Margaret Rose Stringer's Blog, page 101
October 21, 2013
Those poor people …
If any of you saw my favourite film ever, Galaxy Quest, you may recognise that heading as a quote. There you go – a trivia question: what was the scene in which it was said?
But that’s not my topic, here: I’m actually referring to the WordPress Help staff, and my heart bleeds for them.
Who’d want to be on the receiving end of queries from me that are often grumpy and usually at a level that most bloggers would laugh at?
My WordPress history
I had a WP blog about a year ago, and I spent quite a lo...
October 20, 2013
A little bird singing
I posted this on the other site (shortly to be axed) last Saturday morning, early – just as the sun was rising, as the song goes …
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It’s out there somewhere, giving up its beautiful little voice to the early morning air …
Such a calm morning, this fine Saturday; still bushfire smoke on the horizon, but not very much, now. I can’t bring myself to turn on ABC morning television for an update – it’s always simply more of the same. If I had to watch one more reporter (I refuse to call them ‘j...
October 19, 2013
Want to win a free copy? – enter FP’s November competiti...
Want to win a free copy? – enter FP’s November competition!
See the sidebar and put Friday 1st in your calendar …
Filed under: ATLMD
October 18, 2013
A little bird singing
It's out there somewhere, giving up its little voice to the early morning air.
So beautiful.
Such a calm morning, this fine Saturday; still bushfire smoke on the horizon, but not very much, now. I can't bring myself to turn on ABC morning television for an update on all that: it's always simply more of the same. If I had to watch one more reporter (I refuse to call them 'journalists') asking someone who's just lost everything "So how did you feel when you saw that your house was completely destroyed?", I'd only scream.
Sydney really is my home. I've tried going away from it before, and it didn't work – and then, I didn't know what it meant to me until after I'd left. Now I must admit to myself that if I were ever to have to leave Sydney again, I'd just fade away for lack of ... her? Is Sydney a she? You know, I can't think of this city as being female ... Surely Sydney is a big, brash bloke, sometimes cruel, sometimes loud and often loving (nothing like my bloke – he was never anything but loving). Yes, I feel as if I must refer to my city as ‘he’ ... and I don't know if I've ever come across that before …
Having just gone through my local photos, I find there isn't a single one that shows this area as it now looks. THEY have done so many terrible things to this little suffering suburb that it changes almost weekly. No-one seems to give a damn – although there are very probably other ancients like me, who've lived here for much longer than my 21 years, who care even more deeply about the way Pyrmont has almost disappeared under the facade of Progress. Oh, I do so loathe Progress!
In the name of history, and for the sake of that beautiful little bird's song that still echoes in the peaceful sky, I give you an idea of what it was once like, ’round here ...
October 16, 2013
Starting over
It's time ... no, not (definitely not!) for Gough Whitlam, but for me to start creating an entirely new blogsite.
My intention is to create it with several fixed pages, and one for the blog comments; and it will look nothing like this one.
Please stand by to be advised of its coming into being. But there's no need to start holding your breath (alas! – I wish there were), which, of course, you were about to do ... :-)
What this major revamp is all about is BRAND. Or possibly branding – and yes, I do realise that there are several out there who would dearly like to get hold of a red-hot branding iron and apply it to my rump. Tant pis pour vous: you must wait your turn.
September 25, 2013
A reunion
The other day I went to a reunion, my first ever. It won't be my last, as it was amazingly and enduringly enjoyable; which is not all that surprising seeing as how it was the getting together of a small number of those who once worked for Crawford Productions. Crawfords was a quite extraordinary company: there's never been anything else in this country even remotely like it … although some might claim that Grundy's could bear comparison. Nup. It can't. From Crawfords' early beginnings when "Showcase" was its raison d'être, the company moved into television drama – specifically detective/police drama – and I think it wasn't until "The Sullivans" that any other kind was made. I could be wrong: I wasn't still there at that time. When I was there, the three best-known were in production – "Homicide", "Division 4" and "Matlock Police" – and "Ryan" was moving into pre-production. Imagine the number of people necessary to putting out four television dramas a week!
As I wrote in a guest post on the National Film & Sound Archive blog,
"a huge proportion of those who sustained the Australian film industry as freelance technicians (and in actual employment, on occasion) went through the Crawfords portals in their careers’ formative years"
(well, that's what I originally wrote, but an editor put a conjunction in there which I shan't reproduce). There aren't many names of Australian film technicians known to you who've had nothing to do with Crawfords, and that's a fact. As to how come I talk of film technicians when I've just mentioned television, it's because every episode of every show comprised part location shoots and part studio shoots – the latter being carried out in the studios of whichever TV station screened the production: 7 for "Homicide", 9 for "Divvy 4" and o for "Matlock". I think "Ryan" was also a 7 production, but I never worked on it, so am far from sure.
You may be aware that Crawfords was(/is) in Melbourne, which means that there aren't nearly as many ex-staff up here in Sydney. The man who created and maintains the astonishing website for us all is also the one who organises these get-togethers – which I shouldn't call "reunions", in fact, because they're not big enough: the real reunions are MUCH bigger, and held in vast places! – and he also pops down to Melbourne when he's arranged 'em down there! A tiger for punishment is our Sam – at least in terms of the work he has to put in; but of course he derives enormous pleasure from keeping in touch with so many of his ex-workmates.
As I did. Struth! – I never thought anyone would remember me. But there's something about the Crawfords brand: those of us who have worked together – and of course you run into people you simply don't know because they were there in a different timeframe – never, it seems, lose our memories of each other.
Last Friday I met people I hadn't seen for 41 years. And it was as if it had been a month or two. I think we were all incredibly lucky to have been there in the heyday of this wonderful company.
September 6, 2013
The new Doctor Who
Yep, I'm a fan – have been without pause since No. 9. Am dedicated to No. 10, but still quite like No. 11.
But the story is who No. 12 is going to be – and I could scarcely be happier!
PETER CAPALDI!!!
I've been, also, a fan of his since Local Hero, and have followed him where possible in these Antipodes since then. I'm tickled pink: not just because he's an actor I have absolutely heaps of time for, but also – and even, possibly, more! – because he's a grownup. I was thinking they'd cast someone even younger than Matt Smith. Love being wrong! Now all I have to hope for is that Steven Moffatt stops writing those totally self-indulgent fantasy scripts and gives us some real science fiction again …
September 3, 2013
getting to the Amazon - or not …
Of course I am being elliptical, here: but with good reason!
In fact I have zero interest in the great Brazilian river, even though it contains a plethora of wonderful and amazing living creatures. What actually interests me is the behemoth of that name who is still not stocking ATLMD.
Having hassled FP's Distribution Manager for the umpteenth time, in order to make him understand that as far as I'm concerned there are no other FP authors (something he has difficulty with), the result thus far is that either the Big A themselves or FP's distribution lot over there have mislaid a consignment. Tant pis pour moi, mais aussi pour vous ...
Anyone reading this post will realise that until – and not a moment before! – an Amazon in any country actually has copies of And then like my dreams in stock, no-one can post a review of it to its site. And it looks very much as though only reviews written by you who know me are going to be seen (cf. the latest débacle re Goodreads, somewhere on the landing page).
So. Amazon in the US is now awaiting a shipment airlifted (for the second time) to FP's US distributor; but that's the good news, alas! The bad news is that it now seems that Amazon in the UK has simply not ordered any copies, and FP doesn't know why. This, too, is being looked into.
Meanwhile, you who have done your duty and are awaiting the opportunity of putting fingers to keyboard to upload a review of my book, please don't lose interest forever ...?
There WILL come a time when Amazon has hard copies. Even though it's been a whole month since the book was 'released', there WILL come that time ... Promise!
