The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls is a documentary, piecing together a patchwork of vignettes from the lives of the Topp Twins past and present; two women, I can’t believe that I did NOT hear of earlier in my life… I truly have been living under a rock, having missed such amazing performers.
Not familiar with the Topp Twins, I chose to review their film, The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls because of its poster. Pictured are New Zealand’s Jools and Lynda Topp, dressed in outfits which could easily be seen worn by a couple of country ladies from Nashville. The times I have visited the country music capital of the world, I have seen oodles of these kinds of ladies in shopping centres, banks, airports, etc. in their ‘uniforms’, the extremely colourful sweaters (or neon get ups), with adorning patches of Christmas trees, doggies and kittens. Yes, I was drawn to a film by a gaudy jumper. The poster ‘promised’ a good laugh, and laugh I did. The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls is a documentary, piecing together a patchwork of vignettes from the lives of the Topp Twins past and present; two women, I can’t believe that I did NOT hear of earlier in my life… I truly have been living under a rock, having missed such amazing performers. The film is directed by Helmer Leanne Pooley, who shows them in a very honest light and as they truly are: farm girls, country singers, comedians, actresses, yodelers and… lesbians. To put it in their comedy writer friend Paul Horan’s words, “they defy logic ‘on paper’, yodeling lesbian twins don’t really work.” They sing in the music genre which is liked by the very type of people who would hate them for being lesbians. And yet, for almost three decades, the sisters have been happily defying the mainstream entertainment world and homophobia. They have become ‘wholesome entertainers’ (as per a TV report from 1982 featured in film) accepted by, well… everyone who comes in contact with them. The Topp sisters are not just silly, happy-go-lucky women yodeling their way through life, and the director manages to show the audience ‘the flip side of the coin’ as well: their dedication to Kiwi gay rights; their participation in an anti-apartheid rally during a South African rugby match, and the activism to keep the Maori land from being taken away by developers. During the ‘80s the sisters slicked back their hair and wore suits, and resembled the Everly Brothers. They strummed their guitars the same way, and had that special vocal harmony – sounding like one voice – like only siblings seem able to achieve. They sing country songs, tugging at heart strings evoking emotions, and then they have the wonderful ability of turning things completely around, and cracking the audience up, provoking tears of laughter while impersonating a wide variety of characters (among them the sweater clad women featured on their poster) which they have developed for their vaudevillian styled act. The film’s depiction of the Topp sisters’ lives is sincere and down to earth. It was like taking a stroll in a scrap book created by the two, and hearing the explanation or the reasons behind a photo or a concert’s ticket stub. It was a biography which I enjoyed watching, recommend to others and earnestly hope that others will watch and enjoy as much as I did… frilly sweater and all. The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls Genre: Documentary Directed by Leanne Pooley. With: Lynda Topp, Jools Topp, Billy Bragg, Paul Horan, John Clarke. Rating: PG Running time: 84 MIN
Erik Backer, Co-Founder, and CEO of Portal.chat 26 November 2018 Gordana Davila Recently we caught up with Erik Backer, Co-Founder, and CEO of Portal.chat at the 24th Property Portal Watch Conference in Madrid. The decade-old Netherlands-based Portal.chat offers online real estate sites an instant messaging app that also supports live video and audio chat. “We have a plug and play solution that allows real estate classified sites and marketplaces, anywhere in the world, to offer a live chat solution between consumers and the listings owners or between the advertisers (the agents) and the real estate site. “In the past 18 months, we have noticed that there has been a significant increase in the use of chat and it can no longer be ignored as a communication channel,” stated Backer. He also added that the use of chat is generational with the younger generations using chat as their prime method of communication with so...
The Pirates of Penzance | The Production Company Written by Gordana Andjelic-Davila Saturday, 02 November 2013 07:29 Melbourne has been invaded by pirates. The Gilbert and Sullivan’s classic operetta The Pirates of Penzance , that is. From the moment the doors open and the seats of Hamer Hall begin to fill, colourfully dressed young men and fair maidens stroll through the isles, interacting with the public as well as each other, whilst a merry bunch of swashbuckling pirates congregates on stage, enticing the observers with what is to come, and that which does come, is great over the top, light and fluffy fun. Though there was little reference to the classic which debuted in 1879, this silly adaptation, mirroring the 1981 Broadway production is one fabulously orchestrated show. From the beautiful costumes, overly dramatic acting (reminiscent of South American soap operas), earth shaking vocals, amazing Orchestra Australia, whimsical set design, spot...
Interview with BOOM co-founder Jacopo Benedetti 23 November 2018 Gordana Davila Launched in early 2018, Milano-based BOOM Image Studio is a Prop Tech marketplace connecting professional photographers with businesses worldwide. We caught up with its co-founder Jacopo Benedetti at the recent Property Portal Watch Conference in Madrid 2018. When asked what prompted the conception of BOOM Image Studio, Benedetti commented: “When we buy a meal or a house we are first attracted buy by their image representation – usually a photograph. So having a quality image is critical and crucial for a lot of all companies which who want to boost their online sales." Although Benedetti’s background as a biomedical engineer has little to do with photography, he has always been fascinated by the eyes and the science of the human brain, which come together in Artificial Intelligence and the development of BOOM Image Studio sof...
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