Enter me, dramatic fashion

I'm not dead!
Yeah, if I was ... you wouldn't be having the joy of listening to me right now :D

So much you guys have missed out on. So I'll describe the highlights of the year:
- EFY in Canberra
- Getting back to school and seeing everyone
- Awesome holiday at a resort in Salamandar Bay
- I discovered roller derby!!!!! (More on that later)
- Getting my own skates
- School Certificate (not that I'd call it a highlight, though)
- Australia dominated hockey in the Commonwealth Games :D
- Playing for three hockey teams this year :D
- Paramore came to Australia!
- Driving ... hehehe
- And now ... we have a week to Christmas!

It sure doesn't feel like a week til Christmas. No way. But I know that when I wake up on Christmas Day, I'll probably still be the first one up. Cos that's what happened last year, and the year before ... It didn't feel like Christmas until I woke up, full of energy, first one up as I always am on Christmas.
My Christmas list:
- Outdoor skate wheels!
And some books, lol.

Awesome music that came out this year:
- The Cat Empire's latest album, "Cinema"
- Short Stack's song "Planets"
- The McClymonts' latest album "Wrapped Up Good" (country music, lol)
- Eminem's latest album, "Recovery"
- Jimmy Eat World's latest album, "Invented"
- Bat For Lashes feat. Beck's "Let's Get Lost" (it's on the Eclipse Soundtrack ...)
- Eurovision 2010!!!!!! SO MANY GOOD SONGS!!!!!! Especially Lena, lol. And InCulto (watch InCulto's entry. You will NOT regret it :D)


I won't make a list of movies, cos I only went to the cinemas twice this year. I never go that often, which doesn't bother me one bit. But I must say, "Resident Evil: Afterlife" rocked my socks off. And "Despicable Me" was pretty awesome.
And there's a movie coming out next year by Joss Whedon! :D
There's also gonna be a Buffy movie too, apparently, but that probably won't be that good. Joss Whedon isn't in on it. So I refuse to call it canon!
Oh - Buffy season 8 is comic form :D And so is Angel's latest season. SO GOOD.

OK. New topic. ROLLER DERBY.
It began in late 1800's and early 1900's as an endurance race on skates (quads, cos they were the only skates they had back then). In the 1930's Leo Seltzer emphasised the physical contact and the teamwork of it ... and it became very much like pro wrestling. It was very popular entertainment during the Depression, but when TV appeared, interest died out.
In early 2000's, the roller derby was reborn. Responsibility for this rebirth is spread among a few leagues, but the most often contributed to the TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls (from Texas). In a very short time, this sport has spread all over the world - I'm not gonna try to count how many leagues there are in the US but Australia has at least 50.
These days, most "bouts" are played on a flat track, but there are some banked track leagues. Emphasis is on the athletic aspect - no scripted action whatsoever. However, players still enjoy dressing up for bouts ("boutfits") and taking awesome names (e.g. "Demonica Mars", "Rushin' Revolution").
For an explanation of the rules, see:

We have a league here in Newy! Newcastle Roller Derby League. I've been along to their social skates on Saturdays, and I've been to a bout. Totally awesome bout it was :D
If you want to watch some action over the net, I'd recommend Gotham Girls Roller Derby's bouts. GGRD is an AWESOME league - they came first in the WFTDA's championships in '08 and third this year. (The WFTDA is the association that makes most of the rules etc for most flat track leagues in the world).

I think I shall wrap up here. You should have a lot on your mind now :D
Merry Christmas, all!