email ecstasy

My long-time bff Tom "T-Bone" ReyRey recently became one of my work colleugues. Apart from the good corridor times we have shared since his contract began, we have also been spending a lot of time laughing at spam emails. For some reason, the UWA Student Guild (where we both work) is some sort of crazy spam epicentre, with every account receiving on average 50 spam items per day.

Basically the fun thing about these spam emails is that they are hilarious as heck, and often also come from amazing email addresses such as: passion-secretary@guild (a passionate secretary OR a secretary of passion?).

Here are our top ten thus far (all of which we have previously forwarded to one another for a little intra-office humouring):


1. "your male friend will grow like on yeasts"
2. "small bananas bring small problems, big bananas bring no problems"
3. "le sexe du comprime pour tous" ("a touch of europe" - dedicated to daniel creedon) (literal translation: "the sex of compressions for all!)
4. "give her SHOCK by your manhood - surprise!"
5. "your manhood will fly to the stars - & you think yr little friend is good for nothing?"
6. "heave your sweet bed times, enjoy the sweet times"
7. "the best way to prove your virility is to get a submariner SS watch" (a bit out of left field?)
8. "get yr orgasms filled with much-needed calcium"
9. "your weasel just got bigger in days"
10. "order now, your rod of steel"

oh the times we have.

xx magda

feeling miserable, but loving it

This arvo I had to do a little presentation for my Scriptwriting for TV unit - and chose to focus on one of my favourite TV shows of all time, Love My Way. That means that I spent basically the whole weekend re-watching old episodes and over-dosing on a hell of a lot of emotion. I don't want to be no spoiler queen (as I have been in the past), but something pretty awful happens in episode 8 of this series, and basically my poor heart breaks a little every time I watch it. WORST. But also: BEST, as I shall proceed to explain.

For the presentation's sake, I had to really figure out what makes this series so unique, and why I am so strongly drawn to it. I have concluded that, unlike any other Australian drama, this is a series takes risks. By which I do not only mean sex/drugs/artistic type risks, but also, more pertitently, emotional risks. It's a show based essentially around a deep family sadness, and around heavy, heavy, heavy themes. And I can see how that is perhaps not such an appealing premise, on a face value.

A lot of its strength lies in its characters, I suppose. Personally, I feel as if I know all these people, as if they were actually a part of my life, or my family, - and this is precisely why the series succeeds in exploring themes of death, grieving and loss in a much more intimate and genuinely affecting way than any other TV show I've seen (and that includes Six Feet - as Sasha pointed out). But, beyond that, the show succeeds because it is absolutely fearless. It is unafraid to take us deep into personal, internal experiences - and to admit when there is absolutely no glimmer of happiness. So, when hope does (eventually) spring, it is all the more moving and profound.

None of that would have worked if the show had been half-arsed about its darkness. It had to jump all the way into that sadness in order to emerge from it with something truly meaningful. And I am happy to say that that is exactly what it did. In the end, all I can do is apply those learned words: "emotionally debilitating, yet deeply life affirming" - because for once they are actually appropriate.

What a show. It comes highly recommended.

xxx magda

"eggciting"

Guys this last long weekend was so great! I thought I would use it to party hard, and I did a little, but truth be told I mainly spent it getting "into the spirit" of Easter!

My favourite event of easter is almost always the EASTER SATURDAY BASKET BUILDING MARATHON. And I feel compelled to share a little about that with you now. For, despite all my spirtual anxieties, this is one (albeit loosely) Church-based tradition that I truly cannot get enough of.

First you lovingly decorate your basket, with freshly plucked flower and herbs, and ribbons and toy chickens and sometimes with glitter. Next, you select one piece of every food you intend to eat on Easter Sunday, and perhaps you also eat some of it. Then you take your basket, now filled with chocolate, sausage and cupcakes (the only important foods), down to the Polish church for a quick blessing. There is no mass! It only takes five minutes! You can go out for lunch afterwards! Amazing!

Look at us just going for it:


WACKY FACT: this year two baskets actually went missing! A jealous basket maker destroys their competition? A crazed Pole gets lost in amongst all the sausages and mistakenly takes someone else's? Or a lonely Australian watches with envy as these ethnics celebrate, and feels compelled to get in on the action by way of some "accidental thievery"? Who will ever know?

And here am I, the proud owner of the best-looking basket in towne:



Love to all,
x magda

the internet surprises yet again...

So, at the moment I am doing some tutoring at UWA, for a communication studies unit called "The Importance of Story." So far we've covered heaps of wacky topics, and in this coming week we'll be looking at how individuals build personal narratives online. Part of the week's homework is to google classmates/tutors, so I thought I might just enter my own name, to prepare for what my students might find out about me.

This is basically a long-winded way of saying: "I googled myself - BUT I HAD A GOOD EXCUSE OK." And the point is that, through this process, I actually discovered that one of my lifelong dreams has already been realised, entirely without my knowledge!

Some of you might have heard of the Australian doco Bomb Harvest. I think it only got about a week of screening at Luna last year, but it was quite enjoyable/informative. I gave it a pretty positive review (click to read) and that was that - until now, when I stumble across their website and find that I have been quoted.

Check it:

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! I barely can!

Yes, the quote is a bit inane and not really insightful in any way, shape or form, but I'm freaking NUMBER FOUR on their quotes list and that makes me pretty excited. I BASICALLY AM RIGHT NEXT TO MARGARET AND DAVID and that in itself demands caps lock abuse. AWESOME. The website can be found here. They have about ten more reviews listed after those.

So it seems that now I can check that achievement off my "to-do" list. What a thrill ride. It turns out there was a reason why I have been writing these reviews, and that reason is: ONLINE FAME.

Happy Easter everyone!!
x magda

geener pastures

Hello all! As you may or may not have noticed, there have been some changes 'round the traps. I have moved to this new blog site primarily for the following reasons:

1. heartsandpinwheels, as a blog title, never sat comfortably with me. Yes it's pretty and nicely sofia coppola-inspired, but to me it never really screamed "magda magic." pasticheparty does that a little more, because it neatly straddles that thin line between my aspirations towards intellectualism, and my love for fun times. Names - "turns out they mean things."

2. The concept for my blog needed to be broadened. It began as a space for writing about inspiration, and I want it to continue being that, but I also want to spread wings. I am studying a new course now, which is making me feel a little bit more comfortable about my creativity, so I'd love to develop those feelings further through this blog. I'd also like to bring in a bit more about magdalife, because, hey, what a life it is.

3. It was time for a new design, and pasticheparty really contains more visual potential, as a concept, than heartandpinwheels ever did. Check out that header! Does it not rule?! I think so. I hope that never again will my blog look be described as "geocities-esque" (ie the ultimate internet zing).

"Well," you might ask, "can we conclude that good times are ahead?"
"YES, little one, we can," is my very eloquent response.

muchos lovez,
(in commradary with my south american friends)
x magda