Ten Reasons I Love Audrey

Walk in to my aparment and you will see a huge Audrey Hepburn portrait sitting right by my dining table. Go by the kitchen and each month you are greeted with a different image of the beautiful Audrey. Meander into my bedroom and the shimmering eyes of Audrey watch over you as you rest. Open my mind and you'll witness my thoughts of my icon Audrey racing around, and if you open up my heart I like to imagine you'd find the same love that was in Audrey's heart while she was alive. Finally, if the name of my late cat, Audrey, didn't give my poker face away...I wholeheartedly adore Audrey Hepburn.


Now, here's why:



1. She's a style icon - considered by Evian as "the most beautiful woman of all time," despite being so different from the heartthrobs of Marilyn Monroe and Kim Novak, Audrey's style was that of femininity and simplicity. Hepburn once said, "What is more beautiful than a simple sheath made an extraordinary way in a special fabric, and just two earrings?". While in her movies she was often seen in elegant gowns, Audrey always opted for what she felt comfortable in.

2. She broke free from traditional concepts of 'Beauty' - her malnourished figure, thick brown eyelashes and absolutely massive eyes led Audrey to become an icon for those of us who do not have the sultry curves of Miss Monroe. Audrey was also open about her own opinions of beauty, even admitting to feelings "of insecurity and inferiority." Most importantly, she left us with this gem of a quote: "For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone."

3. Moon River in Breakfast at Tiffany's - a hauntingly beautiful performance that always wants me to start a new journey of my own.

4. Humanitarianism - an ambassador for UNICEF, Audrey devoted so much of her life to helping those in need, being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1992.

5. Independent Woman - while she was with a few men in her life time, Audrey Hepburn was not defined by them. She made a career on her own, was an ambassador due to her own beliefs, and you remember her for the good things she achieved in life, not a scandal with the president...

6. Not defined by her past - her childhood was spent in the German occupied Arnhem during WWII witnessing "trainloads of Jews being transported, seeing all these faces over the top of the wagon". Yet, through mulnutrition and respiratory problems, Audrey kept composure and never let these experiences define her. Instead she used it to fuel her passion for helping others, and inspired millions around the world.

7. Portrayed strong female women - like her real life, Audrey accepted roles that (for the time) portrayed amazing female characters dealing with real issues (for the most part). Holly Golightly deals with self worth and inner demons, Princess Ann falls in love for love not a title, Audrey was careful of which rolls she accepted once she reached stardom. Her film "The Children's Hour" was one of the first ever films treating what was then dubbed 'lesbianism'.

8. Introvert - she has admitted that playing an extrovert in Holly Golightly was the hardest thing she has ever done. Not only that, but Audrey preferred the company of her family and close friends to that of Hollywood parties and lifestyle. "I love being by myself, love being outdoors, love taking a long walk with my dogs and looking at the trees, flowers, the sky". As an introvert myself, I relate wholeheartedly.

9. Incredibly humble - "If my world were to cave in tomorrow, I would look back on all the pleasures, excitements and worthwhilenesses I have been lucky enough to have had. Not the sadness, not my miscarriages or my father leaving home, but the joy of everything else. It will have been enough". Need I say more?

10. Stayed true to her own values - as her life continued on, her heart only grew bigger. Audrey sold many of her own personal belongings to donate to charities and never made her humanitarian work into a press release. In her dying days, Audrey spent time surrounded by family in the privacy of her own home surrounded by the love of a whole world. Audrey never turned her back on what she believed was right, and fought for human rights until her dying day.

If you need more reasons to love Audrey Hepburn as much as I do, I will gladly take you to lunch and talk about how the words and wisdom of one intelligent woman have changed my life and inspired me to follow in her footsteps, helping whenever I can.

And my final, favourite Audrey Hepburn quote:

Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!

Ace of Hearts Accessories Stitching Up Beginnings

Ace of Hearts Accessories humble owner and bow maker, Cailey, describes her online store as a "place to find adorable handmade hair bows and earrings of characters, because it makes me happy". Arguably, there isn't a better reason to start any thing in this life!

A brief selection of the types of bows Cailey currently has in stock at Ace of Hearts Accessories.

Cailey, 23, lives in Sydney with her partner and their collection of comic books. When I asked her to describe herself, the inner ramblings of a truly modest woman responded with "cats" and "Disney". While she may not be sure how exactly to summarise herself, what she knows for sure is that she is happy.


It all began when on a whim months back Cailey bought a sewing machine after buying many products bought from retailers like Diva, Equip and other online stores only to have witness them "fall apart in my hands after only one wear". She thought to herself, "I can do a better job," and before she knew it, she was selling handmade bows all around the world.


"I was gob smacked," says Cailey, "I couldn't believe the ridiculous mark-up on especially flower-stud earrings in Australia and after some research just decided to do it myself".

One of many of Cailey's superhero bows, this one featuring
Spiderman and Captain America.

While she had trouble at first getting the hang of it, making bows was almost therapeutic for her. She explains, "I wanted to create something, to be productive...Once I started doing it, I just wanted to keep doing the activity." Having been diagnosed with social phobia when she was 18, Cailey has found bow making her own creative outlet, and says the most important thing to stay in control is to "just be occupied".


A lot of the things she stocks in her store are simply things she wanted for herself, so bought the materials and made them (plus a few dozen extras, just in case there were like-minded people somewhere in the world). And she believes honesty and trust is key - posting pictures of the packs of all her bows so you can see the stitching, whether she used a hot glue gun, or what type of pin the bow is attached to, to ensure you see EXACTLY what you are buying.


Her real fun comes in sourcing fabrics and following the trends - if you look at her page now, you'll notice a collection of Superhero bows, completely fitting for all the superhero action films being released this year. She stocks all types of pop-culture related accessories, from Marvel to My Little Pony and is hoping to incorporate her customers further in the future with taking requests.

And it's not all just a hobby to her. Cailey has recently listed some adorable hair pins with rainbow hearts (pictured above) at $3.00 a pair, with all proceeds being donated to Australian Marriage Equality to support LGBTI marriage rights here in Australia.


Sarah (pictured left with the Rose hair bow), her cousin and model, volunteers her time to help Cailey with the endeavour, and since she's stepped on board Cailey's page views have grown thanks to a different way to display the bows, and her magic smile.


Even though she is on her journey to fullfil her dream of becoming a florist (weddings in particular), it's a long journey that will take plenty of time. Cailey is happy moving one step forward and hopes to expand her small business even further. At the moment she is in the process of mastering bow ties, although they are a lot trickier and require more fabric, however the concept of Thor and Spiderman bow ties is no doubt something that will be in hot demand!


As a returning customer of Ace of Hearts Accessories, it is no doubt that they are good quality, value for money and most importantly, made with love. What more do you need? Go and buy one already! ;)




 Her online store: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AceOfHeartsAU
 Her blog: http://aceofheartsaccessories.com/

Being Completely Oblivous

One of the promotional photos taken for Lara Bingle's new show.

If you missed Channel Ten's first episode of their highly publicised new series, "Being Lara Bingle", GOOD! 


The show was an attempt at making an Australian "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and a complete failure at that. While I mean nothing harsh to Lara Bingle personally, the show has left her portrayed as nothing but a completely spoiled ditz. From driving without a license to walking around in her bedroom in the nude with blinds open, Bingle's absolute common sense mistake's have become trivialised to the point where she is completely un-phased from breaking the law, but in her defence it's probably too hard for her to comprehend. I mean, I know 6 year olds that aren't that oblivious!


However, my description really does not do the episode justice. At all. Other misadventures we are witness to the frustration of moving from a perfectly decent apartment, to an even more lavish one living with her brother and best friend. But the real punchline - it's all in an attempt for us to relate to Lara Bingle as just another Aussie girl.


You might ask yourself, why do they even bother?! 


Well, the peak of over 1 million viewers would be why. (But lets not mention that the ratings soon halved that number before the show was over)


But the Twitterverse united in making there opinion known of Ten's new "hit":

And, my personal favourite, lets make the best of a bad situation...

I'm closing the book on this one, and I think I'm not the only one. Lara Bingle is just another superficial, spoilt and immature girl who does not need her own reality television series to further add to her empty fame from her vacant, good looks. While she does seem like a fun girlfriend to have on your nights out (aside from the fact she would no doubt constantly be the attention seeker she came off as on the show), she is definitely not the type of person I would want to subject my kids to as a roll model. Unless of course you're the type of parent that's into "Toddlers in Tiara's", in that case - go right ahead (or seek professional help, you're choice).

What's in it for me?

Final Lecture - 28/05/12

I Am The Journalist!

The final lecture of JOUR1111 really did have a finale vibe. However Steve Molk, television blogger, knew exactly the right words to say to get my journalism juices flowing!

What we do with our brand, thanks to the power of the internet and social media, starts now. We are responsible for our own future and we now have the ability to get in touch with everyone and anyone if we take control. 

So from today, I am making the firm decision to continue running this blog (although once this has been marked for the final time I will be changing the URL to something a little more personal...) and keeping my opinion coming, while strengthening the writing muscles that will in turn become my future portfolio to my perspective employer.

Bring it the hell on!

Investigative Journalism

Lecture Week 12 - 12/05/12

Change the world, one truth at a time.

Since I decided as a 13 year old naive girl who finished reading her first Hunter Thompson novel that I wanted to become a journalist, investigative journalism has been my hearts desire. The lecture on Investigative Journalism opened on a really interesting thought - that most good journalism is, or should be, investigative journalism. I couldn't agree more!

For those who aren't familiar with investigative journalism (and, lets face it, Today Tonight and A Current Affair have altered a mass nations perception of true investigative journalism), investigative journalism is about discovering the truth and identifying the lapses from it, and exposing what someone somewhere wants to suppress. Journalists however need to use innovative and reliable methods and traits to pursue these stories:

 INTELLIGENT

 INFORMED

 INTUITIVE

 INSIDE

 INVEST

The purpose of investigative journalism is to use critical thought, be custodians of conscience, a voice for those without one and act as a fourth estate or a Government "watchdog" to protect and serve the population (minus weapons and force).

A huge trait is we need to be as journalists skeptical NOT cynical! In my opinion, this is where commerical media companies like ACA and TT fail at providing for the people. Ethics ALWAYS  matter in journalism.

The truth of the matter is whether you're looking at Julian Assange and Wikileaks, or the author of this wonderful article regarding homophobia and Gloria Jeans, investigative journalism has the power to change the world.

Agenda Setting

Lecture Week 11 - 14/05/12

Our Chosen Reality

Agenda setting is the reality that describes the ability the media has on influencing the salience of topics on the public agenda. Reality is shared and constructed through social life, and the media plays a huge role in the mediation of that social life.


Public media (what the public perceives as important), policy agenda (issues decision makers think are salient), corporate agenda (issues big businesses and corporations think are important) and the media agenda all overlap and influence what we are subject to in news stands, on Facebook updates and office conversations. The mass media presents certain issues more frequently and prominently (in regards to news values) so that the general public perceive it as more important. In summary, the media has the ability to filter and shape what we perceive as important, and in turn shape our reality.


While you may think this holds several ethical issues, it does not (at least in most cases) intentionally manipulate viewers. The mass media instead is inadvertently focusing the news, but this does not mean it is devoid of problems. Questions we can ask ourselves as a reality check include:

1. Media Gatekeeping - How do individuals control the flow of messages and what the media chooses the reveal?
2. Media Advocacy - is there a purposeful message?
3. Agenda Cutting - Is what happening in the world truly represented?
4. Agenda Surfing - "Bandwagon effect" as the media follows and creates trends.
5. Diffusion of News - Who decides how, when and where the news is released?
6. Portrayal of an issue - different aspects regarding different news sources
7. Media Dependence - Why is there a growing need for Facebook/Twitter and instant access to information?

All of these are things to keep in mind when consuming the news, in any form.

News Values

Week 10 - 30/04/12

Pick Me! Pick Me!

News Values (sometimes also referred to as news criteria) are the elements that determine what prominence a media outlet gives to a story, and the audience reaction to it as a result. In simplest terms, news values are determined by the following"

IMPACT- Makes you say "Gee, whiz!"

AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION - relating to viewers.

PRAGMATICS - the 24/7 news cycle needs all news to be current!

SOURCE INFLUENCE - regarding public relations

These change depending on the news outlet, the news values will be different, for example a local newspaper will focus on local stories leading, where a nightly news broadcast on a commercial network will most likely adopt the "if it bleeds it leads" policy.

But why are they important?

News values determine what gets reported on with prominence, and journalism is often called "the rough draft of history".

Need I say more?

Ethics

Lecture Week 9 - 23/04/12

Right or Wrong?

In the media we are often faced with a moral decision we must make in regards to what stories we persue, how we persue them and how we portray them to the public. However, the increase in technological advances has meant laws struggle to keep up to protect individual rights and the question what is right, and what is wrong is increasingly hard to answer.

There are 3 main types of ethic models in regards to Journalism in use today:

1. Deontology - the normative ethical position that judges the morality of any action by following the rules, pricipals and duties of a Journalist.
2. Consequentialism - idea that it doesn't matter how you get there, the end justifies the means. The idea of the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
3. Virtue Ethics - the intrinsic values of courage, justice, temperance, prudence and "golden mean" of behaviour through habits of character.

While there are many codes available outlining Ethics and Morals in journalists, often they are not followed. Advertising has led the greater public to confuse what is considered ethical, with that of bad taste, mixing there own perceptions and projections with the reality.

Although this one has got to be an advertising campaign I can't believe got approved:

A Fitness First advertisement that lights up how much you weigh as you sit on the seat waiting. Not only for yourself to see, but the whole public. If anything, it makes me defintely not want to join Fitness First! What if someone is dealing with body weight issues?

What do you think?

Exam exhaustion!

It's been a while since I have had my last exam in REAL exam conditions, since I sat my HSC in the gymnasium of rival High School back home in Coffs Harbour. Today was my first university exam and while the test conditions were more or less the same, the exhaustion afterwards was so different.


Now, while I'm sure this vary's person to person, or course to course, finishing my exam right on the clock today had nothing like the relief of walking out of the HSC never having to look back. Instead, I sat exhausted, overwhelmed to have finished a course, but completely terrified at thinking that the follow on courses I am enrolled in for next semester are not only going to draw on what I've just learnt, but the course material is going to get harder.


Today is just the start of a whole lot more of something!


I think it's about time I look into some more exercise and diet plans to keep myself a little bit more fit, so exhaustion doesn't get the better of me.
Tomorrow night, I will celebrate with one glass of wine!


But for now, time to catch up on JOUR1111 blog post reports...