Joss Whedon is back on Australian TV!!!

Eliza Dushku, who you may remember as Faith in Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, is also back in this science fiction, action, psychological thriller, drama, Doll House. She plays Echo; a misfit who is given the chance to remove her past mistakes by going in for ‘treatment’ in a secretive corporation. The treatment includes removing all past memories and reinserting memories of other people to achieve the ‘perfect operative’. The catch is, Echo has no idea who she really is.

She doesn’t realise she is part of an elaborate game, that all she is to her superiors is a ‘Doll’, hence the name of the show.

As with some of the best TV shows around, this one was axed after only 27 episodes. Considering the last show aired on cable TV in 2010, the program really hasn’t dated and still has me sitting up and taking notice.

Joss has once again given us a kick ass heroine, a seriously meaty storyline and an ethical dilemma worthy of the United Nations. He’s backed himself with a team of actors whose talent you may have seen in the likes of the The Matrix, Battlestar Glactica, Torchwood, Sixth Sense and Moneyball.

If you like Sliders, Alias, Quantum Leap, The Matrix, Buffy, and Dark Angel, then check your local guides and give Doll House a watch.

Let us know what you thought of the program. Should they have finished the second season?

It is official. We have an extended run with the Mummy, Secrets of the Tomb, exhibit on loan from The British Museum at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane. What was supposed to be an April until August schedule was extended by popular demand until October 21^st.

I took my family along and we were dazzled by the state of the art 3D presentation of unwrapping the secrets of Nesperennub. After the film was shown, we were moved on into the rest of the exhibition and were in awe of the relics on display. You really lose track of time and are swept up into the magic of history. It was wonderful.

Lines can be very long for ticketing at the venue, so get in early OR online or phone bookings can be made through Fox Tix *see the link below for more information*  It’s up to you how you want to do things, but tickets are required. As there is a movie being shown, ticketing is done in session times, and organisers have asked that ticket holders turn up about 15 minutes before their session time with their tickets ready to be scanned.

There were also special sessions for adults called Mummies after dark.

“Meet your friends, grab a drink at the Foyer Bar and shake off the week to the beats of DJ Bacon. Feast on gourmet treats or dinner at Collectors Lounge Bar. Re-live the laughs, schlock and horror of some classic B-movie titles. Meet a modern day embalmer or unearth the truth about Mummies in film. Then slip on your 3D glasses and explore our new blockbuster exhibition.

18+ Event. All tickets $26.95 (including online booking fee).”

The last session of which will be held on August 10^th. *see the link below for more information*

So you have a little longer to get wrapped up in some amazing history and spend a while walking like an Egyptian.

If you’ve been along to see the Mummies or any of the corresponding events, let us know what you thought, or even send us a pic of you in your spunky 3D glasses.

http://www.mummy.qm.qld.gov.au/

Isobelle did such an amazing job at the Garden City Library today.

Telling us stories of her baby-sitting techniques (including turning the power off at the power box) and the innocent way in which her storytelling in day to day life became the fuel for her best selling novels.

Monica drew her a card based on the cover art for The Red Wind audio book, and we got our copy of the book signed.

The burning question on our mind was if there were any more books about Bily and Zluty either already out there, or on the boil. We were delighted to here there will indeed be more books about these two furry heroes.

All this and she’s jet lagged like crazy.

We were extremely impressed.

Thank you Brisbane City Council Libraries and THANK YOU Isobelle!

Yunyu at the Brisbane Powerhouse

What do you get when you put more than 10 audio, visual, design and technological geniuses together? You get something so warped, and cool that it has to become a tour.

Yunyu, along with Lee McIver, The Commonists, Cool Shite on the Tube, Imogen Ross, New York Times #1 Bestselling Manga Artist, Queenie Chan, and many others have flown in the face of your typical concert going experience to bring us the Twisted Tales Tour.

The seed for this Tour was sewn decades ago in the mind of a young Yunyu; who loved it when her Father added his own spin on Fairy stories and old wives tales at bed time. Now grown and able to view the world her own way, the woman dubbed as Her Royal Madness, took us all on a journey through her modernized, and clinically disturbed versions of the classics.

Just imagine for a while…Goldilocks in a 21^st century setting. She’s a little schizophrenic, maybe a little bipolar; she can’t make up her mind. Dorothy is a cosmonaut, and certainly isn’t in Kansas anymore. The Pied Piper is a cult leader, and the Blue Fairy tries to save Pinocchio from his father.

As an audience we were met with a stage set with a large orange pumpkin, drapes to allow video footage to be projected while a 6 piece band punched out the tunes. Thanks to the size of the Visy Theatre at The Brisbane Powerhouse all this mixed with Yunyu’s stage presence made for a very intimate and stimulating evening.

Not only were we treated to the songs dedicated to Twisted Tales, but some of Yunyu’s other heavy hitting songs such as Too Subliminal and my sentimental favourite, Lenore’s Song were belted out with conviction.

Victoria and New South Wales have their chance to see the Twisted Tales Tour as it moves back up the East coast in June. Keep your smart phones handy and buy a tour shirt for a little extra multimedia experience. Check out http://yunyu.com.au/tour/ for more information.

I do hope you’ll allow yourself to follow Yunyu down the Yellow Brick Road; it’s a trip you wouldn’t want to miss.

The Spotlight Report also covered the gig here. Check out their great gig recount. Photos by Darrell Hamilton.

Winter is a time for vivid colours and bold fashion statements. One of the most celebrated trends is red lipstick. The only catch being the abuse our lips take over the cooler months.

Between wind burn, sun burn and being dried out from spending too much time in front of the heater, we really don’t create an ideal canvas for us to work with to get the perfect red lips. Here‘re 5 ways to help you get those ideal lips for winter, or in fact, any time of the year.

~ Stay hydrated. Have you ever seen a wrinkly fish? No, me neither. Your lips are one of the first places to show the signs of dehydration, and you’re likely to get that way if you’re constantly escaping to a heated room. If you drink lots of caffeinated drinks this can also speed up the dehydration process, so water really is best.

~ Avoid chapped lips. Sun protection is just as important in winter as it is in the summer months. Apart from wearing a shady hat, use products with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) and for wind burn, try not to lick your lips to ease the uncomfortable feeling; you’ll only make it worse. The two products that I swear by are both by Blistex. The first is a lip conditioner and the second is a lip ointment. They will save your lips no matter how bad they are.

http://www.blistex.com.au/therange.html

~ Exfoliate. One of the cheapest ways to exfoliate your lips is to gently brush them with your toothbrush, but there are many lip exfoliates on the market. The main thing to remember after you have exfoliated your lips is to apply some form of moisturizer or lip conditioner afterwards to prevent them drying out.

~ Pick your poison. There are so many products on the market for ‘the perfect red lips’ so it comes down to personal choice and the time of day. Not only do you have the joy of picking between blue-based reds and orange-based reds but you have stains, mats, glosses, and cream looks.

For a youthful day look, try a tinted lip balm or using a finger to lightly coat your lips with your preferred lipstick and add a clear gloss over it. For a longer lasting effect than just swiping your lips with lippy, use a lip brush to apply the lipstick. For the longest wear of all try a long lasting lipstick. My best pick is Revlon’s Colorstay Overtime.

Here’s a clip by maurices to demonstrate how to create a perfect red lip.

~ Remove your lipstick. Red lippy is really hard to get out of a pillowcase, so remember to take off your makeup before you go to bed. You can use a commercially made product for makeup removal or go for Vaseline left on for a few minutes to gently take it off.  Just remember to use those Blistex products afterwards to avoid dryness and chapping.

Here’s lanalovesmac to show us her reactions to a Mac makeup remover. *contains some course language*

And for a random fact about lipstick… Queen Elizabeth II has her own special lipstick which was made to match her coronation robes. It’s called The Balmoral Lipstick.

What is your ideal red lipstick?