Not That Kind of Girl.

Lena Dunham is not that type of girl and nor will she ever be; she is the creator, writer, director and star of HBO's award winning TV show GIRLS ... and she is also friends with Taylor Swift (that should really be included on her Wikipedia page under achievements).

If you do not know who Dunham is but you once watched a season, an episode or even just five minutes of GIRLS then she was probably the naked one or the one self diagnosing herself with rare diseases via Google. Dunham has always allowed herself to be an open book and now she is literally an open book (well she's written a book that you can open). 

I bought Not That Kind of Girl within three days of it being released, as did most girls who are looking for some type of guidance or a way to feel a little bit better about the many mistakes they've made thus far as the blurb promises to  "prevent you from having the kind of sex where you feel you must keep your sneakers on in case you want to run away."

I read the book in an attempt to feel better about some of my not-so-great choices and instead ended up relating to it a whole lot more then I ever wanted to admit. The collection of essays that make up this book are hilarious and at the same time tragic, with titles like:

Take My Virginity (No Really, Take It), 

18 Unlikely Things I've Said Flirtatiously, 

My Internet Boyfriend Died And So Can Yours, 

Who Moved My Uterus?,

13 Things I've Learned Are Not Okay To Say To Friends, 

Guide To Running Away.

You laugh and you cringe through this entire book because Dunham presents us with life, no gimmicks, no embellishments, just twenty-something-year-olds trying to simultaneously survive the perils of university and Tinder. 

-A

*Mosaik does not take any credit for the images used in this article

'Tis the festival season!

Summer. 'tis the season for festivals, camping and celebrating good music, art and the new year. After going to both Meredith and being a part of the Lorne leg of Falls, I feel that it is necessary to detail exactly what should be brought along to future camping festivals.

1. Selfie stick

Simply a must. Essential, really. How else are you going to take a #selfie in a way that disrupts as many patrons as possible? The Selfie stick is ideal for this purpose, being able to extend to 46 inches and hit other festival goers in the face as you wave it around. Excellent.

2. Phones

It's not truly camping unless you are constantly relaying every event back to your friends via 4G and Snapchat. Bonus points for sharing your drunken shenanigans as boisterously as possible while the headline acts are playing. Definitely the time for it.

3. Glitter

Put it everywhere. No, really. You have not truly been to a festival until you and everything you own, from your boyfriend to your tent are still covered in the magic shiny dust for days afterwards. Will these hands ever be clean? (No. No they won't)

4. Foghorns, whistles and the like

Many people view camping at festivals as a challenge. They see that they will be living in very close vicinity with a few thousand other people who share their taste in music and their willingness to brave the elements for the sake of A Good Time. Some may think "I can meet so many new and awesome people!" Others laugh at these types of thinkers. Not that their laughter can be heard. It's being drowned out by the foghorn they're blowing in your face at 3am.

5. Clothes

Who checks the forecast these days? Why should I? I'm going to a festival by the beach in an Australian Summer. Now is the time for crochet knit crop tops, singlets, shorts and thongs. Definitely thongs. I want my feet to be able to breathe when I'm surrounded by 16,000 other people in a mosh. Nothing can go wrong.

Forget the tarps, tents and baby wipes that others will tell you are essential. This is truly the only list you need for your camping festival preparations.

- T

  

 

For me, summer and festivals go hand in hand, but the Byron Bay Falls Festival was like no other. It was an experience of many firsts; my first camping festival, my first time road tripping through Victoria and New South Wales and seeing the sights and scenery our beautiful country has to offer.

The festival itself was located at North Byron Parklands, which is 660 acres of parkland. Hills and valleys and luscious foliage greeted us each time we entered the festival area. And every night at the Valley Stage, the thousands of people gathered to watch each act amazed me. I felt so infinitely small in such a sea of people.

The lead up to our New Years first was Salt ‘N’ Pepa, who I was so excited for and surprisingly sounded awesome 20 years after making it big. But we brought in the New Year with Alison Wonderland and a sprinkling of rain (that later turned to an absolute down pour), which was so refreshing after a long day of being in the sun.

Being an absolute shortie, I am not much of a mosher, because all I can see is sweaty heads and backs. But I joined my friends to mosh twice, for Run the Jewels and Joey Bada$$, and hands down there were two highlights of the festival. I knew barely any of their songs (shocking considering I call myself a hip hop fan) but we made it to the first couple of rows in the mosh and they were insane. Literally, sweaty bodies everywhere, but there was such a buzz.

Tkay Maidza was another act I was super excited for, and she killed it! I dare say she sounded so much better live as a result of the atmosphere she had created within the crowd.

Out of the dance acts, Empire of the Sun did not disappoint and Glass Animals were such an awesome chill act during the day. Vance Joy and the Kite String Tangle made the morning sessions, that much more bearable and soothing after minimal sleep. However, the crowd went nuts, when Vance Joy performed both Riptide and Mess is Mine and the energy surrounding just lifted.

The Temper Trap were great as always, so many great hits and they always perform with such high energy. Then we finished the end of our 3 day festival with watching Alt-J, who again performed with an awesome energy and the crowd soaked up every moment!

Despite the constant sweating, hours of freeway driving and stench of the drop toilets, I would do Byron Bay Falls Festival again in a heartbeat. It was an awesome way to finish 2014 and bring in the 2015 with a bang.

P.S If you ever have the opportunity, always get crazy face paint done at a festival; it will not disappoint

- S.P

Reader Favourite Three Words

My three favourite words are "I'd love to", because as we head into our adult years/our twenties, I know I have been living life in constant doubt, due to bad friendships and relationships in the past. Once you've been hurt that many times, you kind of find it hard to trust someone completely. But as soon as they say those words after you ask them something, "I'd love to", you know, that without a doubt, that this is a good person, that they want to be there, to help, to accompany you etc, whatever it is. And in that moment, you learn to stop doubting everyone.

- C

My three favourite words are "[we're] proud of you". To know that someone is proud of you is one of my favourite pieces of knowledge to hold. Pride in oneself is one of the my biggest motivators. Last  year, three months after turning 18, I moved out of home and to a city that is three hours away from my parents. It has been an emotional roller-coaster, and there has been numerous times where I will call my Mum and Dad in tears because I miss them and living away from your parents is hard. However, they never fail to mention every time that I speak to them, how proud of me they are. Then I start crying happy tears instead.

And you know what? I'm pretty proud of me, too.

- G

My three favourite words are "Let's do something". Not as sentimental as most three worded statements, but what I love about these three words is all the possibilities they present. Growing up I always felt super restricted from doing things spontaneously, because I would always have to ask for permission and what I wanted to do and where I went was always under consideration by those in charge of me. Of course this is a normal procedure of growing up, but to me the world seems so big and I've seen and experienced so little of it, there is so much to conquer. "Let's do something" exhilarates me to seize every opportunity and await in complete anticipation for the happenings that will emerge from those words. The best part about these words is that you will always have a partner in crime to join you on the multiple possibilities "let's do something" will lead to.

- D

People Profile: Great John Himself

My first experience of roots rock band Great John Himself was while seeing them play in an inter-school talent competition in 2011. Even then their sound struck me as different and awesome and since then I have been graced by their lively on stage presence many times at local festivals and bars. Great John's six members - Francis, Edward, Damon, Will, Ben and Joel, create energy filled tunes with a blend of rock, ska and blues sounds. I had a chat to them about who they are as a band and what they've been up to recently. 

So who are you?

Great John Himself is a frame of mind, a way of life and a band. We play a blend of rock, roots, blues and ska music with the intention of making people laugh, drink and dance together.

How did you guys come to begin playing together?

We started in high school with the intention of being a blues band, but then gradually took on a little bit of everyone's personality and it became its own thing entirely.

Have you had any big ‘turning points’ in your time together as a band?

Making the grand final of the FReeZA Push Start Battle of the Bands was big for us and got us a spot on the 2014 Pushover lineup. The addition of our sixth member earlier this year was a big thing for us too. Joel fills a large void within John that we had previously been unable to satisfy.

What are your major musical (or otherwise) influences?

Lorde is and will always be the biggest influence on how we choose to live our lives. Musically however, Talking Heads, Reel Big Fish, Cake and Tim Minchin are all acts we're big fans of. Still not as much as Lorde though.

Who is John?

John is not in fact a person, but a feeling. You could compare it to the joy of putting on a newly washed pair of jeans and finding a $10 note in the pocket or the rush of smelling a freshly opened tin of tennis balls.

What do you like about the new single?

Turd In the Punchbowl is our first recording as a six piece and is probably the closest we have gotten so far to capturing our live show in a recording. It's something we're all quite happy with.

If you were to sum up your band in 3 words what would they be?

Friendship. Teamwork. Love.

Where do I get one of those cool Great John bottle openers I see everyone with?

We'll always have a box of them with us when we play and at least one on each of our key rings. You can thank Emilio Borrelli for them.

How can we find out more about you?

Our Facebook page is the best means of keeping up with all things Great and John and our Bandcamp page has all of our music to date. For our opinions on all things Moonee Valley, you can find us as the face of March 2015 in the Moonee Valley Council calendar.

You can also catch Great John Himself live at the Brunswick Hotel on the 15th of January, the Vineyard on the 29th of January and Moomba Festival on the 8th of March 2015. Further details can be found on their Facebook page.

-B

*Mosaik does not take credit for any of the images used in this article

14 Things I Learnt in 2014

Every year I used to make a New Year’s resolution but I never stuck to any of them. Then this year I decided to get myself a journal and start a list of things I wanted to do in 2014 and add to that list and carry that list on for as many years as I wanted, allowing it to change as I changed.

I have things like "learn how to blow bubble gum", "skydive" or "go to every Disneyland". 

As I slowly make my way through the list I feel like I learn more about myself. As the New Year approaches I would like to reflect on the year that has been and the things I have learnt and the mistakes I have made.

So here it is, 14 things I have learnt from 2014. 

1. Sometimes not getting what you want is a wonderful stroke of luck

2. Big girls do cry 

 A lot. Probably more than little girls. 

3. Death is as unpredictable as life

4. Being unapologetic and ambitious is OK

Never apologise for who you are or what you want because you have every right to want it and if you work hard enough you have the ability to get it.

5. It’s OK to love your imperfect body

Thanks Lena Dunham for that one!

Ever since becoming seriously addicted to HBO's Girls and seeing Lena Dunham sans bra from every angle I no longer feel uncomfortable about my imperfect self.

6. Kissing is great (but the person you're kissing might not be)

And their kissing might not be so great either. 

7. Karaoke is only fun when you know all the words

WARNING: You don't know ALL the Beyoncé song, you just know the chorus.

8. Sometimes falling helps you know where you stand

Yes, it’s embarrassing and you realise you might be a little more drunk then you thought but at least when someone comes over to pick you up you know where you stand. 

9. Fall in love with yourself first
Cause you're stuck with that person for a really long time. 

10. Everyone’s life is as vivid and complex as your own

11. Make mistakes
It is better to fail miserably than not to try at all

12. Taking risks pays off.  

13. Being sober at a bar is really hard
Me: Could I just get a glass of Coke 
Barman: Coke and Rum?
Me: No just Coke 
Barman: With Rum?
Me: Coke and Rum, without the Rum.

14. Have Fun
and live as only you can

Happy New Year!

- A

*Mosaik does not take credit for any of the images used in this article