The Eurovision Song Contest was born in the 1950s, in a bid to unite post-war Europe through song. Countries qualify with their song in an effort to make it to the final and once in the final, all countries around Europe vote for the most popular song and its country becomes the next Eurovision host country the following year. Historically, Eurovision has launched the careers of ABBA and Celine Dion and many up-and-coming European artists are hoping the same thing, with one of the more colourful winners being Israel’s ’90s champion, transsexual Dana International (yay for progress).

Eurovision 2013 wrapped up in Sweden last Saturday night, with Denmark dubbed winner for their song ‘Only Teardrops’, sung by a barefoot and Shakira-esque singer named Emmelie de Forest. However, Eurovision is not a juggernaut only because of winners. It is everything else that comes along the way, which leaves me counting down the days until the extravaganza.

There is cheesy and sickening Europop sung by people with their heavy regional accents. There are elaborate and gaudy outfits which should have been left in 1995.  There is enough glitter and confetti to drown even Ke$ha. There is annoying banter between hosts and there is scenic imagery of each participating country.

Among, the more colourful events this year there were Finland’s lesbian kiss, Ukraine’s giant (literally), UK’s Bonnie Tyler staging a comeback, Ireland’s Jersey Shore extra, Lithuania’s hunky Brandon Flowers lookalike, France’s rock chick, Moldova’s soaring singer… and then there was Romania.

Romanian singer Cezar (do yourself a favour and check him out) represented everything I love and expect from Eurovision. His song ‘It’s my Life’, which has subsequently seen him dubbed in the press as a “castrated vampire”, was a mixture between opera and dubstep. While Cezar resembled Dracula in his bejeweled outfit and high notes, all I can say is that he was fabulous with a capital F and this is a song I will be discretely downloading and thanking the Eurovision gods for.

Aside from the singing, there is the voting. Each country must grant songs between one and twelve points. There is awkward lagging via satellite, there is elongated small talk and there is the strategic voting, putting to shame the purity of the contest. Greece give 12 points to Cyprus and they repay the favour, Norway votes for Sweden and former Soviet countries vote for Russia. Traditionally western countries like France and the UK trail behind with points.

While I live in Australia, which is a long way from Europe, many Eurovision loyalists hit pubs and clubs and even city squares to marvel at the magic of Eurovision. I sincerely hope Romania’s song is played in all its glory at many nightclubs- I love you, Cezar.

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As many women sympathised with HBO heroine Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City over a decade earlier, Horvath provides an insight on the torture which is being lost in your early 20s. As an avid fan of both shows, it is clear that Dunham pays homage in many respects to the SATC girls – albeit with her own dark and honest twist, which has millions of women  feeling an almost religious rapture as they proclaim, ‘It’s not only me!’

While Carrie Bradshaw is a hot mess whose every third word is ‘fabulous’ as she struts around Manhattan in her $400 heels and sips on cosmopolitans, Hannah Horvath is a Brooklyn girl in ill-fitting outfits, who openly bares her body (which millions are quick to judge because she isn’t a size 0) and cuts her own fringe in bed – thanks to help from YouTube. Carrie leads an extravagant lifestyle thanks to her column (gee, I wish I could get paid for dishing out gossips and escapades) while Hannah is struggling to make ends meet without her parents’ financial support and is encouraged to write morbid stories of sexual rejection and failure – a definite contrast of Carrie’s flaky and judgmental views on sexuality.

Both girls are narcissistic to an extent and both of them have an off-on relationship with unavailable men- Mr Big and Adam. Both men are emotionally unavailable and troubled, of course Adam to a deeper extent, which leaves audiences unable to relate to Hannah’s attraction to him, possibly until season two.

While Sex and the City has its fair share of uncomfortable scenes and harsh realities of the dating world, it is eclipsed by a general fabulousness of four females, high-end fashion and high salaries.  It is romanticised and there is nothing wrong with that – it’s a show I can enjoy and relate to even if I don’t have an amazing job in New York as a minor celebrity and don’t date a mogul. These are still women who go through the same ups and downs as us: break-ups, miscarriage, infidelity, unrequited feelings and so on.

Girls similarly paints the reality of a girl’s 20s in a refreshingly stark manner which will make you laugh out loud and cringe. There is 33-year-old nihilist Ray (possibly my favourite male character) who is a self-confessed ‘loser’ despite his intellectual musings.  There is Hannah’s OCD, her struggles with her weight, Marnie and Charlie’s disintegrating post-college relationship, Jessa’s hedonistic lifestyle and STDs, college debts mixed with poverty and Shoshanna’s idealised perceptions of love and her troubled romance with Ray.

While Carrie Bradshaw finally (after two lacklustre films) found her happily ever after, Hannah Horvath has a lot ahead of her – so do we. Will she overcome her anxiety and finish her novel? Will she get back together with Adam in season three? Will she mend her friendship with Marnie? Will she find Jessa? Will she remain so imperfectly perfect in her shorteralls and continue to sing Wonderwall in the bath? I sure hope so.

Featured image via The Atlantic

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I wake up at 11:15 am, feeling tired and unproductive. Seventh Heaven is finished and The Love Boat is on. As my dad watches Lifetime, I photocopy worksheets for upcoming tutoring sessions, which I conduct during afternoons and try and put my teaching degree to some use.  By the time I come home, I know which junk mail email and which telemarketer call is due. This is the unglamorous life of a 20-something with part-time employment and writing aspirations.

I write and often make small celebrations at page number milestones. I just passed page 100 on the second draft of my novel. Will this novel ever be read? I don’t know. Will it be published? I don’t know. Will it be liked? I don’t know. Do I love it? Yes.  Are my characters alarmingly neurotic? Yes. Are they an extension of me? Yes.

So I work a few hours a night and on weekends, while waiting for an afternoon phone call from a local school needing relief teachers. When it doesn’t come, I punish myself with reminders of all my peers who have steady jobs and careers- although simultaneously the idea of working 9-5 scares me.  When feeling persistent, I apply for dozens of jobs weekly. When a phone call comes in for a job interview, my mind recreates hundreds of possible outcomes. What if I embarrass myself? What if they ask me that question? What if I have to start ASAP? What if it’s a dead end job? Will I enjoy it? What if I’m not good enough?  In the past, these anxious ponders have kept me from actually attending the interview.

Student loans, car insurance and laptop repair bills are draining my pocket. I spend more time writing than working – of course, writing doesn’t feed me. I have a wonderful fiancé who supports me with whatever I do; he is my biggest fan. I am blessed with the gift of writing – I am a good writer. I have completed a post-graduate degree. Yet there is always something missing and that is a steady career.

I always imagined my life career heading a certain way. I followed all the rules; I finished high school with top marks, excelled at university and stayed ambitious. Yet when I finished university and was thrust in the real world, fear entrapped me.  Fear hindered me from evolving into the person I wanted to be. It started in the end of 2009 and it has taken me a long time to rise above from it. I missed and rejected lots of opportunities and I only have myself to blame.

Yet what I have learned is that I have become confined only by the walls I have created myself. In 2012, I committed to writing, which has been my passion since I was a child. I have written for numerous sites and loved every moment of it. I may not have earned a dollar, but I have earned happiness. I have even created an eBook with some of my best online pieces.

I still apply for jobs in a competitive and depressing economy: office jobs, bank jobs, teaching jobs.  I try to be optimistic and I acknowledge the many blessings and gifts around me. I may not be earning as much as I should, but that does not define me. It does not make me any less capable or intelligent than anyone else. I also know the scorn many creative types face so I try to remain as true to myself as I can.  I try not to be defined by my short-comings, I know hardship makes us stronger  and I try to use it as motivation.

Featured image via biggrlproblems.com 

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I have written for HelloGiggles, Our World Today and The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet.  I have written on what I have know, what has inspired me and what has shocked me.

In Ponders and Tantrums, you will find my examination of girls and their obsession with perfect hair, the internet’s choke-hold, the pains of being a 20-something, good and bad TV,  friendships that were, as well as the horrendous lengths we go to in an attempt to attain a ‘vogue vagina.’

You will find my 25 things to do before turning 25 list, which I wrote when I was experiencing my own quarter of a century existential crisis and my obsession with all things vintage.

Compiling my pieces for Ponders and Tantrums was easy- deciding to put it out there and share it with others has been the hard part. As every writer does, I fear rejection, I fear doubt, I fear failure. Yet not trying is the bigger fear- so I summon all my courage and I present to you my toil.

Gigglers who have read my previous work will definitely enjoy the pieces, while I hope some neophytes of my writing take a chance and discover the weird and wonderful world of my ramblings. If you do, you will be carrying a spec of my soul with you, so support this broke and sentimental writer, before she becomes a cynical and bitter being.

Ponders and Tantrums is available via Payhip. You can find it and share it here.

The post Item of the Day: ‘Ponders and Tantrums’ eBook appeared first on HelloGiggles.

The Hollywood stories of a Transylvanian count who rose from coffins and feared garlic, as made popular by Bela Lugosi with his signature scowl in the 1930s, was an adaptation of the Gothic Bram Stoker novel Dracula.

The Irish writer published this rousing novel in 1897, during an era where the Gothic novel was a burgeoning genre, with the publication of Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White and the Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein already published. Although it was not an immediate best-seller, it was received well by Victorian audiences and it was thrust into the limelight and pop culture at large following its film adaptations.

The Stoker story unfolds in an epistolary style – it is told through diary entries, letters and logs. While it is historically incorrect, it is a rich adventure story which would have easily alarmed Victorian audiences. It starts with a young English clerk’s business trip to Transylvania, where he is welcomed by the mysterious Count Dracula, who has hopes of leaving his eerie castle in the Carpathians for smoggy and crowded London. Soon enough, Jonathon Harker, the visiting clerk, realises he is Dracula’s prisoner and becomes aware of the count’s nocturnal habits.

As the story unfolds, we travel from the mystical Carpathians to London, where a gang of Victorians – including Harker’s wife Mina and led by Dr. Van Helsing – are on a quest to vanquish the fiendish vampire who has a taste for pretty and young girls.

Stoker’s Dracula paints the consequences of modernity as well as the possibility of women’s purity to be tainted and therefore make women voluptuous and sexually wanton, as we saw in Lucy’s vampirification. The theme of Christian salvation is also always relevant.

So while this piece of literature has captivated readers for decades, how was it spawned? Where does Vlad the Impaler come into being?

The factual figure Vlad Dracula III was a Wallachian ruler (now modern Romania) and not a Transylvanian ruler, as the myth has suggested. Although he was not a vampire, in some respects he was just as malevolent. His father’s epithet Dracul, meaning ‘of the dragon’, was carried to Vlad since his father was a member of The Order of the Dragon, a society approved by the pope to fight against the spreading Ottoman Empire and protect Christendom in the 1400s.

Vlad became Vlad Dracula, meaning ‘son of the dragon’, although in some interpretations it has been described as ‘of the devil.’ He had a tumultuous childhood as he and his brother were handed to the Ottomans as ransom. While his brother thrived in the Ottoman court and embraced the new culture, Vlad did not, and it is said that he learned his subsequent torture techniques from the Turks.

Years later, when he was ruler of Wallachia, he ruled with an iron fist. Although he had aims to strengthen Wallachia’s economy and army, he is most renowned for his barbaric treatment of enemies and even his own Wallachians. His preferred torture and execution was through impaling, hence his moniker Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Tepes. It is said that invading Ottoman troops were petrified and retreated because of the grim sight of thousands of impaled bodies on the banks of the Danube. Vlad the Impaler was also a connoisseur of blinding, cutting of limbs, scalping and skinning – regardless of whether you were man, woman, child, peasant or noble.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula was loosely based on the factual Dracula; they bare the same name, they hail from similar regions and Stoker’s Dracula boasts of his family’s rich history of valour. It has been said that Dracula’s signature cape may have even been inspired by the Order of the Dragon capes. Perhaps through the legend of the blood-thirsty Vlad the Impaler and subsequent rise of vampirology, Stoker was inspired to write his beloved novel.

Following Stoker and even following Bela Lugosi’s interpretation of Dracula, we have seen this mythical creature rise again as disco-loving Blacula and in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film, starring a wily Gary Oldman as Dracula. In recent years, even Stoker’s descendant Dacre Stoker has written his own sequel to his ancestor’s novel, in which we see the famous characters decades after allegedly slaying Dracula – who, lo and behold, was not the villain they imagined. Long live Dracula!

The post The Reimagining of Dracula appeared first on HelloGiggles.

“It was inspired by a conversation I had a couple of years ago with an old school friend, who just burst out with this offhand comment that was really racist. It took me by surprise that someone from my generation could have such a backwards attitude; it made me really angry.”

What can fans or readers who might not yet be familiar with your music expect from your album Back in Time, which will be released in April?

“I went over to LA and teamed up with producer David Ryan Harris and a bunch of amazing musicians to create what I guess is still a pop record, but it’s very influenced by old- school soul too. The musicians all played live too which was perfect for this album; just like how they used to record all those old Motown songs in the studio together. I’m really proud of how it turned out.”

Aussie fans might remember you as a schoolgirl and one of the Australian Idol runners-up in the 2000s. Retrospectively, was it a positive thing that you didn’t win the title of Australian Idol, since a lot of reality show artists seem to have an expiration date?

“Absolutely – I was miles away from being ready for that experience, which isn’t to say it was a negative one. I just couldn’t exactly capitalise on that type of exposure when I didn’t really know yet what type of music I wanted to make or what I wanted to say. Or maybe I would have been led down a completely different path had I won. I’ve learnt so much about myself since then.”

What have you learned about yourself since Australian Idol?

“When I went on the show, I was just a school kid who liked singing. I’d done a tiny gig at a cafe but basically school assembly was the biggest crowd I’d seen. I didn’t know what type of artist I wanted to be and I didn’t really know how to perform, I just knew how to sing. So the show was pretty overwhelming for me because suddenly there’s this national audience who know you and critique you around the television every Sunday night. Since then I have played countless gigs, which have definitely made me a stronger performer. I actually have fun now instead of being terrified of the audience like I was back then. Also I’ve just written a whole bunch of songs and learnt what I actually like and what type of music I want to make.”

What inspires you musically?

“Playing live with my band – they’re so great. When everything is just working it’s the best feeling- and also seeing an awesome gig, or just cranking up an amazing album in the car. I’m sure there are plenty of complete strangers who have seen me belting out a tune in my car!”

What advice would you give to budding musicians who might be reading this?

“Try not to compare either your music or your success to other people, and don’t take yourself too seriously! And just get out and play in front of people as much as you can.”

Check out Amali Ward on her website and Twitter.

Image courtesy of Amali Ward

The post Our Australian Girl Crush: Interview with Singer Amali Ward appeared first on HelloGiggles.

You see a startling Liza Minelli attempting internet fads, such as ‘planking’ or ‘milking’ and usually getting hurt along the way. Recently Charlie has impersonated a dazed and confused Lana Del Rey, who spews out philosophical nonsense and explains her pout as a result of a peanut allergy. The cherry on top is that Charlie’s videos are fresh of a scandal; we see Madonna’s daughter Lourdes being grounded following her smoking incident and we see Mariah Carey and Nicky Minaj having a rap battle. However there is wacky and wonderful snippets, which leave fans thirsty for more; there is Madonna trying to seduce Harry Styles by reminding him “everything is okay under the hood,” Gaga admitting to wearing vagina wigs and Cher reminding the novice divas that she performed on Noah’s Ark.

After watching for mere minutes, you immediately believe you really are watching Cher or Madonna.  The wigs, make-up and celebrity inspired clothing makes Charlie’s videos just that much more realistic and like the divas he emulates he too is a perfectionist, perhaps without Kabbalah or an Oscar.

I had the privilege of asking him a few questions about his life as a performer and his hilarious videos.  Underneath all the diva drama, he is a sweet and optimistic man albeit with a self-confessed dark sense of humour, who has built a rapport with his fans and continues to make thousands laugh.

Charlie, can you talk us through the production of one of your CHTV videos?

Most weeks I don’t decide what the week’s video will be till Monday, I usually have several ideas and I scan the news to see if Mariah Carey has slapped  Nicki Minaj or if Madonna’s gotten naked in concert and then I do a quick re-write to incorporate some current events if they fit into one of my ideas. On  Monday night, I plan out the shoot, set up the camera and lights, gather props and choose costumes so that I can start filming on Tuesday. I get up early and work through the day, depending on the number of characters I’m playing it can be a LONG day. I edit late into the night. Usually the finished video is uploaded in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.   Sometimes I take a cat nap on the office floor at 5 AM, while the video is uploading to YouTube. Once a video has gone live I post it on my Facebook page, send out a tweet then go to bed tired but happy.

Have you always been a performer?

Yes, I was in all the school plays, sang in the choir and started doing stand-up comedy as a teenager, sneaking out of the house when my parents were asleep to go to open mic nights and so on.  I got addicted to the sound of applause and laughter at a very young age.

You are a superstar in your own right, but were there days when you felt your dream or passion was silly or pointless? What helped you overcome any doubt?

I’m far from being a superstar but I’ve always been a dreamer and sometimes enjoy the dream more than the reality. Like when I used to make sand castles as a kid, the vision of what it was going to look like was very real to me, I loved the process of working to make it become real so that everyone else could see what was in my head… once it was done, I’d stand back, admire it for a few minutes then walk away, ready for the next project or dream…dreaming is the point – but you also have got to get your hands and feet moving. I’ve never felt that dreaming was silly, when I got told off as a kid for being a “day dreamer” I remember thinking, what’s going on in my head is way more interesting than this boring math class.

As for doubt, I just put things into perspective. What’s the worst that can happen if something goes wrong?   I’m not going to become homeless if a joke doesn’t get a laugh or if someone tells me I make an ugly Lana Del Rey.

What have you learned about yourself through making CHTV videos?

I’ve learned a lot. That I can work to a deadline and that I work well under pressure; that challenging myself is good for me. I’ve always been a workaholic but now I’m learning the importance of making time for family and friends, I’m learning to balance.

The post From Boy to Diva: An Interview with Charlie Hides appeared first on HelloGiggles.

One character who women can easily pity and sympathise with is Bart’s fourth grade teacher, Ms Krabappel. Throughout the years, we see her enthusiasm for teaching waning and we see her love life go from bad to worse. She is a woman crippled by lonesomeness in a dead-beat town, crippled by a dead-end job and exhausted by a man who won’t commit and this can be seen from her numerous hangovers at school.

Her disenchantment is clear when she advises her pupils, “Most of you will never fall in love, and marry out of fear out of dying alone.” as she marks their tests in a comatose state. Edna’s diet consists of “soup for one, salad for one and wine for three,” which is usually served on cafeteria trays she has stolen from work.

Edna is a heavy smoker, hell-bent on finding love, with mummy’s boy Principal Skinner always remaining her option B. Throughout the years we have seen Edna trawling bars, trying to reduce rock stars like the Aerosmith drummer and even engages in a steamy affair with her pen pal Woodrow, who of course ends up being Bart.

Her signature laugh “Ha!” is often used when torturing her class with a surprise test, which she marks with her pen “old red”. As a teacher, she is aggravated by class know-it-all Martin and sympathises more with Nelson Muntz who somehow understands her frustration. Her relationship with Bart has become mellower in later seasons.

She is a caricature of the American public education system and a caricature of a lonely teacher, but there is hope for Edna. Although she has dated the obese comic book guy, Moe, and has tried to get back stage at a Green Day concert and had Skinner leave her at the altar; Edna has become happily married in season 23 to Ned Flanders. Fans had a chance of voting their opinion on this unexpected coupling of Nedna (Ned and Edna) and it appears that their romance could be a permanent fixture.

So how can Edna and Ned make it work? Edna is a brazen woman and Ned is a man who can’t eat vegetables longer than three inches; yet they are both lonely individuals with good intents. Ned is able to offer Edna love, security and a chance at a stable relationship, while Edna will hopefully get churchy Ned to ease up. Perhaps Edna will not be as bitter and Ned will fill the void in his heart since Maude’s death, and hopefully his kids will become sassier because of Edna.

So while Edna’s days of lonely dinners, meddling mother-in laws, revealing boob-tubes, attempts to seduce substitute teachers and disappointing dates are over; I am excited for the future of his woman, yet I’m comforted that I have the ability to look back at her more memorable and embarrassing moments from the rich tapestry of The Simpsons. Go Edna K!

Featured image via FairfaxUnderground

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