Both the upper and lower house of parliament were suspended today and replaced with statements of sympathy and thoughts of Victorian victims of the fires. Julia Gillard (deputy leader) was on the verge of tears as she delivered hers today. Malcolm Turnbull (leader of the Opposition) said that the response of the government will be "Whatever it takes". Kevin07 was in Victoria assuring residents that the government will do all it can to assist them.

There're stories of people going to assist others in saving their homes, only to have theirs destroyed. The death toll is up to 130 with 200 expected by the end of the week.

The Red Cross put out an appeal yesterday for all donations of money above $5 and as of 9:30pm tonight, $10.4 million had been raised. They're also inundated with donations of food, clothing and daily needs goods. There will be ongoing appeals throughout the One Day Match against New Zealand, and the Australian cricket team is donating their match payments to the appeal.

It really just goes to show you how amazing Australian people can be.

donate to
the victorian
bushfire appeal

I donated $50 this afternoon on the Red Cross' website, and I can assure you that it's quick, painless and a worthwhile thing to do.

For information on how you can help, go to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal on the Red Cross' Website. You can donate via phone on 1800 811 700, or on their secure online donations form here (international donations are accepted and they're all tax deductible).

The Department of Human Services is coordinating donations of billeting/housing and accommodation. Call the Department on 03 9096 0000 or 1300 650 172 within Victoria if you can help.

Here's the coding I made if you wish to put it in your own journals:
<a href="http://www.redcross.org.au/vic/services_emergencyservices_victorian-bushfires-appeal-2009.htm"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v508/Rotae/redCross_logo.gif"> <ul><ul><font face="Georgia" style="font-size: 30px; line-height: 25px; letter-spacing: -1px;">donate to the victorian <font color="#FF0000">bushfire appeal</font></a></font></ul></ul>

<33333333333 *hugs*

Peace,
Rotae

*appropriate subject is appropriate* XDDDD

Thoughts about the Opening Ceremony 2008:

PREEEEEEEEEEEETY LIGHTING... :O WOW!

( Apparently I have to cut for spoilers, LOLOL. Silly US broadcasting! )

Why do all the western countries look like they're all airline stewards? Srsly. SO UNORIGINAL. And then you get all the African countries looking FABULOUS and it makes me want our flag bearer to come out in Aboriginal get-up. LOLOL.

WHY DO WE HAVE TO WAIT SO LONG FOR THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM?!?! We're THIRD LAST. Sort your freaking alphabet out, China. It starts with an A. LOLOL XDDDDDDDDD

Yay for Iraq getting a big round of applause :D

OH. And watching the news tonight, with Kevin07 going around China and talking flat out Mandarin with the locals was so EPICLY COOL. LOLOL. He had to do politiciany things earlier on, but instead of going high profile he went on the streets and spoke to the locals in Mandarin. AH. Go Kevin you awesome thing you :D

I'm conflicted re: George W. Bush's statements btw. I think that if you're going to be all proclaimy (and actually DO NOTHING) specifically because the spotlight is on China for something completely different, you probably shouldn't go and then use their hospitality and be all, "OH HAI. I KINDA HATE YOU BUT YAY FREE OLYMPICS". If you're gonna try and make a stance against human rights violations in China via the Olympics... DON'T GO TO THE OLYMPICS. LOLOL.

BRB. Gotta see other nation's fashions :D ALSO. I think I'm going to enter the fan art contest at H_E if I can find a scanner that works. I have an AWESOME idea :D

EDIT: KEVIN WORE HIS YELLOW HUFFLEPUFF TIE S:DFKJS:DLF:SLKFJ:LSKJFLS :D XDDDD /lameness

Peace,
Rotae

ZOMG. YOU GUYS. Thank you SOOOO much for the motivation yesterday. You have NO IDEA how helpful it was :D I took some of your AWESOME advice and I FINISHED THE PICTURE!!! ZOMGGGGGG!! :D *feels brilliant* :D

REMIND ME NOT TO DO ONE OF THESE FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS AGAIN LOLOL XDDDD


So cha! I haven't done a pencil portrait since May 2006 ^^; LOL. So I was a little out of practice XD I HATE THAT THERE IS NO UNDO BUTTON IRL. SRSLY. LOL :D

Dedicated to the girls at ewan_playground and you guys for motivating me. I love mah flist :D *hugs*

Soooooo... whatcha think? LOL.

I'm fairly happy with it. There are a couple of things that I don't like, but I'm not going to mention them, because then YOU'LL notice them too lmao :D

I don't talk about Ewan nearly as much as I should you know. I guess it's because I don't have other REALLY obsessive close fans to talk about him online like I do with HP and/or Tom and Ritchie. But he is my favourite actor. He has been since I was 10. 0.o Dude. Srsly. That's HALF MY EFFING LIFE. LMFAO!! XDDDD

And I took your advice!! I made myself a dinner that I'd never had before but sounded delicious (it was basically satay chicken with lettuce, cucumber and carrot wrapped in a tortilla LOL XD - and it WAS very good :D) followed up with a small apple pie (ZOMG YUMMMMM... APPLE PIEEEEEE) and for supper I had a cup of English Breakfast and some Love Potion Chocolate Mud Tim Tams in a Tim Tam Slam... ZOMG... that's what sex would taste like if it... didn't taste like... sex... >.> YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN. XDDDDDD

Sorry, Ewan on the brain = sex on the brain. Srsly. Have you SEEN THE MAN NAKED?!?!?!! 0.o :OOOOOOOOOOOO XDDDDDDD LMFAO. ANYWAY. So I spoilt myself with food like, munanna suggested. AND. VENTURE BROS. SEASON 2 CAME IN THE MAIL TODAY ZOMG YAY. So I watched that, like mizzmoonyluver suggested :D (and I totally thought of something ELSE I have to draw now from it, hahahaha... it's NEVER ENDING, I TELL YOU!!! XD)

ANYWAY. Yes. :D I hope you like it :D *hugs* Thank you again <3 I am going to reply to your comments tomorrow during my lunchbreak as I am just about to collapse. LOL. I'm sure you understand XD

Also, I made this icon today :D I LUFFS MAH PM :D *glomps him* He's so CUTE as well as awesome. I so love him atm. PLUS. All the big speeches he gives? He gives with a yellow or blue tie. He's SUCH a RavenPuff... BUT HE WEARS THE YELLOW MORE. SO THIS IS OBVIOUSLY PROOF OF HIS HUFFLEPUFFINESS. OH YES. XDDDD

coldwriter! I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO MY SCORPIUS/ROSE WRITING :D EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!! *tackleglomps* :D

And finally. JKR PWNED SVA SOOOOOOOOOO HARD... ZOMG!! XDDDDD WINNNNNN!! ILUJKR <3

Peace,
Rotae

Say hello to the new Governor-General of Australia:


THAT'S RIGHT, MUTHA FUGGERS. A WOMAN IS THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL. OH FREAKING HELLS YES. THANK YOU KRUDD :D

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced the appointment only hours after his plane landed in Canberra from his marathon world tour, declaring it "a very good thing for all Australians and Australian women".

"I think it's obvious that we needed to have a governor-general for Australia who captures the spirit of modern Australia," he said.

Source

Also, KD Lang called him AMAZING and FEARLESS. OH HELLS YES. You know you're doing something right when KD Lang says you're amazing XD

Meanwhile Mr Rudd has received glowing praise in the British press.

In an editorial bearing the headline "Aussie rules", respected newspaper The Independent said it was impressed by Mr Rudd, who left London this week after his first official visit to the UK.

"We were looking forward to Kevin Rudd's term as Australia's Prime Minister, and so far we have not been disappointed," the paper said.

"On the contrary, with his plain speaking, his firm principles as a politician and - a bit of a luxury, this - his fluent Mandarin, Mr Rudd has not only met our expectations, but inspired not a little envy as well."

It was not only Mr Rudd's language skills that earned him accolades.

The editorial also spoke highly of his strong stance on security for the Olympic torch relay in Australia later this month, his plea for China to open dialogue with Tibet and his address to Chinese students on human rights.

"The world needs more leaders like this; we hope he has started as he means to go on," The Independent said.

Source

ILUKRUDD <3 That's it. You're getting a proper couture icon when I get home. XD AND. You deserve your own tag in my journal :D

( Click for another drabble generation which is ZOMG SO FUNNY HAHAHAHA )

It is the egg, and Ritchie is the fish.
Arise, fluro fish, and kick the exotic credit card.

OMFG LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOO XDDDDDDD That SO needs to be an icon. SOMEONE STOP ME XDDDD Also, the above is quite funny because Ritchie DID play Romeo in the school play, LOLOLOL XD

Peace,
Rotae

ARRRRRRRRRRRT (that isn't Harry Potter ZOMG WTF?!)


So this is Warren Clarke as Superintendent Andy Dalziel (pronounced dee-EL) from the BBC adaptation of Reginald Hill's novel series Dalziel and Pascoe.

Not really much to say about this. I drew it in the same style as my A Bit of Fry and Laurie picture here (which I think I'll colour soon, incidentally) and the coloured it in Photoshop.

I sketched Pascoe, but darn it if Colin Buchanan is just too darn classically handsome (i.e. he looks like Ewan McGregor, LOLOL) and didn't turn out well because of it. :D STRANGE LOOKING FTW!! XD

ANYWAY, yes. I love the novels, and the tv show is brilliant too. Dalziel is so gross though... LOL. Seriously. In the books he's smoking, and drinking and scratching his crotch every five minutes, hahaha :D

In icon news... my Voldemort icon won second place for shoppers over at knockturn_elite!! WOOOO!! GO FIVE MINUTE ICONS!! XDDDD LOL. Why is it that my 5 minute things win stuff, and my long, hard, thought out things don't? Do you think it's because people vote in 5 minutes? LOLOL XD This is the icon in question:


Yeah... if I could do it again, I'd make him a bit sharper, but it's okay for a quickie XD LOLOL.

HOWEVER. I DO want to explain my most recent entries in the Quidditch match against Gryffindor. The prompt was the Bohemian ideals of Truth, Beauty, Freedom and Love, and here's what I entered:


NOW. Explanations. From left to right:

Truth is Barty Crouch Jnr. When the truth hurts more than lies. I used the natural colouring of this to guide my choices for the entire thing. The colour in his background is green, and the colour on his face is yellow. I liked that because, to me, it's a very Slytherpuff thing: the honesty of doing something because you believe it is absolutely the right thing to do, even when it isn't.

Beauty is Bellatrix Lestrange. The loss of the beauty that wasn't ever deserved to begin with. The tragedy of the beautiful mad woman. Her background is blue symbolising Ravenclaw, thus intelligence, and how while she is fiercely bright, she is led by warped logic.

Bellatrix and Barty are both dark. Cedric and Harry are both light.

Freedom is Cedric Diggory. Death is the main theme of Harry Potter. JKR's mother's death completely changed the series. In Deathly Hallows, Harry is shown that those he loves are well, and safe, even in death. Dumbledore says that death is but the next great adventure. There is a certain amount of morbidity in the theme of freedom in death in Harry Potter. Cedric's background is actually yellow. Symbolising the champion of Hufflepuff.

Love is Harry Potter. Love is Harry's secret weapon. But pain comes both with love, and without it. You never lose your love for someone, even if you lose them. It may fade over time, but if you truly loved them, it will never die with them. The other prominent colour is red, symbolising Harry's love, his anger, and his Gryffindor nature.

OH FREAKING YES. I WENT ALL MORBID ON YOUR ARSES. LMFAO. No, seriously, I put a lot of effort into them, so I thought I'd explain, hahaa :D SEE. I CAN BE SRS WHEN I WANT TO BE :D *is SO not wearing her "Cheer Up Emo Kid" t-shirt* ^^; haha :D

And now for something completely different... OMFG. KEVIN07 I LOVE YOU AND YOUR WEIRD-ARSE WORLD TOUR. You jokingly salute our former leader Dubbya, you say that you're committed to a republic and there shall be debate over the next year about it just before you meet the Queen, and then you go to China, give a speech in your second language of MANDARIN and make a stand over Australia's position on Tibet EVEN THOUGH everyone knows you totally love China. YOU EFFING RULE, KEVIN. SRSLY.

I took part in the latest newspoll over a few things including approval ratings of Kevin. His approval rating is at 73% that's almost 3/4 of the effing population!!! The Opposition leader's is at 9% *SNORFLE* AND THAT'S NOT THE LOWEST RATING HE'S EVER HAD!! HAHAHAHAHA!! :D Although, I do approve of him. Like I said to amathela, I look at it like this: I'm never going to like his policies because they're Liberal Party policies. I'm never going to like anything he says, because he's the voice of the Liberal Party. And he's leading the Liberal Party the way I like... i.e. into the ground. LOL XDDDDD So I said I think he's doing a good job XD THEY DON'T NEED TO KNOW IT'S BECAUSE I WANT THEM TO SUCK!! XDDDDD

SO CHA. Off to bed now :D Yay!! Bed!! :D Ugh. Wait. I need to wash my hair first. *sigh* Bloody hair. XD ANYWAY!! Goodnight mah pretties!! *huggles*

Peace,
Rotae

UGH. ALRIGHT ALREADY. I'm renting out Season One of Doctor Who, and am going to TRY and get through it all... >.> LOL. I don't really like Nine or Rose, so it's going to be interesting, haha. I suppose Captain Jack must be in this season though, right? Because Rose doesn't make him all special in Season 2, so it must be in 1. EEE JACK :D

LOL. That seems a bit random, doesn't it? haha. There was a poll over at hogwarts_elite over whether you prefer Martha or Rose and your House, and what Houses they, and Nine and Ten, should be in, and I said I didn't like Rose and I had to admit I'd only seen a couple of episodes of Season 1. So I guess I should rectify that *sigh* >.> LOL.

In more hogwarts_elite news... I HAS SHINY BANNERS!! :D

( WOOOO!! )
I still dunno how I managed to score Stan Shunpike, but thanks for Tonks again guys *huggles* <3 *smooches* :D Also, ladylucius is my uncle Lucius, ldymusyc is my cousin Draco, vaguelyclear is my dad Ted, and buttfacemakani is my mum Andromeda AND my aunt Bellatrix. LOL. We're an interesting family, we are. Oh, and liret is my husband *smooch*

Also, us Puffs have FINALLY got our act together and managed to do Superlatives, LOLOL XD The first half of the voting went up a couple of days ago, and I got nommed for the following:

( Clickie for nomms! )

So, in summation, I LUFFS MAH BADGERS <3 THANK YOU SO MUCH ZOMG :D *tackles*

And now to completely change the subject... KEVIN07 is currently in England, and has met with the Queen and with Gordon Brown (British PM) and has now said that a referendum for Australia to become a republic will be discussed over the next year!! ZOMG!!!!!!! WHAT IF WE BECOME A REPUBLIC YAYYYYYY!! :D

And finally tonight... WTF... I know I should never watch Today Tonight, because it always gets me angry at the appalling reporting that they actually call "journalism"... but as I was defrosting my freezer tonight (LOL), I had it on... and my gosh... they're not even TRYING to show two sides to stories now!! They had this thing on about the the Summer Heights High spoof song "Naughty Girl", which is from a musical number in the TV show, about a girl dying from overdosing from Ecstasy... and they had this woman on talking about how offended she was by the word "ecstasy" and how children shouldn't even know what the word means.

I mean... okay, two things, lady. First, TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN. SRSLY. Not informing them is only going to have them grow up ignorant. Second... ECSTASY DOESN'T ONLY MEAN THE DRUG. I MEAN. WTF. It meant something else BEFORE it was a drug. If you wanna be an idiot and not talk to your kids, the least you could do is tell them what the OTHER meaning of the word is... I MEAN WTF. GAH.

And then they didn't have anyone from the ABC or any person representing the other side of the story. Fucking hell... srsly... I mean, not that I'm 100% on the other side, but the least they could do is TRY to look like they're not being one-sided.

Apartment Update: Day 1 after clean up: Still clean. Also defrosted freezer. YAY! :D *is going well* People welcome to drop by for a cuppa :D

Peace,
Rotae

Okay, so now I totally ship Rudd/Obama. >.>

Senator Obama praised the leadership Mr Rudd had shown on climate change since winning government and he talked up the value to the US of an Australia which could provide leadership in East Asia.

"In Asia, the quality of our alliance and the scope of our diplomatic partnership shine brightly," he said.

"Prime Minister Rudd brings special skills and experiences to this new chapter in US-Australia relations.

"His progressive domestic policy agenda, innovative and realistic diplomacy, and optimistic vision enrich the already solid base of our bilateral dialogue, reminding us that we can accomplish more when we listen to our friends and allies then when we lecture them."

Source: Here

^^; Proper update to come when it's a time when I shouldn't be working :D

Also, I'm thinking about posting every day this month. Thoughts? Comments? Tirades? Cake? XD

Peace,
Rotae

Never, have I been so proud of my country, and my Prime Minister, as I am today.

Never, have I been so proud to be a part of the people who elected the government that represents us.

And never, have I been so hopeful for a good political future in this country.

I just wish Brendan Nelson had said, "I agree" and stfu.

Peace,
Rotae