Friday Finds

Triple J's Unearthed competition runs annually and serves the purpose of, well, unearthing new Australian talent in music. The big catch is that all entrants to the main competition are highschoolers. So far, it's track record is pretty remarkable - perhaps the biggest winner being Silverchair back in the day, and this year's winner, the dreamy, surreal Japanese Wallpaper is a pretty stirring entrant into the winner's circle. This song, Breathe In, is particularly lovely.

- This video about geek girls acting like geek guys killed me.

- These tampon ads from Carefree are pretty darn delightful (glitter cave! Crimson companion!)

- Nude photos where the photographer is nude and the subjects are fully clothed are basically the best.

- A lot of the new Amazon Prime shows kind of look amazing? I'm particularly excited for Transparent and Red Oaks!

- And to take you out for the weekend, check out these eight short story masterclasses care of Aerogramme Studio.

It's Queensland Poetry Festival this weekend! I talked about it a bit over here, and will be there most of Sunday at this rate. What are your plans for the weekend though? Anything exciting?

Friday Finds

I am having a terrible day! Have a song that generally cheers me up.

- This Six part interview with Mary Coleman, senior development executive at Pixar is a really interesting read, particularly in terms of talking about the history and mechanics of the company and their approach to storytelling and film making. 

- 10 cold weather book and music pairings for deep thinkers.

- These literary valentines are pretty awesome too.

- Geek alphabet!!

- Your weekend aww: Toco the cat and a tiny human growing up together.

Friday Finds

I'm a pretty huge fan of Adele, and this version of Make Your Feel My Love has been in my head all week. It's just lovely.

- Tor.com has a pretty great post over on their blog about mapping out your fantasy world.

- These Beatles vans are slaying.

- Broken Age looks pretty amazing too.

- Powerful photos of segregated America only recently discovered.

- These fake London Underground signs are also pretty great.

Friday Finds

I am squealing like crazy over the trailer for How to Train Your Dragon 2. I adored the first one, and this one looks like a pretty amazing sequel - one that'll hopefully expand the storyworld instead of stretching it thinly.

- This infographic on whether you're ready to publish your book or not is giving me life right now.

- Chuck Wendig recaps his top posts for the year.

- 19 awesomely designed books that prove print isn't dead.

- Cabin porn!

- This motion lookbook from Sofi Wolf SS14 is stunning.

Friday Finds

- Flavorwire's been bringing it this week. Seriously check out these amazing photos of New York's iconic music venues, and these ones of samurai in storm ravaged Japan.

- These layouts of nine famous houses from classic literature are pretty amazing too.

- And these sweaters! Oh, man, I want all of them.

- In less awesome news, Ida Pollock passed away a few days ago. That said, her life was pretty tremendous!

- Bloody boudoir ladies! These are giving me life today.

- All the things wrong with your screenplay in one handy infographic.

- And for your Christmas shopping / holiday reading: 50 great books by Australian women in 2013.

Friday Finds

So Arctic Monkeys are coming to Brisbane! \o/ Have a song.

- Buzzfeed put together a pretty awesome list of how a bunch of modern authors wrote their first novel. It's pretty great.

- And now for something completely different, here's a massive infographic on gender inequality in film.

- I was pretty unhappy with the last season of Girls, but the trailer for the next one is getting me pretty hyped again.

- Tippi Hedron had a pet lion.

- Movie hecklers!

- Epic in-flight note passing!

Friday Finds

It's been a Shins kind of week. Simple Song's a bit of a favourite of mine and totally my soundtrack for the weekend.

- These book shirts are kind of perfect, and totally an ideal gift for any book lover in your life this holiday season!

- These books that can save the publishing industry are pretty great too.

- The new Ms. Marvel is a Muslim lass from New Jersey(!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

- Have some awesome googly-eyed books too.

- The Bechdel Test is being used in Sweden in an official capacity! I honestly love this test (and Kelly Sue DeConnick's sexy lamp one) as a means of highlighting the pretty atrocious gender representation in film.

- And, some weekend reading for you! 20 literary tumblrs that are currently slaying.

Friday Finds

Some pretty tremendous performance poetry for your Friday.

- And on that note, how young heroines helped redefine girlhood as a state of strength.

- The 8 Habits of Highly Successful YA Fiction Authors

- Benjamin Law's if:book essay on learning shorthand is both hilarious and insightful.

- The Hunger Games new make-up line is pretty immaculate.

- I am dying so hard to see Belle, an adaptation of the true story of the biracial daughter of a British Admiral.

Friday Finds

This Blurred Lines genderswap is giving me life right now.

- This campaign from the National Institute for Challenging Homophobia Education (NICHE) is pretty damn wonderful.

- Famous writers' small writing sheds and off the grid huts. I love, love, love Roald Dahl's and Virginia Woolf's.

- Hey, Pay Up is an excellent tumblr featuring writing journals and mags in Australia and what they actually pay writers submissions.

- And some photography for your Friday - New York city's hidden subway station and these amazing National Geographic photographs.

Friday Finds

I'm really feeling The Staves at the moment, so here, have a (very lovely) music video. On that note too, Portable TV has an awesome list of 5 female vocalists you should be listening to (if you're not already).

- The photography of Amanda Jasnowski is doing things to me. Really, really beautiful stuff. Hana Haley's is also pretty wonderful.

- Writer Ian Sales has compiled a list of 100 Great Science Fiction Stories Written By Women, which is pretty aces. Check out the list here.

- Geekquality is basically my new favourite blog. They have an awesome post on YA fiction. And another on third wave feminism and the hard femme.

- Ryan O'Neill wrote a great post over on his blog about submitting short stories and contextualising rejections (because they suck, they do, but they're not without their uses).

- The Atlantic did a great article too on various writers' favourite first lines.

- 500 new fairytales discovered in Germany!

Friday Finds

Some Mumford and Sons, The Vaccines, Vampire Weekend, The Staves and First Aid Kit covering The Beatles for your Friday.

- Connor Thomas O'Brien has written a really excellent post on paying writers and new online platforms. Definitely one to check out if you're actively contributing to any online blogs or journals.

- Literary agent, Ginger Clark has a new column over on The Toast! And it is super awesome.

- The London Evening Standard has a rather lovely interview with Zadie Smith up over on their website.

- The Atlantic has a great one too from Stephen King talking about opening sentences.

- Five rules for writing crime.

- These wordart book covers of classic novels are slaying me right now. So good.

- This Wall Street Journal article on Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, the nature of kawaii culture in J-Pop and how Kyary is turning it on its head is kind of awesome.

- This ad for HelloFlo is my new favourite thing also. Well, maybe second to this hammerhead shark ring.

Friday Finds

- Kate Belle has written a really interesting post on the erotic fiction boom over on The Reading Room blog. She particularly talks about the differences in sex scenes written by men and women.

- Chuck Wendig's back this week with 25 Things to Know About Your Story's Stakes. Awesome advice.

- Meg Cowell's collection of dresses photographed underwater is blowing my mind today. Really lovely stuff.

- The best of Rookie's Ask a Grown Man! Which are all awesome.

- The Mary Sue's had some great posts this week, including one on the Calvin and Hobbes documentary (!) and a really excellent one On Xena and a Lack of Female Villains.

- Gatsby props up for auction! I need that old school waffle iron in my life.

- And for your playlist this weekend, have the 10 Best Tori Amos Covers. Or the top 15 Best Radio 1 Livelounge Covers. Whatever takes your fancy.

Friday Finds

- Kill Your Darlings has an excellent podcast over on their blog about the value of agents in Australia. Really interesting stuff. There's also a great list care of DIY MFA telling you three things to know before you publish.

- Chuck Wendig has another awesomesauce list of 50 Rantypants Snidbits of Writing & Storytelling Advice told with his usual cussing charm.

- People are always writing these 'Must Read' books lists, but Flavorwire's 50 Books Everyone Needs to Read 1963 - 2013 is really something else. Excellent array of books (and some pretty surprising ones in there too!)

- Google Poetics! And, in completely unrelated news, a Troy McClure supercut!

- I've always had a huge soft spot for characters wearing eyepatches (they're super great okay) and The Mary Sue has put together an awesome list of 10 Powerful Eyepatch Wearing Characters in Geekdom (Fury! Mad Eye Moody! KING BRADLEY!).

- How lovely is this new lookbook for Project 104 swimsuits?  Gorgeous stuff.

- If you're up for some weekend viewing, why not check out this list of 13 Independent Sci-fi/Fantasy Movies You Need to Watch? There's something for everyone!

- To take you out for the weekend, have some illustrations featuring the patron saints of brilliant female characters. I am chin-handsing all over the place right now.

Friday Finds

Hannah Kent has written a rather brilliant behind the scenes of her novel, Burial Rites, from conception through to publication. It's a really good read for anyone interested in the process and is beautifully written to boot.

- This is a great post on compiling short stories for your short story collection. Really helpful stuff.

- Love Reading, Hate Books is one-star reviews of classic lit. Super fun and perfect reading for your Friday.

- The Feminist Taylor Swift twitter account has given me life this week. It's incredibly funny.

- Flavorwire has a really interesting exploration of postfeminism in cinema at the moment - particularly in the guise of Spring Breakers and The Bling Ring (or which I have sadly seen neither!). Really worth the read. On a lighter (?) note, they also have a list of the 50 Greatest Movie Antiheroes of All Time and it is basically the best. I love love love a good antihero.

- These 6 Fairytales for the Modern Woman are pretty great too.

- These stunning photographs by Rayyiu Radzi are my happy place this weekend too. Check them out fooreever.

Friday Finds

By now a lot of people have heard about the rape joke made by a creator to a manager at the Electronic Entertainment Expo. It's all pretty hideous, but, on maybe a positive note, it's generated a lot of dialogue about rape language and misogyny in gaming which is always something worth talking about. The Mary Sue has a good breakdown of the situation here as does Gamers Against Bigotry.On a better gaming note, Princess Peach will be a playable character in a mainstream Mario game for the first time since 1988!

- The Wheeler Centre brings it again with Tara Moss talking about evil women. Fair warning: she is super gorgeous and seems to snap her lips a lot? Lovely piece of writing though.

- Chuck Wendig tells you 25 Things You Should Know About YA Fiction

- These six tips for finishing your novel are pretty great too.

- I'm totally enamored with the photography of Robert Kaczynski. Miss Moss has a lovely collection of the pics over on her blog, so check them out.

- 10 Great Books Starring Cats! Because what's not to love about that?

- What your favourite Shakespeare play says about you. Apparently I find unisex t-shirts convenient?

Friday Finds

- Justine Larbalestier has written a great post on twitter etiquette.

- Despite the dig at Brisbane, Spook Magazine has a pretty great article on being a writer (which is a bit NSFW? Idk. There are a couple of butts).

- This post on 11 Most Kickass Literary Heroines is really interesting and comprises a lot of unusual (but awesome) picks.

- These lady puns are basically the best thing.

- The photography of Marina Refur is doing things to me emotionally. It's so whimsical and just lovely. 

I'll also be reading at Whispers: Out of the Frying Pan on Saturday afternoon. It's my first public reading and I'm pretty excited. It's a free event, so, if you're around, you should swing on by. :)

Friday Finds

- This essay on Challenging the 'Women, Cattle & Slaves' Narrative by Kameron Hurley is doing things to me. Beautifully written, funny and sharply smart, you should all read this. Immediately.

- Jason Nahrung's also put together a pretty brilliant 2013 Australian Literary Festival Calendar. Which is awesome. A great resource for Aussies too, so get out your diary and some sparkly markers and make some bookings.

- 10 ways to take a bad author photo! These are great though. I need one of me conga lining like a pro.

- This is really interesting - What Fast & Furious 6 could teach Star Trek Into Darkness about half-naked women. In short - agency, agency, agency.

- Check out Bernadette Pascua's creative portfolio! Hearts in my eyes.

As a total aside, this weekend I'll be rocking out at Emerging Writers Festival in Melbourne and managing the Slow Writing Centre at Abbotsford Convent. If you're in the area, you should come say hi! I'd love to talk to you. :)

Friday Finds

- This post on planning your own writing retreat is sure to be handy for anyone wanting to go down that path.

- QANTAS airline is publishing short books for flights! This is a pretty awesome initiative, one that I hope goes off.

- Things said to lady journos is a pretty eyeopening look at sexism, misogyny and gender stereotypes still so prevalent in journalism.

- On a much lighter note, 44 reasons why you're Chandler Bing!

- I'm entirely obsessed with these armor-style leggings from Balenciaga's new collection. They're just excellent. 

- And because it's great, cat beards! I really doubt I'll be able to successfully wrangle my cat into doing this.

Friday Finds

- Patti Smith's fantastic advice for young writers. *chinhands*

- Maureen Johnston challenged her twitter followers to genderflip book covers. The results were both amazing and, well, kind of horrifying.

- These literary tattoos are wonderful. 

- This documentary by the wonderful Sarah Polley, The Stories We Tell, looks unbelievably good. I'm excited 

- Women in punk archives! Yusss.

- Photos of cultural icons at prom! I actually kind of love all the dresses, even though most of them are the worst.

- These underwater photographs by Bruce Mozert are beautiful and strange and strangely compelling. Love-er-ly stuff.

- In other news, I really want this t-shirt. And most of these shoes. And all of the stationary in Mr. Boddington's Studio shop. Because seriously. Hearts in my eyes.

Friday Finds

- It feels like talk of self-publishing's been everywhere this week, so I've compiled some of the better conversations here for you. In particular, I'd recommend reading Estelle Tang's post on self-publishing and blogging here. Writer Unboxed also has a good one here on the new era of self-publishing.

- There's a brilliant post over at The Review Review on What Editors Want. Seriously. Check it out.

- I mostly want to go everywhere in this list of stops in the literary landscapes. So, so wonderful.

- Speaking of places I want to go, the Studio Ghibli museum leaves me chinhandsing all over the place. I love it so much and am (hopefully!) going there next year.

- Flavorwire has compiled a list of 10 Great Movies Based on Poems! It all looks pretty magical. I've only seen two of the one's featured, but would already like to add Howl to the list, even if it's only kind of based on the poem.

- A friend recently introduced me to the joy that is shakespearewithgifs.tumblr.com. SERIOUSLY THOUGH. PROSE BEFORE HOES. It deserves capslock.

- These new Nancy Drew covers! That I really wished were legit. Lookit her! She's fabulous.

- The Least Wanted has a photostream of sixties mugshots and jeez, I love them all. There is something so brilliant about them - each sullen and rotund and narrow and heavy and just so full of character.

- 10 of the best Futurama inventions! I love this show.

As a total aside, I'll be in Townsville this weekend for the Groovin' the Moo festival and am kind of delirious with excitement. Tegan & Sara! The Kooks! Hungry Kids of Hungary! They're all pretty great.