Bushfire update

[bop_radar]

The bad news
- Our water and gas supplies are under threat.
- Up to 100 people, a fifth of the town's population, may have died in Marysville, and firefighters had to turn away to save themselves. This news chilled me afresh. Marysville was one of my favourite 'getaway' spots, as it was for so many Melburnians. Just an hour or so from the city, in beautiful forests, with a spectacular waterfall.
- A million animals may have died.

The reality
- Photos from a volunteer firefighter.
- The strength of the fire likened to 500 nuclear bombs.

The good news
- More than $50 million raised in the bushfire appeal.
- Famous koala 'Sam' (shown in the photo in my previous post) recovering and finding love!

Personally I filled two cars full of donations (sheets, towels, food containers, pet food) for the RSPCA today.

Most of all I want to thank my AMAZING friends online who have given so generously already. I'm overwhlemed by the response to my vid auction--especially by those who just wrote to say they would donate regardless. No words are enough to thank you guys, no matter the size of your donation. I can't speak for the victims or the organisations, but as an Australian, a Victorian, I am deeply touched.

I will stop posting about this at some stage, I promise!

(Oh, and as is probably obvious, I've postponed my February Vidding Project in light of these events.)

Comments

[droolfangrrl.livejournal.com]

*sneaks some Guinea Pig kisses and hugs to you and yours*

I'm glad that you're ok for now. Take Care, eh?

[daybreak777.livejournal.com]

Hugs to you and all of those helping. It's heartening to see people all pulling together. I really hope rains come soon.

Keep taking care of yourself, Boppy. And keep posting as long as you like.

[carpenyx.livejournal.com]

*hugs*

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

[serenography.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the update, K. My heart is with all of you.

I still haven't heard from my friend. I'm starting to get worried. :(

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Oh no! I hope you hear from them soon. Is there anything I can do?

[serenography.livejournal.com]

I finally did hear from her and thankfully, she and her family are all doing fine. She said she does live in a very bushy area, but only 5 minutes from the beach, which is a nice safe haven if ever necessary.

Thanks, K.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

That's awesome! I'm relieved. It's a lovely area down there.

[indigo419.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I am glad you are safe. I am so sorry for all the losses, for all the lives and memories and history gone.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around what has been happening. Still working on my response, but in the meantime I am grateful for you and everyone on my flist who has put this in context and kept it from being buried in a heap of news items.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your kind words--and I understand: it's actually very hard to come up with the words for this situation.

[tigergal05.livejournal.com]

A big appreciation on the status of the wildfires, and also a plus to you for bringing in a dose of optimism to the current situation, of which I am sure isn't an easy thing to do especially for you and yours. Keep well and I think we will all be looking for frequent updates from you :-)

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! *hugs*

[svgurl.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I'm glad that you're safe but I'm sorry that you all are experiencing all this devastation. I appreciate the updates and I hope things look up for you.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! That is very thoughtful of you. Things do seem to be easing and allowing time to get aid to the devastated communities.

[thrace-adama.livejournal.com]

*Hugs* I know nothing can make this better, but I hope you know we're all just glad to help in any way we can. Post about this as often as you need or want to--I appreciate the updates.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The response of my friends on LJ has been so touching and I think everyone here in Melbourne feels better to be doing something to help.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Oh my dear, I can imagine how dreadful it is to see a place that you've visited often so terribly devastated! The wildlife pics are the only bearable things to come out of all of this, so thanks for the link.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

I must admit the wildlife stories of survival help me feel more positive too. For every tragic story there are others of animals walking out of the ashes or horses miraculously still alive in a burned out paddock.

[millari.livejournal.com]

Wow. Those stats really got me in a way none of the fleeting news headlines I've seen have managed to do.

I hope that this work you're doing to get stuff donated is giving you some sense of agency. You have such a big heart. I remember that from when you helped me get daybreak777's birthday gift.

I will check out your vid auction. I may not be able to afford it, and may just end up donating a bit of money anyway, as others have said they'll do.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for your kind words and for donating anything you can manage. It is giving me a sense of agency though it's one of those things where nothing is enough... however, the aid agencies are overflowing with goods now so I think everyone's generosity has paid off and will hopefully go a long way to making the people who have lost their homes and loved ones' lives easier. Even if they are living in tents right now!

[grapefruitzzz.livejournal.com]

Oh dammit, those poor koalas have made me cry, which isn't fair on people but that's random pms emotions for you. They said on the news that there was a big telethon the other day with big donations from Nicole Kidman etc.

It's awful if it turns out that a person started it.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Yes, two big telethons and a cricket match, and so many other events being put on to help--everything from my local pub to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Not all the fires were deliberately lit but the Marysville one may have been and they've caught someone in Gippsland.

[hazyshade.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I haven't been around on LJ but you've all been in my thoughts. I'm so glad you're safe, but just devastated at the scale and cost of all this.
I think the auction is a wonderful idea. :) I won't be able to top that highest bid, but I will donate.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I honestly didn't expect it to get that high and I'm so touched that so many people are donating what they can manage. *hugs*

[talitha78.livejournal.com]

I can't afford to buy you (hee!), but I did make a donation to the RSPCA today. I feel so bad about what's happened, and am glad to help in some small way.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! *hugs* We dropped off a carload of stuff at the Lort Smith Animal Hospital in Melbourne this morning and they were thrilled--they are going to liaise with Wildlife Victoria to distribute the goods where they are needed. We even brought in beanies that someone had donated and apparently these will be very helpful for orphaned baby possums--awwww!

[pali167.livejournal.com]

Oh god. *HUGE hugs*

The news from Australia is so devastating. I keep trying to think of ways to raise money (or supplies) in my community to help, but where I live fundraisers are somewhat difficult to organize. (I don't know many any people, so it's hard to get started.) I'll keep at it, though.

You take care of yourself and post when you feel like it. *hugs again*

(Also, not a good idea to watch BSG. Just wanted to pass that message along to you. I know you're probably busy with other, more important, things, but still.)

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! Thank you for even thinking of doing anything. The good news is that the appeals have been overwhelmingly successful and heartening.

Thanks for the BSG warning--I kind of already guessed that. I gather it's all about Sam being a Very Special Snowflake, which is nothing I ever want to watch. I think I'll wait and watch it later because really I don't need that in my life right now (and yes, I haven't had time for TV yet this week anyway).

[pali167.livejournal.com]

Sam being a Very Special Snowflake

*snorts*

He is a very, very special snowflake, isn't he? (God, you said that and my mind went to Twilight's Bella. Because there was this fantastic parody a few months back and it said the exact same thing about Bella. Ahem.)

I also feel like sharing that I feel like I'm all alone in how I feel about the episode and its content. I mean, I know that everyone's entitled to their opinion and lots of viewers still enjoy the show but dear GOD, does nobody feel the way I do, to the extent I do? I feel so... cornered. Hopefully that won't be the case once you've seen the episode. Uh... you know what I mean.

Also, I got a slap on the wrist by way of a friend's post because my instant reaction to BSG was a bit... vehement. I mean, I put actual spoilers behind a cut, but apparently even general reactions (a la yours for SV ("Requiem," I think?)) are spoilery to her. That kind of irks me, since now I have to really moderate my posts, but what can you do?

*sigh*

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

I've been spoiled (voluntarily) for some of the content of this episode and it sounds like nothing I ever want to watch. But I hear there's some chance that Sam gets labotomised, to which I say hahahahahahahahahahaha, that won't really make much difference will it?! :D Yes, I am that far gone when it comes to Sam and I don't even care. People that can't see that Sam illustrates everything that is wrong with BSG are just blind as far as I'm concerned. If it was Sam alone.... well, maybe I'd still like the show and just dislike him. But it's not. Sam is just a small part of the wanky heroism that has become part of the show's armory. Bleugh.

I'm sorry you got slapped, but I'm a bit torn. I do get annoyed by people spoiling me with their emotional reactions. I mean, if I know that someone's a big Kara fan and they're all 'WHOO HOO this was AWESOME!' then I can tell in advance something about the episode. That's just how it is. So yeah, that does annoy me--it's why I don't go on my f'list up to 48 hours before I get to see the episode. But once it's aired... I think that kind of emotional reaction is a bit more allowable, and yeah, I do it myself. (Though with 'Requiem' you'd have no clue what I was reacting about--in fact it was Clois, Clana, Lana, Oliver, Clark, Cloliver, Clex and Lex. Good GOD that episode was a trainwreck! *relives*).

[pali167.livejournal.com]

Oh, can I spoil you about Sam? Can I? CAN I? PLEASE? I really really really want to!

And I second your "won't make much of a difference." I actually said something similar in my reaction post. I also agree with you on Sam being a representation of so much that has gone wrong with the show, though I draw the line at everything because I don't think he deserves that much credit. I agree that he illustrates much of the characterization and exposition failures, but not everything since the show was already heading downhill before he came back to be Kara's Very Special Snowflake and Personal Farm Machine. (Don't get me started on how annoyed I am that Sam got brought back because Katee changed her line from "I'll try to come back" to "I'm coming back" and because she said she liked working with Trucco. Because, y'know, RAGE.)

I understand spoiling from emotional reactions, which is what happened here. But the thing is, my flist has to know that I'm only watching the show out of obligation. They have to know that I hate this season. So it bugs me that people are telling me to put responses behind a cut (albeit very politely) because I'm making them angry at an episode before they can watch. Honestly, if I've been posting about how much I'm not looking forward to BSG and how I've been disappointed in the season, don't you think that it's pretty much a guarantee I'll hate a new episode? I just think that, since my flist is aware of my feelings, they should know that I react strongly and am rage-y over season four.

Of course, I still understand her view. I do feel bad about emotionally spoiling her, and I did put the entire post behind a cut, and plan to do so in the future, but still. It's kind of annoying that I have to. Oh well. I'll get over it in, like, a day. ;p

I actually caught the end of "Requiem" because SV is the lead-in to SPN, which is my new favorite show. So I understand that there was something about how Clark wanted to still be friends with Lana, but she didn't think it was a good idea, and then there was a kiss, and Clark got really ugly and collapse, and Lana was all teary and ran out of the barn. (Dude, that barn is still a set? They're still resolving the Clark and Lana storyline? That same stuff was there in SEASON TWO, which is where I stopped watching. The writers still haven't moved Clark on from Lana to Lois by season EIGHT? These writers insult the Superman world. Of course, I'm rather uninformed because I've only seen two seasons. And my favorite thing about those seasons was Lex, who is awesome. <3)

Ahem. I am a very talkative person Boppy, in case you hadn't noticed. ;)

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Hahaha, you crack me up! :) I think you should spoil me, but do so by Private Message, to avoid annoying anyone else. ;)

I'm probably the worst person to speak to about spoiling others as I am an obsessive spoilerphobe, and will do almost anything to avoid spoilers (but part of that is blacklisting people who I think *might* spoil me, including some of my close friends--including, *ahem* you!, for 48 hours prior to an ep, so I do kind of think there's some personal responsibility there too). See, there's always the chance (HA!) that it might be ok, in which case I don't want to be spoiled. But if my friends are all :( my heart sinks and it's over before it starts.

Anyway! I think we should PM each other and do mutual rants. I'll tell you what sucks about SV if you tell me just how appallingly Special Snowflake-y Sam is in this episode. :D :D :D Do we have it confirmed that he is Bob Dylan, or is the guitar still Unexplained?! (Hearing about it from you sounds SOOOO much better than actually watching it!)

[pali167.livejournal.com]

Aw, you blacklist me after an episode? That hurts... Oh well, I can't say I blame you. ;) Though don't worry, obsessive spoilerphobe, you no longer have to since I promised to put all reactions under a cut now.

I'm definitely willing to tell you all about BSG's Very Special Snowflake Named Sam who hails from the Clan of Crappy Characters and the Board of Bad Exposition, but I need to go to bed now. I've been up all day and am very tired. :(

First thing in the morning Boppy! (After I rewatch the episode to make sure I'm giving accurate information. *weeps in anticipated pain* The things I do for you, Boppy. ;p)

... I just realized that I did nothing today. I mean, I cleaned and everything, but I didn't do anything special. It's Valentines Day and I didn't go out or anything. Oops?

*still is madly in love with all your icons*

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

You're only blacklisted between the time when YOU see it and the time that *I* see it. ;) That varies from 12 hours to 48 or so depending on my weekly apathy level. :p So not very long! I figure it's my responsibility to stay spoiler free in that time.

the Board of Bad Exposition
Hahaha, yeah someone described it to me as 'Sam explains a lot of shit on behalf of the Final Five' and my reaction was: why SAM?! I can't wait! *exaggerated eyeroll*

Alright: tomorrow, you're on! ;)