 60s". I know, I know. You hate people who say that. But you don't have a choice. You will be like every 13 year old girl who just listened to Lana Del Rey for the first time and swears she should've been born in the 60s because Lana's hair is 60s, her clothes are 60s and omg I have blue jeans and a white shirt too I SHOULD'VE BEEN BORN IN THE 60S.

Because of this 60s vibe, I think Moonrise Kingdom is the perfect movie to be seen at a drive-in. I've never actually been to a drive-in cinema before (shock! Horror!) but it's my goal this winter to go to one, so it should be yours too. Because I control you. Now put your knife into the baby goat. Also, according to IMDB it comes out in Australia in August, so I think that calls for a... WINTER CAVE: CAR EDITION.

So do yourself a favour. When the time comes, grab some friends, a car, a pile of blankets, a thermal filled with warm milk and pretend, just for one night, that you should've been born in the 60s. Go on, you deserve it.

WINTER SURVIVAL GUIDE

Winter is right around the corner. That means it's almost that time of year when our beds become our best friends again, more so than ever. Our lives are reduced to a cheesy Hilary Duff video clip as we dramatically gaze out at the rainy landscape around us, wondering if it's all some kind of larger metaphor for life. Is that just me? Probably.

"I'm just a bird that's already flown away" - Hilary, fishing for metaphors.

But you know what? I love winter. I love not moving from my bed and I love pretending that I'm Hilary Duff. It's time to embrace your impending hibernation, because let's face it, braving the cold every single weekend isn't always appealing.

So, without further ado, here are my TOP 5 TIPS FOR WINNING AT WINTER ('win' and 'winter' do u get it lol).

1. DITCH YOUR BEST FRIEND.

You don't need them when you have a perfectly good bed. Humans are irrelevant when you have a bed with a nice spongy mattress and 435602 blankets. Sorry Sally Smith, my childhood best friend, but consider yourself DITCHED.

2. MAKE YOUR HIBERNATION CAVE

Everyone needs a hibernation cave. Something like this:

However, admittedly, that's more like an early-to-mid-autumn cave rather than the heavy-duty-winter cave that we're after. Aim for something like this but a) make it on top of your bed, b) have 435602 more blankets and c) you'll need infinity more CAT PILLOWS (you can never have enough cat pillows).

3. DISCOVER THE HIDDEN POTENTIAL OF TOASTERS

I'm sick of toasters being under appreciated. You know how TVs have migrated from the lounge room to the kitchen? Well, I think it's time that the good-old-fashioned toaster gets a bit of the limelight and infiltrates other rooms of the house, too. Starting with the bedroom.

The must have accessory of this winter is a TOASTER ON YOUR BEDSIDE TABLE. Who wants to have to 'get up' and 'go to the kitchen' to 'make toast'? No-one.

Congratulations! Your winter is now filled with endless amounts of avocado on toast. Thank me later. (note: you should also have a basket of avocados in your cave at all times)

4. DRESS LIKE YOU'RE IN THE ARMY

Fun fact: everyone becomes 3x more attractive when they're wearing army print. So, for those rare and regretful moments when we're forced to go outside (shudder), you're going to need an army jacket to keep you nice and warm. I've currently got my eye on this one by Jesen, available online at Comeback Kid. 

Army/ camo is easily my favourite trend this winter and GRIMES WEARS ARMY JACKETS AND I'LL DO ANYTHING SHE WANTS ME TO, SO SIGN ME UP.

(Another fun fact: I once slaughtered a baby goat because Grimes told me to. The carcass now sits in the western-most corner of my winter cave for feng shui purposes. It has fermented very nicely.)

Look into my eyes, Dylan. Now put your knife into that baby goat...

5. WHISK UP A WONDERFUL WINTER PLAYLIST

Probably the most essential thing you need to win winter. Personally, I enjoy a balance between mellow vibes and dance-y vibes in my winter playlist, mainly so the rain doesn't get me down-in-the-dumps. See if some of these songs are worthy of entering your playlist:

Beach House- Lazuli
Zoo Kid- Ocean Bed

Purity Ring- Obedear

Baio- Sunburn Modern
Beat Culture- Useless

Dante- Next To You
World's End Press- Second Day Uptown

On that note, I'm returning to my hibernation. Avocado toast and green tea awaits me. Ciao.

LAGOON OF YOUTH

So, like, I'm Currently Obssessing Over, Like...

Youth Lagoon - The Year Of Hibernation

Last week I nabbed some tickets to Youth Lagoon’s Splendour sideshow in July, which I’m insanely excited about, so recently I’ve been dedicating a lot of my 30 minute Uni commute to my dear-friend-who-doesn’t-know-we’re-friends-yet, the mastermind behind Youth Lagoon, Trevor Powers.

I couldn’t stop playing this album when it dropped in September last year. And I haven't really stopped since. There’s something about it that lulls you into some weird nostalgic state (with tracks like “July” and “Montana”) and you find yourself thinking about how good childhood was and how stressful Uni is and then you start crying uncontrollably. But then, contrastingly, there’s even more happy songs that you can bop along to, like “Daydream” and “Cannons”. The washed out, lo-fi vocals (which were achieved by recording his own voice echoing in his friend’s basement) seem to have either one of those effects, and sometimes both at the same time.

Favorite track(s):

“July” is probably my #1 tune on The Year Of Hibernation. I look at the song as having two distinct halves. The first almost-three-minutes is almost ambient, with Powers oo-ing and oh-ing in a catchy tune that you’ll probably find yourself whistling on the way to work. Then someone in a car throws rotten fruit at you. Then you're forced to explain to your boss why your clothes are covered in rotten fruit. And then, finally, it kicks in, with the vocals suddenly transforming into a shout. And then the catchy ooo’s are back and OH ITS JUST PERFECT and then it ends and it’s all just so cathartic and nostalgic and oh crap I’m crying again. Superb track.

(Also, you should definitely watch the video clip. It’s one of my favourite clips ever. It’s super intense and reminds me of the movie 'Melancholia').

AGEING

My life is pretty much over. 

If my life was one of those sand-hourglass-egg-timer-things, it'd only have a few grains left to spare. The egg, a symbol of my life, would almost be boiled.

Sure, I've just turned 18, but those two digits might as well be reversed.

This realisation, that I'm actually ageing, and fast, rudely hit me when I was on the bus the other day. I realised that, hang on, I'm not 8 anymore. So I probably shouldn’t be wearing velcro runners with little lights in the soles that flicker whenever I run after mummy. Yep, I should probably take these off.

#Not8Anymore #BonusChildhoodPicture #TellMeImCuteLol

What triggered this epiphany? It was the horrid sound of laughter. Laughter belonging to youth. The laughter of those lucky ones with their lives still ahead of them. The laughter of those with unwrinkled skin.

When I heard the laughter, immediately I involuntarily turned around and glared at the pimple-faced culprit with a level of conviction I’d never achieved before. It was as if I was possessed by an angry tax payer. My reaction mirrored the 80ish year old man sitting next to me. Though I was a bit confused about what just overcame me, I joined him in a harmonised scoff of “ugh, teenage dirtbag” (baby) and a hi-5.

Proud of my efforts, I turned back around. But that’s when I caught my reflection in the bus window.

I realised, for the first time, that my face looked rather weathered. My eyes, too, looked different. No longer did they shine with the unencumbered freedom of childhood. Rather, they looked dim. Dim with concerns about superannuation. I then finally looked at the roll of yarn and half-completed scarf sitting my lap and it became obvious.

I’m old. Old. OLD.

In a panic I started to interrogate old man Jimbo sitting next to me. When did this happen? What were the warning signs? Why did it take so long for me to notice? HELP ME JIMBO I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE ONE OF YOU. I grabbed him by the scruff of his accidentally trendy Cosby sweater but he simply laughed in my face. In horror, I turned back and looked at the teen with desperation. As if she could somehow save me from my impending doom. She took no notice of me. That's when Jimbo threw the scarf he had been knitting at me. IT'S TOO LATE DYLAN, YOU'RE ONE OF US NOW. Etched in the itchy fabric read: "ur old dylan lol just face it". And that's when I accepted my fate and wrapped the scarf around my neck.

Since then, I've caught myself flicking through junkmail. I also nearly sent an angry email to Metro. Then there’s the whole inability-to-function-properly-unless-I’ve-inhaled-4-short-blacks-in-the-morning thing. Also deserving of a mention are the naps I take on the train home from uni, without feeling a single ounce of shame. And I think I've got odd patterned socks on at the moment. I wasn't even trying to be ironic.

From this, if anything, I've realised (albeit, too late) that life is short. Don’t waste it like I did. Look at me, I just used the word 'albeit'. But there’s still hope for you. Learn from my mistakes. Go on... w-without me.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to my blog. I didn’t expect anyone to be here. Sorry that it’s all dusty and whatnot. Here, have a stale cookie. 
Wow, human company is weird. Sorry. It's been a while.

Anyway, I’m one of those pesky journalism/ PR/ media students (specifically an RMIT one) and I have big ambitions of starting a nice little blog with nice little readers. You know, the modern day American Dream.

I’m hoping that this place will be (shortly) transformed into a mix of various things reflecting my various interests. There'll be music posts about what I’m ‘digging’ week-to-week; stupid blog posts that are essentially stupid tweets stretched out beyond 140 characters; the occasional fashun post, and eVeRyThInG iN bEtWeEn!

So stick around! Stay tuned!