So you want to know stuff about me? After reading this you’ll wish such a thought never entered your pretty head!
Name: Hayley
Age: 23
Habitat: The wilds of Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs, with frequent forays into the heart of the metropolis (Australia)
Occupation: aimless Arts graduate/surly cinema usher/jazz poet
Starsign: Libra
Favourite Colour: Green
Favourite Food: Vegetarian tacos
Likes: music, books, art (both creating and looking at), film, the 1920s, hats, feminism, emo fringes, flappers, history, Harry Potter, British comedy, university, webcomics, graphic novels, bespectacled indie boys with nice hair (apply within), tall dark-haired girls with freckles (equally apply within), drinks with fruit and umbrellas in them, birds and the watching of them, Canada, inventing imaginary bands, words, snappy dressers, op shops, sloths, vegetarianism, sarcasm, stand-up comics, singing, greyhounds and borzois, musicals, travel, stamps, the ocean, eating out, snow, music gigs from huge arsing festivals to tiny smoky pubs with three people in the audience, and wandering through life with a vaguely perplexed expression.
Dislikes: hot weather, film snobs, being condescended to, deliberate ignorance, red capsicum, humidity, babies, high school, ridiculous academic language, anything to the right of the political spectrum, witnessing dangerous driving (particularly if there’s children in said dangerous vehicle), people who think dressing and behaving like a slut is the height of ‘female power’, most people in general.
Listen to these bands! Belle & Sebastian, The Decemberists, Augie March, Bright Eyes, Tilly & the Wall, Of Montreal, Arcade Fire, Darren Hanlon, The Lucksmiths, Mates of State, David Bowie, The New Pornographers, Islands, The Mountain Goats, Band of Horses, Ben Kweller, Sufjan Stevens, Stars, Holly Throsby, Joel Plaskett Emergency, Interpol, The Killers, Voxtrot, Beirut, Kimya Dawson, Hot Hot Heat, Gomez, Rufus Wainwright, Vampire Weekend, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, My Chemical Romance, Jens Lekman, The White Stripes, The Raconteurs, Franz Ferdinand, Devotchka.
Watch these films/TV shows! The Royal Tenenbaums, 24 Hour Party People, Sunset Boulevard, The Mighty Boosh, Doctor Who, The Venture Bros., The Colbert Report, The Office (U.S.), The Dark Knight, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Napoleon Dynamite, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law, Thank You For Smoking, Blackadder, Scrubs, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, Juno, 30 Rock, The Darjeeling Limited, Spiderman 2 & 3, Black Books, M, Rushmore, I [Heart] Huckabees, Belle et la Bete, Pandora’s Box, Nacho Libre, Cowboy Bebop, My Neighbour Totoro, Cabaret, The Life Aquatic, A Very Long Engagement, Dead Man, Absolute Power, Porco Rosso, Boston Legal, Everything is Illuminated, Zoolander.
you know, your recommendation for ‘of montreal’ AGES ago, finally infiltrated my brain- and have been having a bit of a little. I like. Thanks dude.
that was supposed to be “have been having a bit of a listen’, no ‘little’. What’s with this comment moderation bizzo?
Of Montreal forever and always is love on a stick. I reccommend “Vegan in Furs”, “Art Snob Solutions” and “Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider”.
Yeah, apparantly I have to ‘approve’ comments before they appear. Is annoying. How to I change it so they just appear? I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M DOING *flail*
have a bit of a play- everything will be revealed to you I’m sure.
Ah, see you worked it out all your own. *pats Hayley’s head*
Ah, so if I approve someone they’re approved forever more. Huzzah!
Lovely website and lovely picture of foggy bridge-age!
Eeeek with university busyness but not long to go now till you are a Master of the Universe! Did you get my letter? Do you know yet if you can come up to Sydney? Less than eight weeks to go!!! Huzzah!!! 
x
My superior academia skillz shall surely lead me to being a master of the universe in no time!
I did get your letter, and am in the middle of replying to it! And I am so making it to Sydney no matter what! I’m just trying to find somewhere nice but reasonably cheap to stay. Hey, may as well ask the internet: Hey internet, where can I stay in Sydney that’s cheap and nice and near to Carrington St?
8 weeks, eee! Countdown begins now!
Hello, where is that photo at the top of the page taken. It has me mesmorised for some reason.
Yours in hypertext,
Mitch
I really should have used a question mark there; my apologies.
I’m actually not sure where the photo was taken. It’s a standard wordpress blog formaty-thing – apparantly it’s called “MistyLook” and was made by Sadish (there’s a link to it at the bottom of this page). Although by the look of the landscape, I would hazard a guess to a location of northern North America, maybe Europe? All I know is I want to go there and see it for myself!
Fear not, I am no punctuation nazi. You can use question marks when and where you see fit, or not at all!
I AM THE PUNCTUATION NAZI!!!!??!!! Not anymore. It’s ok because “The Party’s Crashing Us Now”. Ba-jing!
Oh Dave, you’ve brought punctuation and Of Montreal together in unholy union! WHAT TERRIBLE SPAWN SHALL BE BORN OF THIS?!!
Hank Williams I believe. He is the uber God. We must not let him devour our flower beds.
In this world it seems we are running out of people with decent taste in music and movies. I find people severely boring when they say they love all kindsa music but have no opinion on it to back up their lousy statement. They don’t like all kinds of music they just have no personality. I don’t remember the last time someone of the opposite sex actually had a conversation with me about movies or music that hasn’t bored me into a gutter. People suck. End whine.
Dave, I don’t even know you and I feel your pain… Although I am one of those people who say they like ‘all kinds of music’- I just hate having to be judged on my disparate tastes so I refuse to answer in any way that will be at all illuminating. Or I just tell them I only like trashy things and say I adore The Pussycat Dolls and the Black Eyed Peas. Shits and giggles you know…
Taste is such a contentious and, to my mind, problematic, uncomfortable thing. In the case of music, I’m one of those people who only like certain styles and genres, and I feel bad about it. I constantly feel like I’m missing out on something, and the fact that the kind of music I like attracts hipsters and pretentious music snobs only increases a sense of fraud within myself. I hate that whole indie thing of ‘the less people who have heard of a band the better the band is’. Absolute oxymoronic rubbish! And yet that’s the kind of music I’m consistently drawn towards.
I mean, I love talking about the bands and movies I like, and dissecting why I like them (or dislike them). But I hope that I never give off the impression that my opinion is superior to or more correct than anyone else’s. Taste is ultimately about context and perspective, and I use this page, with its list of my tastes, not as a pulpit dedicated to taste conversion, but as a means to show where I’m coming from, what I enjoy, hoping to find others with similiar likings, but also hoping not to alienate those who do not, and always keeping a forum open for contention and changing perspective.
Our tastes are a part of us, but they do not define us. After all, tastes constantly change. We’re not all stuck at 12 liking Westlife and Austin Powers for the rest of our lives (thank christ…).
By the way that was obviously not a shot at Hayley. Hayley has an amazing taste in music and movies (minus the hate for Love Actually) and could probably have a conversation with me that last for hours based on a band or song or movie or whatever.
I don’t have a problem with people saying they like all kinds of music and can actually name a list of bands they like off the top of their head (They don’t even have to be good ones), I just have a problem with people that say they love everything and after being asked about a certain band they say “Oh I hate that kind of music” or can’t name any bands that they like at all. It’s like saying “Hey come to my house for some ice cream, I have a shit load, all kinds of flavours and colours. It’ll be great.” Then you get there and there is not even a freezer in sight, actually it’d be more like there was no house to begin with.
I’m not sure why I dislike people for not having a music taste but I guess it’s because music plays a big part in my life, as do movies and video games. I mean if you don’t have your own opinion on music/movies/life in general then what do you have?
Oh, so didn’t interpret your comment as a shot at me (although, you’ve made me all happy and squishy inside now by saying that I have tops taste – and what do you mean we *could* talk for hours on bands and movies and pesketti, we DO, and frequently! It’s what makes us super awesome), I just think about this kind of stuff a lot, I always feel I have to qualify my tastes, and to be able to accept other peoples’ differing opinions without dissolving into a self-righteous rage. Makes things a lot nicer when taste is viewed as intrinsically a product of context.
But the kind of people you mean, the kind with no apparant opinion on anything – I feel sorry for anyone who can’t muster any passion, even for something as small as a song or a book or a film. And I’ve met a few people where there’s definately no house, just an empty lot, bare except for the occasional tumbleweed and lonely breeze. Imagine being that barren inside.
Not that you need to worry. There’s ice cream up to the rafters in your 40 room shangri-la! I demand 3 tubs of caramel banana, now!
Hayley, you’ve pretty much encapsulated how I feel about taste- so much better than I’ve been trying to say for ages! I feel a little ashamed.
Dave, I didn’t mean to suggest you would ever suggest Hayley was bland and had no taste. I mean really, who would ever suggest a such a thing???!!
I want to agree with the empty lot analogies- but of late I feel like I’ve been spending time with people who I either have VERY different tastes in books,film, music with- OR that they don’t have much interest in any of those things (strange I know)- without that common ground, sometimes it’s a bit of a relief to interact without those for conversational crutches.
Ignore me- I’m feelin a bit fatigued from too many conversations that involve no actual conversing: i.e. I love that too! That is so funny! Ha ha ha. You love that music? I love that music! That is great. Ha ha ha. Have you ever seen that tv show about stuff? Yeah! Me too. ‘quotes line’. Oh! I’ve seen that episode! How funny was that? Ha ha ha.” I could not be more bored by this bonding process.
although, don’t get me wrong- it’s pretty exciting to share stuff that you’re passionate about/interested in. truly
Jen, I didn’t think you thought that I thought that Hayley had bad taste in music I was just putting that down seeing as though I thought it might have looked like that.
I had a thought (yes, even more) about all of this and its both sexes that do it. I met a guy at work who i figured had no personality. Every question I asked he’d aswer with a “Yes, do you?” or a “No, have you?” followed by an awkward silence. An example would be “Hey, have you ever heard of the band DragonForce?” “Yes, I like them. Do you?”.
After a while I decided “screw this I’m just going to be my usual over the top and offensive self” and he seemed to come out of his shell a bit. Now I find myself wondering if I corrupted him, if he was always like this but just hid it or he’s being a human chameleon and leeching off of my personality. He’s like me now and I generally have fun making stupid jokes all day with him.
What it really all comes down to is conversation I think. If two or more people can have a lengthy discussion about anything then it’s wonderful but if there is a hell of a lot of one-sidedness then it’s not really worth pursuing. You have to interact to actually be interacted with. So I guess that fits in with the discussions about music and the like.
Comment stopper extraordinaire!
Despite triple posting I have figured out something that ties in with the music tastes and things. People have lost their indivual personalities.
Every new person I have met lately has a “taste for everything” and it’s come down to singular word answers and questions by both people involved. I’m subjected to asking how work is these days and clearly I couldn’t give a damn about how long lunch took and how many people work in their factory with them.
I’m waiting for some new interesting person who just stands above everyone else to come along. I’m happy with the friends I have and they are all awesome in their own way but why does everyone else seem so one sided? Maybe I’m not looking hard enough.
Weird thing is there was a girl working at the video store down the road and after being a sarcastic bitch to me I found that refreshing and her highly interesting. Normally I don’t really care but then again that’s coming from me who finds piercings a turn on and sarcasm much the same.
*Shrugs* Hopefully people are being rad personality wise in your area.
Sorry to intrude on this comments dialogue (but I can’t help it, any new comments on a thread I’ve posted on automatically comes up in ‘my comments’- I can’t avoid it!), but I have to ask, how does one convey how they feel about music and their own tastes to a stranger in a few sentences. When someone I don’t know asks me something like “what kind of music do you like?” etc., it makes me want to punch them, especially if it means they are going to spend the next five minutes telling me what they like, or whether or not they like the same things as me. At this point I like to be contrary, shrug my shoulders and say “I like lots of things”, then try to run away really quickly.
Unless music/books/films comes up organically in the conversation I really don’t feel compelled to talk about it. In any case, surely there are other things that help reveal people’s personalities?
Although, of late I’ve been stuck in many an (enjoyable) conversation, and I’ve found myself thinking about how impossible it is to pin down what exactly makes a conversation with a stranger run smoothly. They could be the most interesting/smart/funny person you’ve ever met, but it doesn’t guarantee a decent conversation- you have to be able to mesh well conversationally, and I’m coming to think that it’s a mix of dumb luck and (friendly) chemistry
Well, to be honest I don’t know what else can make a conversation last above awkward silences and shuffling feet. It’s just frustrating no one gives me anything to work with. I think I might have lost my conversation skills along with my memory (which has reached epic proportions of terrible).
I don’t do sport and even if I did last night’s footy match conversation would last for about 5 mins.
I think it’s because I am actually interested in movies, music, video games and things like that. I normally don’t bother telling people about the bands I like because no one ever knows them but talking about why The Red Hot Chili Peppers have the worst lyrics or how Silverchair evolved from grunge into whatever the hell you call them now usually lasts a while. Hell, I could pull an opinion of skateboarding out of somewhere and actually mean it.
Anything is possible to talk about but people just aren’t responding well or giving me anything to work with. Maybe I’m the problem?
Yes, I whine too much. Sorry. It’s just something I’m finding hard to comprehend lately.
It’s Hayrey’s blog so I don’t know what I’m still rambling about. Yay!
Yes, we’re hijacking Hayley’s blog (sorry Hayley)! But I’m just genuinely curious about this conversation with strangers thing. Especially when it comes to music/movies/books etc. bar interjecting, ‘Oh I love ____’ if something comes up in the conversation, I am truly incapable of talking about these things- strangely it makes me uncomfortable (and sometimes bored, depending).
I just spent dinner with a couple of relative strangers (admittedly in the presence of a good mutual friend), and conversation was not at all awkward and strange, and we didn’t once converse about those topics. Compare that with a recent Sat night when I had to talk to someone who I’ve seen a lot over the years cos of mutual friends, and I who know to be really funny and interesting- for the life of us, we couldn’t sustain a conversation without incredibly long pauses and awkwardness when we were on our own. In the first instance I can’t remember really what we chatted about, but it was really fun, in the second, I remember every anecdote we tried to tell each other, every stupid question… and we did eventually turn to music, and I wanted to shoot myself even though we shared some (interesting) opinions.
I just reckon if you’re going to have a good conversation with someone, it doesn’t really matter what you converse about- it could be work or school or something equally boring- but it could be interesting and fun anyway. Also, so many of these things depends on the respective moods etc. that people are in…
So yeah, your last point. Although, these things probably have less to do with you and is just a string of bad luck (or a string of atrociously boring people… they should be shot!).
God, I didn’t mean this to be so long.
Hijack all you want, this is interesting! Particularly to someone like me, who depending on the situation is usually either too shy to be interesting in conversations with strangers, or if caught in a crap conversation just walks away. You’re both far too polite!
Is it weird that I’m getting happy squishy feelings inside because two friends of mine that haven’t met are carrying on a super awesome virtual discussion?
Hahaha at virtual discussion. The word virtual always reminds me of the 80’s and people’s perception of the future. I say bring back Virtual Reality somehow but kick up the seizure count to 100. Arrrgh, robots are taking over.
Back to the topic at hand. Jen, having a friend nearby is always a good help too. Especially when you can bounce ideas and experiences off of each other to make for an interesting conversation. Leave a group of people silent after a bad joke? You have backup right there. With friends comes more confidence and that way a better atmosphere gets created.
It’s silly how things have been awkward lately.
Ah, I think I might have figured out what it is. With me I usually work out what a person is like by how they act, their likes and dislikes etc. but when I haven’t got a clue where they stand with certain issues and not knowing if the appreciate my odd humour then it’s a little daunting where to start.
Let’s say I meet someone at a bar, obviously they like being social (or are trying their best to ignore everything around them), depending on the way they dress I can get some indication of what kind of a social group they belong to (Yeah, sounds stupid I know but sometimes it helps) and then work out what they are really like by what they say and how they say it. Insert some kind of a response here and away we go.
Then there is places like trade school, everyone is dressed similar, people are uncomfortable and about the only obvious thing we have in common is work. Not everyone likes work but it comes up in conversations all the time. Nobody likes asking about it, no one particularly likes answering questions about it and no one is too fond of being at work. It’s a weird little circle and it tends to keep popping up.
I’m guessing it depends on the atmosphere and the area you are in. Meet someone skydiving? They’d be extreme and have plenty of stories to tell. Started talking to someone while on a plane? You’ll find out where they are going and what they have been doing with their life. Skatepark? DEGENERATE, GET AWAY NOW!
I’ll leave it there for now, hopefully I’m not boring everyone.
P.S. I couldn’t be bothered re-reading it so if it makes no sense blame Harold from Neighbours.
I just read that Beirut is in your music tastes. This is an extremely good thing.
I like the taste of sweat.