Lonnie Gilroy

Another kind of moss

I’m sure you’ve seen them. You nod and smile and get in each other’s way. Your lives are connected for a few moments and then usually never again.

They’re the people at the grocery store, who, only through chance, are shopping at the same time as you. Fellow travellers with whom you snake around the aisles, sometimes alongside, sometimes passing by, but the whole time together.

To all the cars I drove before

I recently bought a car. The first car I can really call my own.

I have been exceedingly fortunate to have pretty much always had access to a vehicle since I got my licence all those years ago. I drove my mum’s car a fair bit and then was gifted my grandparent’s old car after they got too old and ill to drive it. That reliable old Camry, about as old as me, saw me through Year 12, then later down to Brisbane and all around south-east Queensland while filming projects for uni. I drove it until it died, and then a little while after that, but eventually we parted ways.

Breakfast is cancelled.

Sorry to be the one to ruin your lives, all you brekkyheads out there, but it’s time to end the world’s obsession with the first meal of the day. It is, in fact, the worst meal of the day – overpriced at cafes and underwhelming at home.

Any halfway enticing menu option can be made for a fraction of the price at home. However, that requires cooking, which, given its time consuming and overall boring nature, is on thin ice with me anyway. Who wants to cook first thing in the morning, only moments after being broken from the sweet respite of sleep, only to be reminded of the horror that is the world? It’s certainly no time to be cracking open eggs. Fruit is a bore, toast barely worth it and cereal is detestable. Whose stomach in the early hours of consciousness, can really cope with pancakes or waffles, which are, let’s face it, basically desserts?

Birthday films

Each year on our birthdays Senaai and I see a film. What better way to celebrate another journey around the sun? How else would you commemorate the slow drum beat of death nearing ever closer?

Here’s a list of the films we’ve seen on my birthday plus some other details I can remember because my brain holds so much useless information. I’ve forgotten all of maths, but I can remember this shit.

Six photos from Tenterfield, Christmas 2018, that I’ve only just got around to uploading

This should go somewhere

I wrote at the start of the year as part of a job application. I didn’t get the job, but I feel like it’s a waste to just delete it. And what is a blog if not a perfect place for unwanted writing?

The last piece of content that really moved me was the Coen Brothers film “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”. The anthology film, which is spilt into six separate stories, runs the gamut from comedic to dramatic, from slow-moving to action packed, from serious to silly. As for any Coen Brothers film, there is no faulting the stunning visuals or the outstanding performances. These guys can certainly make a movie.

A university life

I wrote in a recent job application that I enjoy the rhythms of university life. A year segmented into semesters, exam blocks and summers. The rush of O-Week, the thrill of graduations. Busy periods punctuated with peaceful lulls.

Unlike some declarations on some job applications, it was all true! My life, which has thus far constituted twelve years of school, five years of full-time university study, a few years of casual and more recently full-time work at university, has always been segmented in this way.

Paddington – The Best Achievement of Humankind

I recently claimed that Paddington (2014, dir. Paul King) and Paddington 2 (2017, dir. Paul King) is the best film duology of the 21^st century. This perfectly reasonable statement of fact was met with incredulous chuckles from some. While it seems extraordinary to need to prove something so obvious – do we really need an essay verifying that the sky is blue or that hot chips are the best food? – this essay will remove any doubt.

Bye School

I missed school more before I graduated. I overthought it. I felt all the feelings before they were supposed to come.

School was a bigger part of my life than some people. I was school captain and quite involved with the school community. My parents were teachers at my school, prominent members of the school community. High school was tied to my identity for a long time.

Younger Than Me

It seems wrong that there are people younger than me. I’m sorry but it’s true.

It wasn’t so long ago that the future was me. That I was the promising youngster, the early achiever, the next big thing, the future.

The 5 Worst Jobs I’ve Had (so far)

A few weeks ago I had a tweet go mildly viral.

I don’t tweet much, I only have about 100 followers and only interact with my girlfriend and one or two friends. My mum’s always good for a like though – what else are mums for?

This was the tweet that got all the attention:

“I’ve had six different jobs in the last seven months. What a world”

Learning and thinking about Me Too

Last year on our podcast Senaai and I talked about complexity (or lack thereof) in regard to commentary surrounding the film awards season. Specifically we talked about the perceived La La Land vs. Moonlight rivalry and discussions about Casey Affleck’s suitability as an award winner.

We basically decried the lack of subtlety in the debate. On Twitter (and some news outlets to be fair) it seemed that if you disliked Moonlight you were disregarding its importance for black audiences. If you liked it, you were virtue signalling. If you liked La La Land you were taking the Oscar bait. If you thought La La Land was overrated, you were hating on the awards favourite. If you thought Affleck should win, you were excusing sexual assault. If you thought he shouldn’t be nominated, you were missing the point of the awards season.