Posted on 18, January, 2013
Dear Billy,
How do you think Toadie from Neighbours will fare on Celebrity Big Brother UK?
Cheers,
Taylor
Hey Taylor,
Look, I’m not sure how it works, but I’m pretty sure the producers of “celebrity” Big Brother UK won’t allow the good people at Lite ‘N Easy to deliver all of his meals. So my bet is he’s going to do something to get him kicked out of the house so he can quickly return to Ramsay Street and solve all of the residents’ legal issues.
Except the forgivably evil Paul Robinson, who hires expensive lawyers.
I know you didn't ask for advice but as an advice columnist I feel I need to say – please, please, work on getting yourself a life, Taylor. There are much better uses of your time, I promise.
BTB
Dear Billy,
Is a chicken really delivered to a community?
Cheers,
Gaby
Gaby – thank you for such an intelligent question! When an Oxfam supporter buys a chicken card they are supporting our livelihoods programs across the globe, many of which have chickens in them. So the money is spent buying not only chickens, but other aspects of the program like training on how to take care of chickens, immunisation, materials to create chicken coops, as well as support for other livelihoods programs like gardening utensils and account management training for new businesses. Actually, it’s all explained here by someone much more articulate than myself.
BTB
Dear Billy,
OK, what about this – will I travel with work this year?
Cheers,
Gaby
I’m not really a clairvoyant, Gaby - I just give incredibly sage advice. But as a valued customer I've dusted off my magic 8 ball and it said ... "It is certain". So take from that what you will.
BTB
Dear Billy,
Will my little sister give birth to a boy or girl in May?
Cheers,
Gaby
Um. Why not, yes. In fact, it is certain.
BTB
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19 December, 2012
Posted on 19, December, 2012
Dear Billy,
I'm really sick of being overly materialistic at Christmas, do you have any ideas on ways I can get back to the real meaning of Christmas? It would be great if this could also cover off gift giving for my family at the same time.
Regards,
Jean
Are you serious? This is my first question? I’m the fresh face of a charity’s awesome online gift-in-lieu store and this is what you’re asking me? What do you think I’ll tell you, Jean? If that’s even you’re real name. Next!
BTB
Dear Bad-tempered billy,
A bit of background: My last office Christmas party was a cruise down the Yarra. At first it was immensely fun, with my colleagues bonding over shared office gripes and champagne. But it took a drastic turn for the worse when the DJ refused to play my song request, and as an act of protest I locked myself in the bathroom for the duration of the festivities. I only relented when I was ordered off the ship by the captain, long after the party was over and the ship had docked for the night. I *may* have needed assistance walking.
Whilst I did provide our office with talking points to get them through the cruel month of January, do you have any suggestions on how to approach the festive season with more decorum this year?
Cheers,
Alexis
Now we’re talking! Thanks Alexis for blindly trusting me with your decorum. Unfortunately though I can only use my past Christmas party experiences to provide you with a list of what not to do this year:
1. Avoid your secret crush. It won’t end like it does in the British version of “The Office” or “Love Actually”.
2. Avoid your boss. At all costs.
3. Sip politely on light beer.
4. Don’t get naked. Now this we could not help at our staff party because everyone in my office always walks around with nothing on. Because we’re goats. Here’s a photo of me, my boss, my office crush and this incredibly annoying girl who sits opposite me. All naked.
Cheers,
BTB
Dear goat,
Help! I’m worried the world will end according to the Mayan calendar on the 21st of December and need advice on how to spend my last days on earth.
Gary
Gary,
Please see my answers to Alexis above, but do the opposite. By the way – if the world doesn’t end on the 21st of December, never call me by my last name again. You’re not my teacher at a private school. Sir.
Cheers,
BTB
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Colour in sheet for kids! And those who never got their pen licence...
Posted on 13, December, 2012
Unwrapped Colour In!Finally! A colour in sheet with a cute picture of a goat on it! Click on the link to the left and download your colour in sheet now!
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More 4 Me announces Hoyts nationwide theatrical release
Posted on 13, September, 2012
Creation Box Films is proud to announce that its debut international award-winning feature film More 4 Me has secured a nationwide theatrical release with the cinema chain Hoyts, through distributor Heritage HM.
The documentary will screen on eight screens nationwide across Australia, commencing Sunday 7 October 2012.
As part of a Hoyts family-friendly program, More 4 Me will screen fortnightly on Sunday afternoons across the country at the following Hoyts Cinemas - Cinema Paris (Sydney), Mount Druitt (Sydney), Chadstone (Melbourne), Eastland (Melbourne), Sunnybank (Brisbane), Tea Tree Plaza (Adelaide), Belconnen (Canberra) and Carousel (Perth).
The announcement comes after a string of international success for the film including receiving applause from the international film industry at the 2012 Cannes Film Market earlier this year.
More 4 Me opened the weekend of the 2012 Australian Film Festival with festival organisers commenting: “Amazing eye-opener! Lincoln Fenner (Writer/Director) is Australia's answer to cutting edge US doco maker Michael Moore”.
The documentary won the Times Square Audience Award for Best Documentary at the New York City International Film Festival last year after screening in New York's Times Square and Tribeca Cinemas.
In the face of the global financial crisis, More 4 Me follows Writer/ Director Lincoln Fenner on a global journey across five continents in search of why we constantly have a craving for 'more'.
Fenner has committed to continue donating 75% of any of his film producer profits from the Hoyts Cinema release to the aid organisations in the film. Last year Creation Box Films Pty Ltd was able to donate AUD$11,000 across the five major charities featured in the film, which included World Vision, Compassion, Oxfam, Samaritan's Purse and One Laptop Per Child.
For more details regarding the upcoming Hoyts session times of More 4 Me, please visit www.more4memovie.com
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More 4 Me screening at Cannes Film Market 2012
Posted on 10, May, 2012
Creation Box Films is proud to announce that its debut international award-winning feature documentary More 4 Me will screen at the 2012 Cannes Film Market this month, represented by Moon Shadow Films (New York).
Aleta Chappelle from Moon Shadow Films said she was inspired by the documentary. “It is so well put together and I love the many messages it conveys. It made me think how I can do more for the greater good of those who have so little.”
Chappelle, who has worked on The Godfather: Part III and Nutty Professor, was also impressed by the work the film is doing for charity, saying she was excited to be representing More 4 Me at this year’s Cannes Film Market.
The film recently opened the weekend of the Australian Film Festival during which organisers compared it to the work of Michael Moore.
Last year the documentary also won the Times Square Audience Award for Best Documentary at the New York City International Film Festival.
In the face of the global financial crisis, More 4 Me follows writer/director Lincoln Fenner as he travels across five continents in search of why we constantly crave for ‘more’.
From the outset, Fenner set a mandate to donate 75% of the film’s profits to the aid organisations (including Oxfam) in the film. As a result, last year Creation Box Films Pty Ltd was able to donate AUD$11,000 across the five major charities featured in the film.
More 4 Me will screen at the Cannes Film Market (Palais F) at 1730 (5:30pm) on 23 May 2012.
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More 4 Me signs international broadcasting agreement
Posted on 26, March, 2012
Creation Box Films is proud to announce that it has secured an international distribution agreement for its award winning debut feature-length documentary, More 4 Me.
The agreement with Pineapple Media includes television broadcasting rights in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
Writer/Director Lincoln Fenner made the announcement at the film’s Sydney premiere. More 4 Me opened the weekend of the recent Australian Film Festival at the Randwick Ritz Cinema ahead of the AACTA winner Red Dog.
Pineapple Media Managing Director, Richard Attieh said he was “proud to be working with Lincoln and the team at Creation Box Films on a project which so brilliantly challenges social convention”.
Attieh also praised the inspirational film’s accolades to date - including the Times Square Audience Award for Best Documentary at the New York City International Film Festival - saying they are well deserved.
According to Attieh, Pineapple Media found a natural alignment with Fenner and his position on global poverty, to a point where they couldn’t help but get on board.
In the face of the global financial crisis, cinematographer Andrew Hooper follows Fenner as he travels across five continents in search of why we constantly crave for ‘more’.
From the outset, Fenner set a mandate to donate 75% of the film’s profits to the aid organisations (including Oxfam) in the film. As a result Creation Box Films Pty Ltd was able to donate AUD$11,000 to the five major charities featured in the film in 2011 alone.
Says Fenner: “We are very excited about More 4 Me being distributed for broadcast across Australia, NZ and the UK by Pineapple Media. The film has gathered so much momentum that we have already received distributor enquiries from around the world, and there are still more opportunities arising every day.”
About More 4 Me
In the face of the global financial crisis, More 4 Me follows Lincoln Fenner (writer/director) as he travels around the world to ask the question, "What’s the one thing we can’t live without?"
The documentary journeys across five continents questioning why we have a constant craving for ‘more’. New York, London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Perth are contrasted with Kenyan orphanages and Nairobi slums, as Fenner interviews everyone from actors and models, to orphans and street sweepers.
The story takes viewers from the home of Hollywood actor Vincent Jerosa (Carlito’s Way, Crocodile Dundee II), to remote Cambodian villages with the leading lady of the Australian stage, Marina Prior (Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables).
The stirring soundtrack is the work of ARIA award-winning musician Michael Allen (Things of Stone and Wood).
75% of the film’s profits are being donated to the aid organisations featured in the film, including World Vision, Oxfam, Compassion, Samaritan’s Purse and One Laptop Per Child.
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Mia Wasikowska and Anna Torv support Oxfam Unwrapped this Christmas
Posted on 16, December, 2011
Cows and buckets might be strange things to ask for at Christmas time, but they’re at the top of wish lists of Australian actors Mia Wasikowska (star of Jane Eyre, Restless and Alice in Wonderland) and Anna Torv (star of the hit TV series Fringe).
The actors had the opportunity to see Oxfam’s work first hand in a visit to Cambodia earlier this year.
Oxfam Unwrapped is a nifty scheme where you buy your friends and family ‘gifts’ that Oxfam uses in its work with poor communities around the world – like goats, piglets and wells – while the recipient receives a quirky card explaining how their present is helping others.
In a video message of support for Oxfam Unwrapped, Mia Wasikowska talks about the difference that the gift of a calf, can make to communities in Cambodia.
“In Cambodia, a cow is a simple solution that can dramatically change the lives of people in poverty. Cows provide manure that can be sold or used to fertilise crops. They also help plough fields and their calves can be sold to other families.
“In Australia you can feel so removed from the situations that poor people overseas are facing, but I’ve had the chance to see how simple it can be to help someone have a better future,” Mia said.
Anna Torv uses her video message of support to promote the water filter jar – priced at $14 – which allows communities to have clean water for drinking and cooking.
“As an actress I’ve had the opportunity to work with many creative people, but none were creative enough to come up with a water filter jar which is simply genius. Oxfam gives poor communities a simple bucket that is fitted with a tiny filter and a hose, which allows people to drink clean water and to stay healthy and free of disease.
“Oxfam’s water filter jar is a simple contraption that changes lives, and you can support this work through Oxfam Unwrapped,” Anna said.
New gifts on offer this year through Oxfam Unwrapped include the humble blanket, which can become an essential survival tool after a natural disaster.
With prices ranging from $10 for a chicken to $3,000 for a water quality testing kit (invaluable during a natural disaster), you can assist Oxfam’s work no matter what your budget!
Check out the full Oxfam Unwrapped gift range
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Anna Torv wraps a goat for Oxfam Unwrapped
Posted on 01, December, 2011
Australian actress Anna Torv is internationally known for her role as FBI agent Olivia Dunham in the television series Fringe. She also starred in The Secret life of Us, but nothing has prepared her for wrapping an Oxfam Unwrapped goat!
Check out the entire Oxfam Unwrapped gift range or read more about how Unwrapped works.
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Subscribe to The Age and support Oxfam Unwrapped
Posted on 17, November, 2011
Buy a weekend subscription to The Age and support life-changing work through Oxfam Unwrapped.
For every subscription you buy, The Age wil donate an Unwrapped gift! So while you catch up on the best local, national and international news, and all the latest in sport, business, fashion and food, you'll also be helping someone who really needs it.
Find out more
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Old phones = more chickens, thanks to Mobile Muster
Posted on 17, November, 2011
Once again this year, Mobile Muster are offering you to chance to recycle your old mobile and accessories to help families living in poverty.
For every two handsets recycled MobileMuster will buy a chicken from Oxfam Unwrapped!
Each chicken provides a family with enough eggs to eat and sell at the markets, providing food and income for the family.
Mobiles, batteries and all accessories accepted. This offer runs from 1 November to 31 January 2012.
HOW TO RECYCLE
1. Drop them off at your nearest collection point
or
2. Post them in using Mobile Muster's free post mailing label or picking up a recycling satchel from your nearest Australia Post.
Find out more
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