Let's Give The Old Dear A Good Send Off.

*DISCLAIMER* THIS IS A PRETTY MUCH ONE TOWN CENTRIC EDITION OF MY BLOG, SO IF YOU KNOW WHAT THE GOLDEN GATEWAY FESTIVAL IS FEEL FREE TO READ ON, BUT IF YOU DON'T WELL, YOU CAN READ IT IF YOU LIKE, BUT IT MAY NOT MAKE A GREAT DEAL OF SENSE TO YOU. BTW, THE GOLDEN GATEWAY FESTIVAL MAKES NO SENSE TO ME AT ALL... thanks...





Well, as promised i'm blogging today about something that alot of us grew up with, the grand old girl herself, the Golden Gateway Festival. The Golden Gateway Festival is turning 50 next year, and as this years festival wraps up, I think it's time we gave it a looking over. Let's face it, the Festival is tired, It may be turning 50, but it looks and feels so much older. And it needs to be scrapped. First of all, the Golden Gateway Queen Quest must go. It is the epitomy of what is wrong with the Golden Gateway Festival. Nearly every year we have seen an aged male member of the community given a ridiculous plastic crown and scepter and paraded around town. The recipient says it's an honour to be festival king. Wow, I can't wait for the day when I get honoured by being dressed up in a crappy cape and the above mentioned headgear and made to look like a clown in front of the community i've worked so hard for over the span of my life. Yet, I can hear the dissenters, the people still clutching at the frayed hems of this faded old girls once stylish but now horribly outdated ballgown, say things like 'Oh but the children love seeing the king' or 'it's a benefit to our rural city'. Ok let's get one thing clear, the kids don't love seeing the king, the kids love getting out of school for a while and if that means having to see an old man wearing a throw rug then they'll do it, hey it beats the hell out of doing fractions right? Secondly, I fail to see how this is a benefit to the rural city. The tourists aren't exactly beating down the doors trying to make it to the Golden Gateway Festival. We all know the Jailhouse Rock Festival is kind of lame, but at least it gets new people coming here and spending money into our local community. Tourists come to the Jailhouse Rock and the Grampians Grape Escape weekend, but the Golden Gateway Festival? Anyone who truly believes it has a REAL benefit to our town is kidding themselves.
Onto the absolute WORST part of the whole decrepid festival, the queen quest. Every year local young ladies (and when I say young, the eldest entrant this year would have been 22) get drawn in with the promise of money from sponsors to buy a new dress for the evening and a night out and what do they win? The chance to hang off the arm of a man old enough to be their grandfather. This years king was 72 years old, the queen was 19. That's correct, when the queen was born, the king was 53 years 'young'. When the king retired from working (1999) the queen was in primary school. Anyone else see something wrong with this? These young ladies are judged (and when I say judged, i mean JUDGED right Mr. Braithwaite? 'We have certain standards we have to uphold' Well Mr Braithwaite, my blog has a standard too, and it's not very high, so fuck you, you arrogant jerk. Oh and btw, congratulations for supporting the local business people. How do you shop locally when you live in Melbourne?) and paraded around like stock at a sale yard. It's a joke, only it stopped being funny years ago. This year there were eleven entrants, impressive right? Yeah, except that probably eight of them didn't want to win and were only in it for the night out.
This blog is not here to desparige some of the hard working people on the festival commitee, because most of them do put in an enourmous amount of volunteer hours for the festival, and truly believe it's still relevant. I may disagree with them, but I respect the effort the put in (except the person mentioned above.). Here, however is what I would like to see. Let the festival celebrate fifty years next year, then shut it down. Replace the queen ball with a charity fundraiser ball, raising money for local charities. This year people had to pay $25 for nothing more than to sit squashed in together on a tressle table. That's it for $25? Where does the money go? If it already is funneled to a charity, great, but it's kept pretty quiet if it does. Would you be happy to pay $25 just to get into the Town Hall not knowing where the money goes and getting little to nothing in return, or would you prefer to pay $25 or more knowing the money is going to a worthy cause? I know which one i'd prefer (the second one, if you were wondering). The festival now is like that old family dog you've had since you were a kid. You love it, but it's dying a slow death. Let's put the festival out of it's misery.

My Blog And Other Random Musings

So here is my blogspot, as you would know by now it's called shot down before my prime. Why did I choose this name? It was the lyrics from the song that was in my head at the time, I think the song is called 'Headfirst For Halos' by My Chemical Romance off the album 'I Bought You My Bullets, You Bought Me Your Love' this is the album cover below if you are interested.

SO after posting some mildly amusing things on facebook, which really only people from around here would find funny, I decided to create my own blog. Actually it was after my 'You Know When You Are From Ararat...' list that I put on facebook got picked up by someone and became internet spam that I though my own blog was due. I hope to keep this fairly up to date, but I am lazy so I may not. The topics will be random, maybe whatever's in the news, music, movies and tv, sport, some feeble attempt at humor and of course, local stuff that's happening in the Ararat Rural City region, so if you're keen to see what my random musings are then check them out, if not, then you are a clever person who would rather not waste the portoin of time it takes to read these and rather do something constructive. If so I applaud your good judgement.

Anyways, enough of the intro crap, onto the i'm sure highly anticipated random musings.

The Golden Gateway Festival is in full swing... I know, I can't believe i'm here on the computer when I could be out enjoying everything the festival has to offer like...um...well, there's that free lunchtime concert featuring Rodney Vincent.

Yes. Rodney Vincent. First of all I can't believe there are pictures of this guy on the net, and second of all, In my satirical pics I posted in the 2008 Golden Gateway Ball Event on facebook, I had a picture of the Delltones with the sarcastic 'The hippest bands play the Golden Gateway Ball' line. I seriously didn't think that could be outlamed but sure enough, the show society did it. I mean come on Rodney Vincent??? Really???? At least people still pay to see the Delltones, this guy has to put on FREE CONCERTS to bring the punters in. My next blog will be all about the Golden Gateway Festival, but this had to be mentioned.

I am a Simpsons fan, but seriously, it's lost it. At least they aren't shoving the Rich Texan and Lindsey neagle down our throats every episode anymore.

Seriously, I fucking hate these characters. And no Family Guy is not better. I like Family Guy too, but watch the 'Cartoon Wars Parts1 & 2' of Southpark and you'll see them satirise Family Guy to a t.

Great excitment here atm with the news that the Australian Prime Minister Mr Rudd may actually be paying a visit to the country that elected him.

I don't get Crocs, i'm sorry but I never will.

Check out this great website: http://www.bushorchimp.com/

That's it for now. I'll be back soon with more stupid crap. probably pictures with try hard captions or something.