Red Undies Week: May 22- 28, 2011

Supporting a charity rocks my world.

Especially if it's fun. And easy. And involves undies.

Charities these days seem to ask an awful lot of you. Grow it, shave it, paint it, put a ribbon on it… But this one asks you to put on some duds. I like it.

Kidney Health Australia is set to launch a fantastic new campaign in order to raise awareness of kidney disease.

A nation-wide epidemic, kidney disease is under-funded and under-exposed with more people suffering from kidney-related illness than breast cancer, prostate cancer and road fatalities.

Red Undies Week is kicking off week commencing May 22 and has some star power behind it: Tyler Atkins (who in fact suffers from a kidney disease), Scott McGregor, Sophie Falkiner, Laura Dundovic, Mike Goldman, Conrad Coleby, Bianca Dye, Jessica Moloney, Nacho Pop even ex-politician Kerry Chikarovski, with celebrity photographer Benn Jae (Lindsay Lohan/M.I.A).

Getting involved in Red Undies Week is really simple. From May 22 - 28, Aussies can get 'cheeky' by:

• Getting into the nearest LOWES store and buying specially marked 'Red Undies' - $5 from every sale will go towards Kidney Health Australia.

• Download the free iPhone App from the website http://www.redundiesweek.org.au/ get in your red knickers and submit your own ‘Red Undies’ photo online. Share your pic with your friends via Facebook, join the Red Undies Week FB group http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Undies-Week/129126663810649 or Twitter and be eligible to win some fab prizes – as well as giving your red undies (and kidney health) some decent exposure!

And look out for the fun new TVC – airing during 'kidney week'….


Kidney Health Australia is a non-profit organisation with a mission to advance the public health agenda through awareness, detection, prevention and management of kidney disease in Australia. http://www.kidney.org.au/

Kidney disease claims an astonishing 53 Australian lives a day – surprised? I was.

The woman behind the initiative is Juliet Potter, director of Girl PR. She explains why she got involved:

"As my son Ashley suffers from a degenerative kidney disease, I created Red Undies Week primarily due to the concerning lack of coverage in main-stream media in regards to kidney health.

"From a personal perspective, not even my own family and friends had a clue as to our situation and what exactly was wrong with Ashley, what were the preventions and/or cures. To think kidney disease is an epidemic in this country yet no one seems to know that a simple urine test can alert you to possible kidney failure is outrageous.

"This disease is known the silent killer as you can have 90% of your renal function fail before you even see a single symptom.

From a professional perspective; owning a PR agency, I was more than aware of the media's disinterest in the subject (Kim Kadashian gets more coverage - go figure!) so I approached Kidney Health Australia with a concept to make kidneys sexy and hopefully get some 'decent exposure' for this tragic disease within the community.

"We are hoping Red Undies Week will follow along the same lines as Movember and Pink Ribbon Day campaigns in raising awareness of this disease and to let the sufferers know they are supported.

"At the same time, we didn't want it to be overtly sexy or crude or too depressing given charity fatigue - just something light-hearted and fun enough to make people talk and hopefully get talking. Most people are surprised to hear the facts and staggering statistics. The ultimate aim here is to encourage a regular urine test at the same time as you may have your breasts/prostate/whatever checked regularly.

"Kidney disease affects people of all ages - babies, children, middle-aged and the elderly - and it can happen to YOU. We have to get the message out and I dearly hope this campaign will enable us to do so!"

Well done, Juliet. So what are you waiting for? Get involved!

Things Bogans Like - The Interview, with E. Chas McSween

This could quite possibly be the most excited I have been in posting an interview on Josie's Juice.

I came across this genius book some time ago, and lucky for me, one of the authors - E. Chas McSween - agreed to an interview.

If you haven't already read the book (hooked, I tell you), nor the blog (http://thingsboganslike.com/), you simply must.

Here's what 'Chas' (masked, above) had to say about all things bogan...

So, Karl Stefanovic. Gold Logie winner. Thoughts?

It stands to reason. The Logies have little to do with talent, or quality programming, or even being on TV (to wit, Lisa McCune won one year when she hadn’t been on a show for over 12 months), but what Karl did have was a self-promotional streak a mile-wide, a willingness to debase himself (although not as much as Mel and Kochie; remember jumping in the ambulance at Beaconsfield?) and most importantly, a political populism that he would happily display each and every morning. Anyone who watched those love-ins with the likes of Ray Hadley can figure out his appeal. Appeal to the bogan’s sense of superiority, and do it with bad, ever-so-slightly risqué jokes, and you’re on a winner. That, and channel nine obviously invested a heap in his win (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpEp0SD_Sx4), which means they probably have fifty more interns SMSing votes in from various phones for a few weeks. Persistence pays!

I was most relieved to read that there is a vast difference between the ‘harmless’ bogan and the aspirational bogan (I consider myself to show some traits of the former). Explain the distinction between the two to the masses.

In essence, the ‘bogan’ of yore was simply a means to label poor people with a pejorative, which always seemed crude and pretty callous to us. The word bogan is possibly the quintessential Australian insult, yet it was being wasted on a tired cliché. We felt almost driven to try to redefine it (although only in our own social circles), to something that defines a series of behaviours that are crass, consumerist and insular. I guess that’s why we always get a little upset when we’re accused of class warfare. We’d argue the opposite. I mean, we’re certainly engaging in some form of social stereotyping, but we’re actively against picking on a particular class. Bogan is as bogan does, not where you live or how much money you have.

How do you gather such extensive, accurate information? Surely, some of the authors behind ‘Things Bogan Like’ are closeted bogans?

Well, I don’t think any of us would accuse the other of being bogan if we bumped into each other as strangers, but many of us certainly grew up in environments that are, or have been areas of rampant bogan expansion – Outer Geelong, Melbourne’s south east, the LaTrobe Valley, Ballarat, and India (India has more aspirationalism than you’d think!). Also, in our day jobs, we do a lot of economic research, and the economic and marketing side of boganity today is an ongoing theme on the blog – the bogan achieves individualism by purchasing more maxtreme versions of the things its friends and family have.

I am most fond of the term you’ve coined: ‘maxtremeness’. Explain the concept to the uninitiated.

Haha, that term was coined on a road trip coming home from Adelaide. We’d just seen a new brand of energy drink at a road house (energy drinks being, perhaps, the greatest distillation of bogan themes in one product, except for perhaps men’s deodorant), and decided that while the bogan wanted to be extreme, it wanted to be the most extreme. It wanted to take extremity to the max. You can see where I’m going…

I’ve always thought of the bogan as white, Anglo, suburban, racist. But what happens when bogan traits cross over to the cashed-up wog (OTT weddings, doing your back in, buying ‘big things’)? How would you define this sub-group?

I wouldn’t even think it’s a sub-group. We’ve never specified ethnicity in defining the bogan, yet many readers and commenters have insinuated that we’re only mocking white Australia, which isn’t true. What is true is that Australia is a predominantly white country, and we’re mocking predominantly Australian behaviours, so it stands to reason that people will assume we’re focussing on Caucasian Australians. A good example is the boat people debate. The bogan response, automatically, is ‘stop boats’, but this isn’t simply white Australians who are saying this – it seems to be a particularly strong theme in immigrant communities too. That’s because the bogan knows it’s on to something good (Australia) and is disinclined to share it.

Much of your list makes me cringe – and laugh hysterically - because it’s so accurate: Chrisco, joining moronic Facebook groups, personalised number plates, Two and a Half Men. Have you had negative, maxtreme reactions from bogans (who’d like to “glass you, you c*nt?”)

Early on, we copped a bit of hate (we even received death threats from white supremacists – see the previous answer!), and every now and then, a new person will stumble across the blog and attempt a poorly composed and spelled rant, usually along the lines of “you guys wuldnt now a bogan if u fell over one! Your just latte-sipping intellectual dicks!” The premise being that people have an image in their heads of bogans that is (and this is important) not them, and when they see anything that they like on our list, they write abuse before reading the piece explaining its inclusion. Naturally, their opinion of a bogan is flannelette, moccasins and a stubby.

It’s also funny that they always spell ‘latte’ correctly.

Misspelling kids’ names. Hands down, my favourite of your bogan list. This has annoyed the crap out of me for years. Is this fuelling the bogan’s desire to be unique (just like everyone else)?

Yeah, that’s been far and away the most popular thing we wrote; it really touched a nerve. The point I always make with this is that it’s the spelling that’s important. Everyone mocks Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin for calling their kid Apple, for instance, but as the she’s growing up, her friends won’t really consider Apple an unusual name. Uncommon, sure, but no less weird than, say, ‘April’. One’s named for fruit, the other for a month. Big deal.

The problem is, the bogan lacks the imagination (or the courage) to give their child a genuinely interesting name, but, you’re right, the quest for uniqueness continues unabated. Thus, they’ll take a normal name – say Brianna – but twist it, to Breeyannah. The parents think they’ve bestowed a lifelong asset to their child, when in fact they’ve merely ensured that they’ll have to spell it out to EVERYONE. Forever. It’s just dumb.

Reality TV is the bogan’s idea of heaven. Do you imagine a day when this genre will ever die?

Not for a while. Even if the popularity fails, it’s so cheap to make that TV stations will always look for a new way to tweak the reality formula to target the bogan’s flailing synapses. One thing’s for sure, though, it’ll keep getting ‘bigger’ and shinier, and flashier until the whole thing implodes under its own insubstantiality.

Where to now for the bogan? What’s next for this species?

That’s actually a really interesting question. The whole cycle of boganity is speeding up so much that it’s getting hard to tell. The central themes and behaviours of the bogan will likely remain unchanged for decades; conspicuous consumption, bandwagon jumping, insularity, self-interest, social climbing, conformism and reactionary politics. But it used to be that you could predict which social trend the bogan would adopt and besmirch next, but the speed of fashion and social trends these days makes it harder and harder.

That is the physics of the universe though, the arc of history bends, but it bends towards bogans. As soon as something becomes popular, it’s only a matter of time until people are willing to pay for it, then change it to whatever it is that makes them comfortable, which is inevitably the thing they last bought. Call it what you will, it’s unstoppable, it seems. So I guess, look at whatever present trend is doing well, and is likely to cross over into the mainstream, and that’s the one that people will complain about being ruined by bogans before you notice. And then give up and move on.

Check in on bogan updates - including the brilliant 'Friday Boganomics' - here: http://thingsboganslike.com/

Is this the best marriage proposal ever?

Is this the best marriage proposal ever?

Watching this vid with a couple of good married pals of mine, I recalled their own proposal. She was a fashion student, and at her end of year fashion parade (hosted by TV host, Yumi Stynes) he decided to pop on stage... and pop the question.

The crowd went nuts. I still think it's the best marriage proposal I have witnessed. Actually, probably also the only one - apart from my own.

Tell - what was your marriage proposal like?

Be honest - was it a let down? Or does it still give you shivers of the good kind?

Share!

Butlers in the Buff: Christmas party tips

I adore PR parties!

They throw the best dos, with the most delish catering, spruik a client in the most exciting fashion... and often have hot cater waiters.

Butlers in the Buff are an outfit (ha!) which offer handsome wait staff with not much on. In these PC times, this is a little touch of good ol' fashioned perving. What's not to love?

Here they exclusively reveal for Josie's Juice some party tips for the impending silly season. Get your eyes off the photos for a minute and have a read!

TEN TIPS TO MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS PARTY A HIT!

Looking to throw a Christmas bash to remember this year? The team at Butlers in the Buff are here to help. They’ve put together their top Christmas party tips, and they should know! Peter Suttle, Director and Head Butler has attended hundreds of parties over the years in his role for Butlers in the Buff. Here are his suggestions for hosting a fabulous Christmas function to remember this year.

1. Holiday cheers – Make your drink choices reflect Christmas colours: Apple martinis, Cranberry vodkas, and Spicy chilled eggnog are a perfect way to spread the red, green and white Christmas cheer to all your mates!

2. Contests – Give your guests an incentive to dress up and have fun with a costume element. Put a twist on the cheeky Rubik’s cube party by having your guests show up in red, green or white, then get them to swap clothes with each other. The goal for the night is to swap articles of clothing until you are wearing one solid colour. Winner goes to the first person to achieve this.

3. Bridget Jones’ social etiquette – Remember when Shazza told Bridget how to introduce people with thoughtful details? This way, it will be easier for people to remember each other’s names and encourage your guests to mingle.

4. All fun and games – Drinking games are a good way to get party goers to loosen up and mingle. Choose a social game that can be played with a large group of people so no one who wants to play is left out. For those not drinking alcohol, invite them to join in with a mocktail or have them assign their drinks to other players.

5. Christmas carols – Nothing crashes a party harder than bad music. Make sure your music selection is upbeat and appeals to the majority of attendees. Bringing in a good DJ is always a nice touch. (Don’t be afraid to throw in a sappy Christmas song here and there.)

6. Keep your cool – Christmas time is usually hot! To ensure people at your party are passing drinks and not passing out, make sure the venue has air-conditioning or a place for guests to cool off, such as a balcony or pool.

7. Feast – Don’t let your guests go hungry! Food is always a good topic of conversation, especially around Christmas time. Barbecues are always popular and sure to appeal to the masses. If you are looking for something less messy, trays of canapés are easy to make, easy to pass around, easy to eat and easy to clean up. Which makes them the perfect party food!

8. The Grinch who stole the party– Behind every great party is great host. This means taking care of your guests; not having them take care of you. Avoid over indulging on drinks. Know your limit. This will save you from embarrassment and instead allow you to enjoy all of the night’s hilarious moments. Try not to stress too much about following a set plan. Parties are supposed to be fun for all attendees including you! Have fun and smile. No one likes a Christmas Grinch.

9. Mistletoe – Don’t be afraid to strategically place some mistletoe under a doorway. This is sure to provide some laughs throughout the evening with anyone caught standing under the mistletoe forced to kiss.

10. Santa’s little helpers – Invite Butlers in the Buff to cater your event! Having a handful of gorgeous men dressed in Christmas attire is the perfect way to provide excellent, fun service for all party goers. Butlers in the Buff will ease your stress so you can enjoy the party with your guests. Whether they’re pouring drinks, serving food, or just opening the door to amazed guests, you will delight in seeing your guests pleasantly entertained.

Follow these ten tips and make it a Christmas party sure to remember! Your friends will be begging you to throw the next one!

For more information about Butlers in the Buff visit http://www.butlersinthebuff.com.au/