I haven't blogged in ages, and this isn't my usual sort of blogging topic, but I have to say it somewhere!

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I can't believe Natasha Richardson is dead.

The other morning I got up and was about to leave the house when I walked past the TV and heard 'we will be having an update on the condition of actress Natasha Richardson shortly'. When I heard that, I knew things couldn't be good, because most people in Australia have never even heard of Natasha Richardson, and suddenly she was on the news. Over the next couple of days, as more details and speculation emerged, I hoped that maybe the media had got it wrong, that maybe she didn't have brain injuries, maybe she would make an amazing recovery...but she didn't.

I can't pretend that I was her greatest fan - I only saw her in a few films. But ever since I saw her in The Parent Trap (my favourite film when I was 10 years old), I liked her a lot. Aside from being beautiful looking, she had a beautiful presence on-screen. I would have liked to have seen her on stage, because I can imagine that she would have been an amazing performer to watch.

Of Natasha's films, I have only seen Evening, Maid in Manhattan, The Parent Trap, and Nell, all of which didn't really give her acting talents much of a workout. But it is the last one, Nell, which made me like her so much.

For anyone who hasn't seen Nell, it's a 1994 film starring Jodie Foster. Nell (played by Jodie) is a young woman who has been living in the wilderness of North Carolina, and has never been exposed to the outside world. Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson played opposing psychologists who observed Nell to determine whether or not she was self-sufficient. Along the way, they end up falling in love. I've loved this movie ever since I first saw it. I'd recommend watching it if you haven't seen it; it's a very beautiful film, with a truly great performance by Jodie Foster, and it sort of makes you think about the simpler, more important things in life.

One of the reasons I loved it so much is because of the relationship between Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson. It's not a major part of the film, but 1994 was the year Natasha and Liam married (having met when they did a play on Broadway together in 1993). When I first saw Nell I didn't know Natasha and Liam were married, but straight after I'd seen it I looked them up and sure enough, they'd been married for over 10 years. It is one of those rare times when the people on-screen don't have to act. Their love and passion for each other was evident on-screen (look at the photo!) in those early days, and it has been evident off-screen ever since. If you look at any photos taken of them together, their love is obvious. Unlike so many celebrity (and non-celebrity) marriages, their relationship was something really special.

I know it sounds ridiculous to say that; I've obviously never met either of them. But if I can get that from a movie and some photos, it must have been really obvious to people who knew them well.

I believe Natasha's death is getting the coverage it deserves. She deserves to have people mourn her death, to miss her. But the thing is, every single news item I have read has been more about her famous family than Natasha herself. I hope that she can be remembered as a great person and a great actress, not just as a member of the Redgrave acting dynasty.

I am sad for her mother. I am sad for her sons. I am sad for Natasha herself - her life was cut so short by such a tragic accident that could happen to anyone at any time. But mostly I feel so, so terrible for Liam. They were married for 15 years. I can't imagine how he feels right now, but if Natasha's tragic death could make me cry like a baby (I've never cried for a celebrity death before), he must just feel so...devastated.

This whole thing is just so sad. I really hope he and his family can find a way to get through this

If you were born before 1995, then this survey should be easy for you to fill out!

Which spice girl did you like? Baby

Backstreet Boys or N*Sync? Backstreet Boys, N*Sync were crap

Did you watch S Club 7??? Yes

What was your favourite, Sandlot or Little Rascals? Little Rascals...never even heard of Sandalot

Did you ever have light up sneakers? No, sniff

Cinderella or Snow White? Neither

What was your favourite holiday? Christmas

Did you ever try to stay up on Christmas just so you could see Santa? Yes, but always fell asleep

You ever watch Bill Nye the Science Guy? Must be an Americna question

What grade did you like the best? Ooh 3rd, 6th, 7th, 10th, 12th

Ninja Turtles or Power Rangers? Power Rangrs

What Power Ranger were you? Pink

Did you ever own a Chinese jump rope? Yes

What was your favourite thing to eat? Hmmm...kinder surprise, and yowies

What was your favourite colour? Red

Did you prefer, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego or Where's Waldo? Ooh it's close! Where's Wally because he had his own show

Do you ever miss being a little kid?? Yes, life was goo

What was your first pet's name? We always had lots of pets but my first bird was Fred

Who was your best friend in kindergarten? Brooke

Are you still friends with the person you were best friends with? Don't see her around

How many times have you switched schools including preschool? 1 primary, 2 high schools (my first finished at year 10)

What did you want to be when you grew up? Hairdresser, haha you would laugh at that if you knew how bad my hair is

What was your all time favourite movie? Anything Disney. Also A Little Princess and The Secret Garden

Which did you like 'Are You Afraid Of The Dark' or 'AHH! Real Monsters? Are You Afraid of the Dark, rather scray

Did you watch Rocko's Modern Life? Yes, that was a very odd show though

Did you collect pogs? Erm, what the hell are pogs?

Who was your favourite character in Doug? Didn't really watch Doug, though I liked the theme song

Did you like War Heads? Not particuarly, they were intense!

Favourite rugrat? Chucky...delightfully nerdy

I've never really thought of myself as a 'country' person before. Even though my family have lived on the same farm my whole life, I'd never really thought about it until I moved to the city.

The past week during holidays I stayed with my family, and now that I'm back in Sydney it makes me miss home! aww, haha. I've decided I'm definitely not a city person! I'm lucky enough to have a balcony where I live so I can even see some trees, lol, but it's just not the same as the country. It's never quiet. There is a busy road outside my yard, so I can always hear traffic. You can't see the sunset. People drive like maniacs. They also dress really well haha, makes me feel like a country bogan. The stars aren't as bright. And everyone stands out on the streets smoking, did I mention that is my most hated thing ever? Gah

It's not all bad, I suppose I can walk everywhere (yay) and there is always something to see or do. I love that there are bands playing all the time, and plays/musicals/sporting events etc. And people are pretty nice generally. But the whole neighbourhood thing is so different here. All of my friends at uni come from random different suburbs. At home everyone has lived on the same street forever (we've had the same farming neighbours for 20+ years), and everyone knows everyone else. It's kind of comforting. In the holidays everyone leaves uni or wherever they are to come back to the good old home town. Ah, reminiscing.

So as interesting and diverse as the city is, I can't wait to be getting home next break

Here's a couple of purdy pictures I took a while back of a rather glorious sunset, the colours didn't come out as nice as they were in real life, and they kind of get cut off on this blog, but anyway....who needs the city when you've got that