The tragedy took place Sunday night. On Wednesday I felt I wanted to pay tribute.
Let the images tell the story. In order of how I experienced it. I wrote in a sympathy card. I thought it would last longer than flowers. Perhaps it will be kept. Merely one of thousands who wanted to pay their respects.
Beautiful Bondi - From the Southern end
Very similiar bridge - This is the Southern one
The guy with the hat received sharpnel in his back. He talked about what happened and how he was interviewed by CH.7 and everything he said about why it happened, anything deemed political was edited out.
The Northern bridge, where the horror unfolded.
I felt like I could do more. I spoke to some people, a young Jewish man who had just come from a funeral, police, Red Cross volunteers, thanking them and decided I could leave a message of hope.
You'll be laughing too, except at them, not with. (That's Pia Zadora in the middle)
Even the blockhead Droppo can't beleive how bad the script is. (Ironically, one of the few actors to actually go on and have a career).
Santa Claus Conquers the Martians. 1964
(Also known as Santa Claus Versus the Martians)
I've watched it every year (at least once) for twenty years straight. Absolutely hilarious! Always finding something new to laugh at. A classic!
'Oh me, on my!' Mrs Claus and the elves are 'frozen' by the Martians, just before Santa is kidnapped. The performance by Mrs Claus alone is worth watching. Her laughter is insane!
The children of Mars are without humour or fun, programmed with too much tech (a premonition for today), and so a group of Martians decided to set off for Earth to kidnap Santa to bring some joy back home.
It is a kid's film so some of it is supposed to be funny but it's funny in all the wrong places. The humour is so terrible that it has to be seen to be beleived. Some terrible one liners. Shocking acting. Terrible sets and action (the polar bear and Robot are particularly bad), but the whole thing just has so many terrible moments that it's actually extremely entertaining. If you can laugh your way through a film, it's worth every second.
Torg, the scariest man in a cardboard box Robot ever depicted on screen!
It's a staple film in our household and has been played every Christmas since first 'discovering' it on SBS around 2005. So that means I've seen it at least twenty times as some years we played it twice! I swear every time I watch it, I discover some other hilarious moment.
Frighteningly realistic North Pole set, along with a frighteningly realistic robot!
Do yourself a favour and make it a must watch. It's only 80 mins and is seriously some of the best entertainment you'll ever see. It's harmless of course so you can't hate on it but instead, find it endearing in its own unique, terrible way.
Ah, they'll never find us in the Radar Box!
Worth noting it stars a young Pia Zadora who, twenty years later would be starring in some fairly bad risque films, like Butterfly (1981) and The Lonely Lady (1983) thanks to her rich husband who funded the films. Unlike her clothes in these films, her career never took off.
The entire film was shot in just 4 days at Michael Myerberg Studios, a converted aircraft hangar at Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York. It's now a shopping mall. Explains some of the terrible staging. 4 days is actually quite remarkable!
End Credits Theme Song, Also a Classic! Look at those inventive lyrics!
Like many in Sydney, we learnt of this only minutes after it started. We watched it slowly unfold.
We know alot more now and more words won't change what happened. You have your own opinion. What we can all agree on, is that evil exists. Hate is universal. Perverted ideologies are universal.
The following is a simple display of photographs. Thoughts with the people who died, the thirty or so injured, and the thousands who were in the area. So many traumatised for life. This can not be undone. Our country will not be the same.
Mass panic
This amazing hero is a 42yo fruit shop owner, Ahmed, who was shot. He will be okay.
It doesn't get more personal than families on Bondi Beach.
