I Just Haven't Met You Yet....

Hear that sound?

Yes, that one.

That's myself, and almost every middle-aged woman around the world crying because it was officially announced today that my future husband Canadian crooner Michael Buble had become engaged to his Argentinean girlfriend, Luisana Lopilato.

Speculation has been rife for days that the pair were to be married, but has only been conrifmed by Michael's publicist today. It has been mentioned that the pair have been engaged since November.

I was desperately hoping, along with almost every other middle-aged/elderly lady in the world this would turn out to be a rumour but alas, 'tis not.

I am happy for them and congratulations to the happy couple, but, as he says in the song, he just hasn't met me yet. ;)

Ok, so I'm sure you've heard the hoo-haa about former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins appearing nude, unretouched and airbrush free (!) on the cover of Marie Claire.

I am still unsure of what to think about all this.

It is evident that ol' Jen is not the body image spokesperson herself and the magazine were hoping her to be. Wow, that's a surprise.

I mean, good on her and the magazine for exposing her flaws (yes, all three of them!), but is Jennifer Hawkins, a rail-thin supermodel, really a poster girl for this sort of thing?

Not really.

A couple of months back, Sarah Murdoch appeared on the cover of Women's Weekly unairbrushed. The nation cheered. Here is a woman approaching middle age, not afraid to show some freckles and crows feet on the front of a magazine. A good spokesperson.

Unfortunately I cannot say the same for Jen, a supermodel with a somewhat perfect body.

A Marie Claire spokesperson today defended the shoot, stating that Jennifer was 'putting her career on the line' in this particular cover.

It is most unfortunate that the shoot has not only raised concerns about body image aomongst young girls and women, but has also exposed the pressure and strictness (I think I just made up a new word!) in the fashion industry.

Thoughts? :)

No, I'm no one's wife, but oh, I love my life, and all that jazz...

2009 was a funny year. In many ways it was the best year of my life and in many ways, it was the worst. Let me take you through the top five moments of my 2009. :)

5. I got my fifteen seconds of fame... in the background of Spicks and Specks.

The night after Best Moment #2, I went to a Spicks and Specks taping at the ABC Studios in Ripponlea, Melbourne. This was a huge amount of fun and getting to see how TV is made is absolutely fascinating. I got to meet the three main stars and some of the guests (even scored free tickets from Reginald D Hunter to one of his shows that night - score!!) And Mother Dearest and I were thrilled to see our mugs in the background of a shot in the final product. WIN.

4. I finished Year 10!

Yes, this might not seem like much of a highlight, but I finished year ten, and high school, in 2009. In Tasmania (cue the two-headed jokes), high school finishes at year 10 and then you are off to college. Oh, and you get a nice, big leavers dinner at the end where you get to dress up and feel like a princess. :)

3. Fleetwood Mac in concert - See Previous post. :)

2. Meeting Judith Lucy at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival

For my 16th birthday, I got four tickets to see Judith Lucy's Not Getting Any Younger at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne. I am a massive Judith Lucy fan and have been hanging out to see her for years. I booked tickets myself a couple of days after they came on sale, and was pretty satisfied with my row-E tickets. 5th row, not too bad. Ba-BOW. Row E was not the fifth row, it was the FRONT.

On the night of April 15th, I dragged my two terrified cousins and my terrified mother along to see the show, clad in a home-made 'I LOVE JUDITH LUCY' t-shirt. Anything to stand out, I thought. At the last minute, I chickened out and put a jacket over it. The second the show started, my cousin preceded to literally rip my jacket off me and keep it for the rest of the show. So I had no choice but to sit there, looking like a bit of an idiot.

When the show started, Judith asked if anyone used the cart/trolleys that old people typically use. My cousin yelled out enthusiastically that I did (I have never touched one in my life) and started pulling at my tshirt. Judith came down, saw my tshirt and pulled me out of the audience, to thundering laughter. Plan worked. She asked me a few questions, I gave a few nervous answers. I sat back down.

Later on in the show, she began the segment, 'Ask A Young Person'. My mum and cousins were making up weird/disgusting/quirky answers to her questions all day, and thank god I didn't have to use any. She turned to me, though, and asked me some fairly harmless questions, such as if I knew who Martina Navratilova (no idea about the spelling of that one) was, to which I nervously said 'no!' to another round of laughter. She refrenced me a couple of times throughout the show, asking me if I knew what things were and if I didn't, explaining them to me. It was a great show!

After the show, my cousin went and mentioned to the stage manager that I wanted to get my tshirt signed. The stage manager obliged, and my cousin, Mum and I went backstage to meet my favourite comedian. She was lovely and signed my tshirt and we grabbed a couple of photos. Truly a dream come true! And the shirt definitely paid for itself!*

*Eight months on, and I still can't figure out whether the t-shirt was the best or most stupid thing I've ever done.

1. Meeting my childhood idol, Gina Riley.

Now THIS was a dream come true. I have idolised Gina Riley since I was eight years old, and hatched many, many childish, silly plans over the years to try and meet her. I loved everything about her; her grace, sense of humour and elegance (ok, this is starting to sound gay), unlike her alter-ego Kim Craig.

In 2008, it was announced Gina had landed the starring role of Matron 'Mama' Morton in the big-budget Melbourne production of Chicago. As soon as tickets came on sale, I booked my seats. I was not going to miss out on meeting her this time.

Just seeing Gina on stage, in the flesh, was a dream come true for this little star-gazer. I was almost in tears when she set foot on the stage. It was an amazing moment.

After the show, I flew down three flights of stairs to get to the stage door. After waiting an hour and seeing all the stars of the show leave, Gina was no where to be seen. I asked a guard, who was locking up for the night, who said she had gone home. Shattered, I gave up and walked back to the hotel.

Not to be outdone, my cousin and I walked down to the theatre the next night. We waited outside for about 45 minutes, et voila....

Sure, I probably freaked her out, blubbering like a drunk loser, but I met her, and that's all I wanted. It was one of the best nights of my life.

:)

You see your Gypsy....

On December 1st, I saw one of my faouvrite bands of all time, Fleetwood Mac, play Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on their Unleashed tour.


This time around, the band did not have an album to promote - a first for them - so this meant two and a half hours of wall-to-wall hits - who could resist?!

This was an amazing moment, seeing a band I have loved since I was about three, courtesy of good ol' Mum. They may all be well into retirement age, but they certinaly haven't lost any of the edge they possessed way back in the Rumours era. The whole band - Mick Fleetwood, John McVie, Lindsey Buckingham and the Gold Dust Woman herself Stevie Nicks - were in top form, belting out hit after hit, playing for nearly three hours. Mick Fleetwood played and bashed with his usual eccentricity and fire, Lindsey with his guitar-godliness and passion, Stevie with - I just can't fit in enough about Stevie - and John with his always-present precision and grace.

The night was filled with unforgettable moments, my top two being Lindsay's passionate, electrifying performance of my favourite (second only to Seven Wonders) FM song Big Love, and the night's encore, the Christine McVie-penned superhit, Don't Stop. Speaking of Ms McVie, she was absent from this tour after retiring in 1998. The somewhat anonymous keyboardist was still great and provided the needed backing, but did not match the glory of the original FM keyboardist.

My first experience with Fleetwood Mac came when I was about three or four years old, watching the premiere of The Dance on TV. I can still remember being absolutely mesmerised with the Spirit of Troy marching band from the USC, belting out the classic riff-driven tune, Tusk and the unforgettable Don't Stop. As I tap away at the keyboard of my faithful little Toshiba, I am listening to said album.


All in all, this little old-lady-teenager came away buzzing with excitement, her head full of Fleetwood Mac tunes. Oh, how I love my life. ♥


Hope you enjoy some photos from the night, taken by Mother Dearest. :)

Rock on, Gold Dust Woman!

'Landslide'

"It's our first show here in Australia, and I can safely say we couldn't be any more THRILLED!"

So this is Christmas, and what have you done?...

...Another year (almost) over, and a new one just begun...

Hi there and welcome one and all to the Velvet Underground. I'm Chelsea, and I won't go into detail coz it will probably just bore you. You can read more about me on my profile.

I have been meaning to start a blog for years and always seem to have the urge around Christmas time. So, after receiving a laptop for Christmas, I had no excuses, so here it is. I thought I might start off with what every blog and newspaper does at this time of the year and recap over the year 2009 and indeed, the end of the decade.

In 2009, we barely dodged the financial crisis, farewelled the King of Pop, went crazy over a fictional, sparkling vampire, and the phrase 'Fair Shake of the Sauce Bottle, Mate' didn't quite enter the vernacular, courtesy of the dithering Milky Bar Kid himself, Kevin 'Political Sh*tstorm' Rudd.

We could only watch and pray as thousands of people lost homes and loved ones in the Victorian Black Saturday fires. February 7 is a day that will stay in the Australian psyche for quite a long time. It was a day of tragedy, a day of loss and devastation. On a visit to Kinglake, the epicentre of the bushfires in April, just over two months after the tragedy, the loss was still evident. Forests that were once green, lush and beautiful, stood barren and black, stretching as far as the eye could see. Half-burnt houses still stood, some with remnants of police tape across. But there were signs of hope; driving down the narrow roads of Kinglake and Yea, a small number of trees were beginning to show tiny signs of life again, with small sprinkles of greenery and flowers upon them. Truly a sight to behold.


In June, we said goodbye to Mr King of Pop, Michael Joseph Jackson. This was truly a sad day for fans and non-fans alike, as we will probably never see an artist of his calibre again. I imagine that This day was almost akin to the day legends such as John Lennon and Elvis Presley passed away.

In 2009, we said goodbye to Australian entertainment heavyweights Charles 'Bud' Tingwell and the 'Lanky Yank', Don Lane. These two bought copious amounts of talent to the screens and stages of legions of fans and both will be sorely missed.

Mid-2009 also saw the swine flu pandemic hit our shores after huge amounts of hysteria abroad. After sweeping Mexico and the United States, the virus soon hit Melbourne, with the tourist hotspot becoming one of the highest-infected cities on the planet. The mass hysteria for the illness was largely unwarranted, with a handful of Australian fatalities (many of these had underlying health conditions) and only a mild strain affecting those unlucky enough to come down with the virus.

I must admit that I was very excited when I heard the news that much-loved variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday would be returning to our screens for two reunion specials. I was only six when the show went off-air in 1999 and it was a long-standing fixture in our household. The shows defied critics and were a ratings powerhouse for Channel Nine, when its success was unfortunately overshadowed by a backlash against a Red Faces skit. Yes, you know the one I'm talking about; the now-infamous Jackson Jive. The content of the skit was evidently taken way out of proportion, making headlines both in Straya and internationally, where in some cases, the country of Australia was branded 'racist'. The media and a selected amount of the general public and obviously missed the premise of these reunion specials and the content of the Red Faces act itself; these specials were made to reflect back on Hey Hey's 28-year run. The Jackson Jive was a popular act in the 1980s. Pretty self-explanatory if you ask me. But the good news is, despite the furore, Channel Nine have commissioned a new series of Hey Hey to be screened next year, starting around February. Watch out for me in the front row!!!

Anyway, I think I'm about done. I know there's a lot I haven't covered but I'm getting tired and it's getting late. Leave a comment and tell me what you think. Enjoy and good night possums! xox