A brief recap of the Scream franchise and my hopes for Scream 7

 I am a horror movie fan from way back. I remember being at university and I’d rent horror movies from the video store, back when video stores were still around. I watched some b-grade horror movies like Bloody Murder (which I’m sure none of you have heard of but basically it’s a slasher flick that follows some teens as they camp at a cabin in the woods). It follows the standard horror movie formula.  A couple of other favourites of mine are the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street and psychological thrillers like Taboo. When I’d watch horror movies while I was at uni I was often way too scared to walk home or go out in case there was some serial killer lurking somewhere and ready to pounce. 

You’d have to have been living under a rock the last few months to not realise that Scream 7 is being released later this month on the 27th of February, 2026 (that’s the US date, for international audiences it will be the 28th of February). Neve Campbell is reprising her role as the film’s hero, Sidney Prescott after an absence from Scream VI due to a pay dispute with the film’s producers. That meant that Courteney Cox, as reporter Gale Weathers was left as the only remaining original cast member after David Arquette’s Dewey Riley was killed off in Scream 5.  This excludes Roger L. Jackson who is the voice of Ghostface.

Despite being killed off in earlier movies, Matthew Lillard reprises his role of Stu Macher who was one of the killers in the original Scream movie with Sidney Prescott’s boyfriend Billy Loomis played by Skeet Ulrich. Scott Foley is also back as Roman Bridger from Scream 3.

In anticipation of Scream 7 coming out in a few weeks time I thought I would revisit the first six movies in chronological order.

Let’s start with Scream 1. Scream 1 was first released in 1996 and marked the start of a new generation of iconic horror movies. I won’t go over the plot in great detail because everyone knows the plot. In short, a crazy guy goes around terrorising high school students and then Sidney Prescott (the movie’s hero) kills him and his accomplice. In the first movie the killers were Sidney’s boyfriend, Billy Loomis and his friend Stu Macher. 

One of my favourite things about the movie is the character Randy Meeks played by Jamie Kennedy. He was a film geek who worked at the local video store and knew everything there was to know about films, including the rules to survive a horror movie. I also really liked Rose McGowan’s performance as Tatum Riley, Sidney’s best friend and Dewey’s sister. Unfortunately she was killed off in the movie like Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker, both of whom did an excellent job in their roles.

Scream 2 was the next installment and was released a year later in 1997. The film starts with two film attendees, Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens being killed at the premiere of Stab 2, which was based on the Woodsboro killings (the town where all the killings take place) and it eventuates in more characters being killed off including fan favourite Randy Meeks. Randy is killed about midway through the movie when he taunts Ghostface, later revealed at Billy Loomis’s mum, Nancy. That was the film’s biggest loss. Jamie Kennedy brought a comedic tone to the role that was much needed and in many ways his character bridged the gap between the audience and the film’s universe.

Scream 3 is the weakest of the original trilogy and centres around the cast of Stab 3. Each of them gradually gets killed off by the killer, later revealed as director Roman Bridger who was the product of an affair Sidney Prescott’s mother, Maureen Prescott had when she was working as an actor well before Sidney was born. One of the best parts of the movie though is when Randy Meeks made a video appearance. Before he had been killed in Scream 2 he had made a video that he wanted people to watch if he didn’t make it. The video contained the rules of a horror trilogy and what each of the characters should do to survive. The movie was weak because the plot was very slow moving and there wasn’t as much anticipation as the first two movies had. This was partially because the film was made in 2000, just one year after the Columbine High School massacre.

The next instalment, Scream 4 wasn’t until 2011 when Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson decided to revive the franchise. It was one of the weakest movies which isn’t surprising given how long it had been since the last Scream movie was released. The plot centred around the killer wanting to re-enact the Woodsboro killings and the Stab franchise. Only the opening sequence was surprising. Unlike the other movies produced so far, Scream 4’s killers, Jill Roberts (Sidney’s cousin) and Charlie Walker had the weakest motives and the story wasn’t as well developed as with the previous movies. It was still satisfying seeing Sidney, Gale and Dewey beat the killers at the end of the film.

Scream five was released after another long break. It was released in 2022 and was titled Scream, basically setting it up to be a reboot of the original series. Original characters, Sidney, Gale and Dewey all returned to solve the mystery of who Ghostface was in this installment.  New cast members included Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter and Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter. Skeet Ulrich reprised his role of Billy Loomis appearing in a flashback and Marley Shelton came back again as Judy Hicks. Original Scream character, Randy Meeks’ family was further expanded with the addition of Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin and Mason Gooding as her twin, Chad Meeks-Martin.

Scream 5 simply titled Scream continues the story in Woodsboro with Gale, Sidney and Dewey returning. Unfortunately Dewey is killed off, as is Sheriff Judy Hicks who debuted in Scream 4, and her son, Wes Hicks, named in honour of franchise creator Wes Craven. Several new characters are introduced indicating that the purpose of this movie is to restart the franchise with new leads. The new characters are the Carpenter sisters, Tara and Sam played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega respectively. Sam is revealed to be the illegitimate child of one of the original killers, Billy Loomis. Other new characters include Randy Meeks’ niece and nephew, twins Chad Meeks-Martin and Mindy Meeks-Martin who are portrayed by Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown. Other new characters are Richie Kirsch played by Jack Quaid and Amber Freeman played by Mikey Madison, both of whom are the new movie’s killers. Their motives are similar to others that have gone before them, they want to make a requel of the in-universe franchise, Stab. For those not familiar with the term, a requel introduces new characters while also starring legacy characters. In this case, Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers are the legacy characters. Some argue that a requel is a lazy reboot. I disagree with this however and would argue that complete reboots are never as good as the original. Just look at the American Pie spin offs. While they were in the same universe they didn’t follow the original timeline of the first three movies and instead followed different characters. I quite liked Scream 5 with the introduction of Chad and Mindy who survived the killers. I would say Scream 5 is the best in the franchise since the first and second movie. My only criticism of the movie is that Neve Campbell had a much smaller role than in previous instalments. 

Let’s move onto Scream 6 now. Scream 6 is the first movie to be made without Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott due to a pay dispute. Courteney Cox returns as Gale Weathers, Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter, Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin,  Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin, Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis and Hayden Panettiere as Detective Kirby Reed, who first appeared in Scream 4 but did not appear in Scream 5. 

Similar to the very first movie, the group of friends is the core focus or as Chad says “Core Fucking Four”. All of them survive with the only differences between this and other movies in the franchise being that Gale Weathers comes extremely close to death and the twist that this time there are three killers (Quinn, Bailey and Ethan who are out for revenge against the Carpenter sisters because they killed their brother Richie in Scream 5. The only characters to actually die in this movie are minor characters that nobody really has any strong connection to.

It’s quite cool how in this instalment, Sam has hallucinations of her father, Billy Loomis and that the characters question if Stu Macher from Scream 1 did actually die when the TV was smashed on his head. I think the purpose of that scene was to set him up as a possible killer for the next instalment. The movie also hinted at the fact that not even legacy characters are safe given it’s a franchise. I also really liked the ladder scene. I won’t give any further details but that was so creative and well executed. The train scenes were also well executed and extremely disturbing.

The one issue with Scream 6, other than the movie not featuring Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott is that some of the kill scenes used AI and it was very obvious AI. It wasn’t like the CGI that had been used in previous movies where it looked good. The use of AI, particularly in the stabbing scenes just looked sloppy.

So now that I’ve talked about the first six Scream movies, it’s time to talk about what I hope happens in the next installment. There are some things we already know. We already know that Sidney Prescott will not be killed off as a condition of Neve Campbell’s contract. Given what’s been said and done in previous movies, the character that is at the biggest risk of succumbing to Ghostface is Gale Weathers. She has survived six movies so far and I would argue that she shouldn’t be killed off but the franchise is self-referential and so her being killed off cannot actually be ruled out. I hope that she is not killed off though. It also can’t be ruled out that she is the new Ghostface who’s out for revenge after losing her husband Dewey and having a flailing writing career. She could be looking to get revenge on Sidney Prescott for those things, however I don’t think that the writers would suddenly flip Gale Weathers from being an ally to being the main antagonist/villain. It would basically be a total rewrite of history and would damage the franchise.

Media coverage has reported that Matthew Lillard will be returning as Stu Macher despite supposedly dying in the first installment. I would not rule out that he is the new Ghostface. Promotions say that this next installment has been 30 years in the making and that this killer is out for blood. Lillard has also said in media interviews that he was supposed to be the killer in Scream 3 but the script was revised following the Columbine High School massacre. While I would be curious to see how this would play out in the film I’m not sure that it would provide the audience with enough suspense.

I’m keen to see what theories Chad and Mindy come up with in Scream 7 to justify the new series of killings and what motive the killer has. If the killer is in fact Stu Macher I think that would be very interesting and I’d love to know what he’s been doing the last 30 years. 

My biggest hopes for the movie are that both Sidney AND Gale make it out alive. I think Gale is just as integral to the movie as Sidney is. I also hope that Chad and Mindy survive as they have a connection to Randy (who is one of my favourite characters from the franchise). For future movies in the franchise I would love to see Randy return. He could potentially return as a vision, especially if Chad or Mindy are in danger.

Whatever the case is, there isn’t long to go, with the next installment being released in just a couple of weeks.

Why I work as a bicycle courier

 At the start of September I was unceremoniously dismissed from my permanent full time job. This came after months of tensions between me and several people at the company. For context on this, I had been warned by the person who hired me that people at the company had “strong personalities” and “made up their mind about people very quickly”. I dismissed this because I wanted the job and I ignored the tensions because the pay was very good. Despite my best efforts that wasn’t good enough so at the start of September I was shafted. 

I spent all of September applying for regular jobs and then I had a brainwave. As a regular customer of Uber Eats myself I thought I should buy a bike so that I could generate an income while I job searched. Within a couple of days I had bought a road bike and I started delivering around my local area and eventually I was able to generate a full time equivalent wage through working as a bicycle courier. I was however sick of the inconsistent nature of it though and so after deciding to stop job hunting I started again and wound up getting a job offer on New Year’s Eve and started that job in early January. That company was incredibly toxic. There had been red flags from before I received the offer but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt  but after two weeks in the role the red flags were too much and I quit. For more context on that job, two people were fired five days after starting and a further two quit on the second week before I quit. I have no idea if more people quit after I did. What I do however know though is that the management at that company did not truly care about performance and my performance was good. Based on my sales results I was in the top 35% of the group I had started with. Instead they cared about silly things like what someone wears to work and they expected staff to start before they officially started getting paid, therefore offering their services for free and it also didn’t fit in with my acting studies which I’ve been doing for the last seven years and am very close to finishing.

When I quit that job I knew that I could always go back to the food delivery apps and that’s exactly what I did. I’d never stopped but I only did a few deliveries each day and was extremely selective. While I had the full time job I just did it for extra money because having had a number of dodgy employers I don’t think it’s smart to rely on one source of income. I think it’s way smarter to have multiple income streams so that you have a back up if something happens to your main income source.

On Monday the 26th of January, Australia Day I went back to the delivery apps with the intention of it being full time again. As it would happen I was having an excellent night with deliveries and was on track to earn my minimum daily target but unfortunately that did not happen because when I was picking up a couple of orders my bike was stolen. I had left it locked to a pole near the restaurants and in the time I was inside - all of five minutes, yes only five minutes it was stolen. When I went outside it wasn’t there and I had a moment where I was like “what? Where’s my bike?” I looked around but couldn’t see it and then I realised that my worst fear had been realised and that it had in fact been stolen so although I will not recover the bike because bike theft is so common and stolen bikes are near impossible to recover, I wanted the police to have a record on the off chance that they catch the bike thief so they don’t steal anymore bikes.

Luckily I had money coming in the next day so I was able to replace the bike and while some people downgrade when their bike is stolen to reduce the likelihood it would be stolen I decided to upgrade. I had to upgrade because I use my bike for 20-40 hours a week and so I needed something that has the ability to deal with that kind of usage. 

I did look into insurance as well but by the time you factor in the insurance premiums and the excess also known as out of pocket expenses it just isn’t worth it and in the long run you could actually end up paying more than the cost of a replacement bike.

So anyway, the purpose of today’s Podcast is to share with you the reasons I work as a bicycle courier.

1 - Get paid to exercise

I have a road bike so I get paid to exercise. When I started I had had to suspend my gym membership but still needed a way to exercise so working as a bicycle courier would combine making money with exercise. I opted to get a road bike because I don’t like e-bikes and see it as cheating. On a side note I especially hate ride share bikes. I would much rather have my own bike than use a ride share bike and I see hiring a bike as many food couriers do to be a waste of money. At the end of it you have nothing left. Yes, bikes depreciate and get wear and tear but it’s still yours and you can do whatever you want with it. I also don’t want to eat into my profits by adding an expense that I don’t need. As a general rule I try to keep my costs to a minimum though the reality is you will have unexpected expenses. When I had the first bike I had to replace the tyres (including just a few weeks before it was stolen), the brakes a couple of times and I’d had a couple of flat tyres. That bike had tyres that had an inner tube, as my new one does too. Getting back to the point, if you can’t afford a gym membership, it’s a great way to exercise. I did however reactivate my gym membership a couple of weeks ago when I had that toxic job because the gym actually complements the work as a bicycle courier because I can get fit which makes me more efficient when I am on delivery jobs.

2 - You have total freedom

Anyone who knows me knows how much I value freedom. That was the worst thing about the bike being stolen, aside from the fact that someone actually thought it would be okay to take someone’s means of earning money, I had to walk home and given how much I cycle now it felt weird to not be able to cycle, even though it was only for about 14 hours. As a bicycle courier you are self employed so you can work as little or as much as you like (though there are faults with the apps but I’ll get into that in another podcast) when you want. If you want to work at 7am you can. If you want to work at midnight you can. If you only want to work a couple of hours each day you can. You’re in total control of how much you work. You are also in control of what you wear. I generally work in shorts and a t shirt which is normal exercise gear or a skirt and a t shirt. It really depends on my mood. You can’t wear what you want when you work in a traditional job because you have a manager breathing down your neck about how there’s men in the workplace and wearing skirts isn’t appropriate. Along with that freedom you don’t have to answer to anyone. As long as you deliver the orders that’s all that actually matters rather than a bunch of silly stuff that micromanagers tend to obsess over.

You can also choose the orders that you accept and those that you decline. There are certain areas that I won’t go to because by the time I go out there I would have to return to my area where there’s a lot of restaurants and shops. That could lead to losing possible income through lost orders so it’s just not smart to take those orders. If you were in a traditional employment situation you would have to do the work that you don’t particularly want to do.

3 - You get rewarded for your efforts

Most people know that if you are in a traditional job with a boss you don’t get rewarded for your efforts but when you work as a bicycle courier you do. You directly see that reflected in your earnings, so the more you work the more you earn. I’m currently working on working smarter not harder to increase my earnings. Although there are of course time limitations you aren’t restricted by how a manager wants to reward you. You’re very much in control of things and with every delivery you do you can see your earnings increase. On the topic of earnings, in some instances you can earn more than what you would in a traditional job.

4 - You can work on your schedule to fit in with your life

Although this is similar to the total freedom point, you can work on your schedule. I study acting and need a role that fits around that but that doesn’t restrict my earnings so working as a bicycle courier works well because I don’t have to operate according to someone else’s schedule. That means that I can still work 40 hours a week if I want to and I’m not restricted by most companies expecting their staff to work 9-5pm. 

5 - There’s a community of bicycle couriers

The community is not just for bicycle couriers. It is for any food couriers. There are multiple Facebook groups where you can get to know how others operate. On the odd occasion you may also strike up a convo with someone while you’re picking up food. That can sometimes be good. Although you’re unlikely to ever see them again it’s still a cool thing.

Of course it’s not all fun. There are some things I absolutely hate about being a bicycle courier but I’ll save that for another podcast. For this one I wanted to focus on the things that I do enjoy about it.

Want some reasons to exercise? Here they are.

Following on from the last blog, let’s talk about the importance of exercise today. The first thing to say is that exercise is absolutely essential for weight loss. I know. I can hear some of you say “but what about Ozempic?” And “What about Wegovy?” And so today I’m going to talk about why exercise is the best weight loss method there is. 

Before I get into that I want to talk about Ozempic and Wegovy. For those who’ve been living under a rock and don’t know, they are medications that can be used for weight loss. Basically Ozempic is a weight loss drug that helps users feel full so their appetite is reduced. It was however originally designed as a medication for Diabetes. Based on research, the average person can lose 10-15 kilos in about 10-25 weeks, so roughly 0.5-1.0kgs each week. Ozempic also causes side effects like vomiting, nausea, diarrhoea and other issues. The other huge risk is that you need to stay on the drug and keep receiving injections or the weight will come back because your appetite is no longer suppressed.

It’s also extremely costly. In Australia, the average Ozempic prescription costs around $2,000 per year, or between $100 and $200 per month.

I have a huge issue with Ozempic. Before I get into that I’ll start by saying that generally speaking I’m not a fan of any medication but full disclosure, I do have Botox injections once every 2-4 months and that is the only medication of any sort that I take. Excluding that I do not take anything because I prefer natural remedies and prefer to do things the natural way.

When it comes to health and fitness I think that Ozempic is a cop out and cheating. Yes, you can absolutely lose weight on Ozempic and many people, including celebrities have. Amongst the celebrities who’ve used it, or other weight loss drugs are Lizzo, Kelly Clarkson, Oprah Winfrey, Amy Schumer, Meghan Trainer and the list just goes on and on. 

With so many celebrities and the general public using weight loss drugs you might be wondering what the best method is. Some medical professionals say the best method is medication plus diet and exercise.

Personally I think the best method is diet and exercise alone and I think that any regime should start with exercise.

The thing with exercise is that it has so many positive results, outside of weight loss. Amongst the positive health benefits are that you will be fitter and stronger, with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease accounts for 32% of all deaths. 

The major benefits to exercise are that physical activity actually changes the physiology of your body. So basically when you exercise there are changes in your blood vessels, muscles, metabolism and your brain. All of these combined lead to lower blood pressure and a slower heart rate. The gist is that there is less pressure being placed on your heart. Exercise also reduces stress hormone that contribute to pressure on your heart, so exercise actually acts as a natural anti depressant. When your heart is in better health, it is easier for it to pump blood to your lungs and the rest of your body, which means that oxygen levels increase. While some people think that it takes months to see any results from cardio exercise, you may see results in as little as one or two weeks if you exercise everyday. It does of course depend on your existing fitness and the intensity of your workouts. If you’re very unfit then the results may start off quite slow because you have to start at a lower intensity, however as you build up your fitness the results will compound. Think of exercise like a savings account. If you exercise for 20 minutes everyday for a month you’ll gradually see the rewards of that effort and you’ll find your capacity will increase.

I’ll come back to the benefits of exercise later on, but now I’ll talk about the importance that diet plays in a healthy lifestyle but before I get into that I’ll talk about the negative effects of diet on a person.

A poor diet can affect your mood and lead to reduced concentration and even depression. Processed foods don’t offer any nutritional value and can cause inflammation, which leads to inflammation. A poor diet can also lead to insomnia and a lack of exercise. Insomnia has also been linked to a poor diet.
A healthy diet is one of the most effective ways to treat depression because these foods contain more vitamins and minerals, healthy fats, whole grains, nuts and seeds, which in turn reduce the risk of inflammation and alter the brain’s neurotransmitters so that symptoms of depression are reduced. 

Sio that’s a brief overview of the positive impacts of diet and exercise but let’s go into more detail on what some of the other benefits of exercise are.

Firstly, although some people use Ozempic as an appetite suppressant, they don’t actually need to because research shows that exercise actually acts as a natural appetite suppressant. I can testify to this myself. As soon as I have an intense exercise regime my appetite is immediately suppressed without even trying. I’m personally unsure why this is. Some studies have the answer though.

Here are just a few reasons you should exercise consistently.

1 - As I’ve briefly mentioned previously, exercise acts as a natural appetite suppressant so you won’t even need to try to diet. You simply won’t feel as hungry as you did before you started exercising. In a nutshell, exercise suppresses the hormone that’s associated with hunger.  Ghrelin, is the hunger hormone but when people participate in intense exercise is suppressed. Most studies show that ghrelin suppresses men’s appetites but only marginally. Females however have significantly reduced hunger following exercise. It should be noted though that studies are limited at this stage. The key takeaway from this though is that if you are a woman wanting to lose weight or moderate your hunger the best thing you can do is exercise. Rather than starting with a diet, start with exercise and the rest will just fall into place.

2 - Exercise acts as a natural anti depressant. Rather than taking medication for your mood, exercise can have the same impact but without the side effects. All it takes is 15 minutes of running everyday to feeling the positive effects. Exercise helps you feel calm and relaxed. It also releases endorphins so that you feel good. If you’re in a bad mood then exercise can distract you. How many of you have started a run and found that you can only focus on the next 50-100 metres and that it’s almost like being in a state of meditation? Anyone who exercises knows exactly what I’m talking about. Exercise also leads to increased concentration and helps you focus more than if you weren’t exercising. You’ll feel more motivated when you exercise than if you didn’t exercise.

3 - The health benefits. Your heart and lung strength will be much better if you exercise on a regular basis. Your body becomes much better at ensuring that oxygen is transported throughout your bloodstream and to the muscles that need it.

These are just some of the reasons that exercise is one of the best things a person can do for their physical and mental health. There are of course many others which you’ll discover if and when you take that step.

Let's talk about the unspoken consequences of unemployment

When we hear about unemployment in the mainstream media we generally only hear about the number of people who are out of work. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported in October 2025 that unemployment was sitting at 4.4%. That number only gives us information about the percentage of people who don’t have any type of employment. It doesn’t however give us any details about the consequences of being out of work.

Today that’s what I intend to do. I will talk about what to do when you lose your job and then I’ll go into the effects of unemployment on a person’s life and here’s a hint. They aren’t just financial. The consequences extend far beyond that.

No matter what the reason for the job loss whether it’s due to downsizing, restructuring, redundancy or something else, losing a job will absolutely suck. Most people actually go through some or all of the stages of grief when they lose their job. They may be angry, or in denial, shocked, become withdrawn, lose their confidence or ask “why me?” The latter is most common when there was no indication that they were going to lose their job. 

These reactions are not gender specific, with anyone who has lost their job experiencing them. Even if there were signs you were going to lose your job you may still exhibit them, however the good news is that they are temporary, so they won’t last forever.

It’s even possible that losing a job could bring up other losses that you haven’t dealt with, for example you may have lost a friend or family member several years ago and the job loss brings it to the surface, which leads to compounding emotions.

 
The severity of how you react after losing your job will depend on if you’ve experienced job loss before, how you deal with general crises, whether or not you have support from friends or family and if you have someone to talk to.

Those are the common immediate emotional reactions to job loss but of course there are also financial implications to losing your job. If you do not have savings or unemployment insurance then you may struggle more than someone who is prepared. That means that you will not be able to meet your everyday expenses or if you can you will only be able to pay for your accommodation and will have absolutely no money left over. Worst case scenario you will be forced into homelessness and will either literally live on the street, or if you’re lucky then you’ll have friends or family you can stay with. The other possibility is that if you have a vehicle you’ll have to start living in your vehicle. Although the circumstances that may have forced you into living in your vehicle aren’t great there is actually an upside to what’s known as “Vanlife” and you can actually convert your van into a proper home on wheels, though you may not be able to make any modifications or upgrades until you have a new job.

Not having enough money can cause a person all sorts of problems outside of not being able to meet their basic living expenses. There is the stress that goes with having no money. Let’s look at a hypothetical person. When they were working they would go to the pub once a week with their friends, but now that they’re out of work they can’t do that so aside from having the hassle of trying to find a new job they now have the added pressure of being isolated and not being able to see their friends.

Basically in the worst case scenario they will be stuck at home in front of the TV or radio; or if they’re lucky then they’ll have access to a computer or mobile phone. While that sounds like it could be fun, it actually comes with risks. Sitting in front of a screen for any extended period of time is not healthy and has been linked to a number of conditions including depression, anxiety and overeating which can in turn lead to obesity. They are likely to watch TV because they simply don’t have anything else to do. It’s not like they have a job to go to and because they do not have enough money they can’t go out and see their friends or do other things either. The other negative to sitting in front of a screen is that people tend to eat more because they are distracted and less inclined to notice if they are full. They are also more likely to make poor eating choices when they are eating.  We'll chat about the importance of exercise in another blog.

While a person is unemployed in addition to not having funds and watching more TV (or a screen on another device) they are also at a greater risk of gaining weight due to poorer habits and not being able to participate in physical activity. This is a huge risk for someone who normally goes to a gym. When they have a significantly lower income they won’t be able to afford the gym and may gain weight and subsequently be at a greater risk of other health problems. Essentially, losing a job does not just affect a person’s financial health. It can also affect a person’s mental and physical health and that can take months, if not years to repair.

This is why sacking someone is actually one of the lowest things a person or a company can do. Unless a person has stolen from you or broken the law there is actually no reason to sack them. People can always improve and do better in a job but unfortunately a lot of managers are impatient and don’t consider the consequences that sacking someone can have on their life, either that or they simply don’t care. Whatever the answer is it’s a pretty low thing to do. There are companies in Australia who will literally sack a person just because they do not like them. Unfortunately Australian law allows this to happen but again, it’s unjustified and a really nasty thing to do because doing so doesn’t just affect a person’s finances. It also affects every other area of their life by isolating them from their friends, preventing them from exercising and harming their mental and physical health as a result of each of those things.

So now that you’ve heard about what the consequences of unemployment actually are, let’s talk about what you can do to minimise the impact.

1 - Maintain a daily routine. That may be that you get up every day at a certain time and then do your daily activities on a schedule. Doing so will help you maintain some sense of normality. Ensure you still get up at a regular time so that you can easily get back into a routine when you have a job again.

2 - Apply for jobs. When you’re unemployed it is much easier to feel in control of the situation when you’re actively trying to improve it rather than just waiting around for things to improve, and let’s be honest. Things won’t improve unless you work towards it.

3 - Don’t take it personally. Losing a job absolutely sucks but it is never personal, though in some ways that actually makes it worse because it’s just a matter of circumstance. In some cases it may feel personal but often it isn’t and often it’s a result of issues within a particular company. The most important thing to know is that Australian companies actually have a very high rate of sacking staff. Although it is impossible to find exact figures on the number of companies who have sacked staff, several articles published in various Australian mainstream media like The Australian and news.com.au show that around a third of them plan to lay off staff. 

There is also a huge loophole in Australian employment law that allows companies to do this but we’ll get into that in another blog.

Here's why I am so sick of AI and why it is a bad thing

I don’t know about you but I am truly sick of AI. It’s actually beyond a joke at this point in time. I’m not talking about things that make life genuinely easier like digital maps or having a calculator on your phone. I’m talking about the things that literally make you go WTAF.

Those things are of course copy and pasting other people’s information and palming it off as your own. You know what I’m talking about. I’m talking about students who use AI services to write essays or “journalists” and I use that term loosely because I read an article today that had basically been copied from Wikipedia, with the exception of a quote from the City of Sydney. The article was about Macdonaldtown, which is known for its train station and nearby suburb Erskineville, which swallowed up the former in an attempt to improve public opinion of the suburb after a number of babies were killed by a couple, John and Sarah Makin in the late 1800s.

That is just one area where the use of AI is getting excessive. In the last 24 hours Google has announced that they are now going to summarise emails. For those of you who don’t already know, Adobe Acrobat attempts to summarise PDFs. Now I don’t know who needs to hear this but I, and many others are perfectly capable of reading and writing. We don’t actually need or want a robot to think for us. I’m capable of thinking for myself as well and there is no way in hell I would trust Google to judge what I would and wouldn’t find important in an email.

Then there’s the matter of privacy. If Google is summarising emails then that means their servers are holding onto private data against people’s will and using that data to train AI.

I get it though. There’s a bunch of tech bros who can’t communicate and plenty more who don’t even know how to read and write but I really don’t see how stopping people performing basic tasks such as reading and writing is actually helping anyone. If anything it is actually going to dumb people down even more and lead to a greater decline in literacy rates. A report from the ABC on the 14th of July 2025 shows that generally speaking, young men are less likely to read and older women are more likely to read. This could explain why tech bros are so obsessed with removing the need to read and write. Getting back to the statistics, statistics show that only 10.1% of males aged 15 - 24 read on any given day. That figure is from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.  Gen Z teenage girls and young women were not far behind. On the other hand, 23% of Generation X read, compared to 12% of Generation X males. Across ALL age groups however women are more likely to read than their male counterparts.

Anna Burkey, president of book industry initiative Australia Reads told the ABC that part of the reason why boys and men have lower reading rates is because they don’t see themselves reflected. Well, I don’t know about you, but I would’ve thought the way to be reflected in these art forms was actually to participate in them rather than trying to completely obliterate them which is what these tech bros appear to be trying to do.

More alarmingly, 44% of Australians have literacy problems. Rather than relying on AI to solve something as basic as reading and writing, which just dumbs down future generations, wouldn’t it be better to actually educate people? Removing people’s need to read and write only harms the country generally speaking. There are grown adults in Australia who don’t even know the difference between he’s and his, as in words spelt he apostrophe s and h I s. They literally think these words have the same meaning. That’s just one example of Australians not knowing an English concept that is taught in primary school. The United States is not better than Australia, with 21% of Americans being illiterate.

What’s even more alarming is that literacy rates are actually declining. If people are not required to read and write for work those statistics will only drop further they will struggle with basic things such as filling out forms, finishing high school, completing university, accessing job training and building a progressive career. Ultimately that will affect their socio-economic positioning.

I’m getting sidetracked though, aside from the negative education and economic consequences of AI, there is also the consequence of not being able to access different views and information. How many times recently have you been doing a Google Search and you’re instantly struck with “AI Overview”. I don’t know about you but I find it so annoying. There is a way to avoid this though. When you search for something you can type the minus key followed by A I and you won’t get the AI overview so you’ll have the ability to view different websites rather than a summarised version, which may not even be correct.

Reading and writing aren’t the only areas that will suffer with a growing reliance on AI, so too will the arts, entertainment and customer service sectors. I’ll address each of those things separately.

More and more social media content is being generated by AI, which is damaging to the arts. There is no creativity that actually goes into creating it and there’s no heart. Most art is generated through lived experiences. While AI can technically create content that is consumed, it doesn’t have the same soul that art that is generated by humans does because it’s not a lived experience. Then there is the fact that a lot of content that is created by AI doesn’t actually make sense. The stories tend to jump around and don’t have any cohesion. While some people say that AI allows those who can’t create art to participate I would argue that they would be better to spend the time living, consuming REAL art created by humans and practicing their craft. That is the only way they will actually get better.

Over the last few months there has also been commentary about an AI actress being in a movie, as a performer myself I can 100% say that pixels on a screen with an artificial voice do not constitute being an actress. Only someone with human emotions can be considered an actress or a musician. The same applies to writing. Only someone who writes themselves can be considered a writer. I really want to know why the arts are being specifically targeted by these tech bros and why people are trying to erase the arts.

The other thing that is suffering because of the increasing reliance on AI is customer service. How many times have you contacted a company to try and get an issue resolved only to be hit with an AI Chatbot? Here’s the thing. If the problem could be solved by a computer do these companies not think that we would have tried to do that first. Sending a message and forcing people to be in an endless loop with a chatbot is no substitute for human customer service.

People need to reject the increasing attempts by tech companies to kill the arts by refusing to use their services. I know I for one thing will never use the likes of Chat GPT, Gmail’s summarise feature or Google search’s AI overview. I would rather look at a range of sources to get the information I require and I would rather write myself than have a computer do it for me. These companies trying to force AI on us will soon go out of business if they don’t stop trying to force their AI garbage on us.

Here's the issue with the sale of two properties in Redfern

So I read on Facebook earlier today that Scape has paid $50 million to buy 1-8 Woodburn Street and 175-177 Cleveland Street.

For those who aren't familiar with Sydney, this is the location at 175-177 Cleveland Street. As you can see from this picture taken from Google Maps, there are two Scapes within a two block radius.

 

The second image shows where the next Scape on Cleveland Street is. The brick building is the only one that separates the Scapes. Undoubtedly the value of apartments in the brick building will decrease if it's surrounded by accommodation that can only be rented by students. The orange and green building at the back is also a Scape and is the former location of "the block".

  

The third picture shows 1-8 Woodburn Street, and the building does admittedly need to be renovated, however it would be much better to be constructed into LONG TERM apartments that can be rented by everyone, not just student apartments that do absolutely nothing to alleviate the housing crisis. The other point is there is absolutely no reason for FOUR Scapes to be within a one block radius of eachother.

 

The fifth photo shows Woodburn Street from another location and if this development, which I will be opposing proceeds another set of lights will need to be installed at the below location.

 

Next door at 179 Cleveland Street is Hotel Hacienda, which upon further investigation, the website shows the building's website as being managed by Scape, which increases the number of Scapes to five in a four block radius. How much is Scape paying the council to have these builds pushed through? This looks extremely fishy to me.

For those of you who don't know, Scape is an international accommodation provider that specifically targets students. You cannot stay in their apartments unless you are a student.  They compete against companies like Iglu, Unilodge, Accolade and Y Suites.

I've looked into what these accommodation providers offer and they are basically ensuite bedrooms. The average size of these "apartments" is 18-22 SQM. You get a hot plate, a microwave, a single bed, a shower and a desk and that's basically it. You don't have proper laundry facilities, nor do you have proper kitchen facilities. You also can't have guests over and you can't cook either. Basically the reality is that they are glorified boarding houses by another name.

Then there are the prices. To rent one of these ridiculously tiny "apartments" that are smaller than the average lounge you need to pay anywhere from $559 for a twin share dormitory to $919 for a 25SQM "ultra apartment". An Ultra Apartment will get you a double bed, a shower, a desk, a bathroom, a hot plate and a microwave. For context, that is smaller than the average apartment in Redfern and it is also more expensive than the average rental, which ranges anywhere from $300 - $800 for a room in a flat or $800 in a one bedroom apartment. Some apartments do go for more than $800.

That's not the biggest issue with these new builds. The biggest issue with these new builds is that they are not legitimate apartments. They are ensuite bedrooms that are marketed as apartments. They do not have private laundries or a full kitchen so if you want to cook your food rather than using Uber Eats or DoorDash forget about it. Forget about doing your laundry anytime you want. You'll need to pay $3-$10 for a single load and forget about having guests over because that's not permitted either.

The other issue with these new builds is that they can only be rented by students and the average tenancy agreement is only 44 weeks rather than a full 52 weeks. I'm sure that can be extended though should someone wish to but that's not the point. It's not just students who need accommodation in inner Sydney and people certainly don't need accommodation at artificially inflated prices. 

With the number of Scape and Iglu buildings going up I have absolutely no doubt that these companies have bribed the city council and/or state government to get the buildings approved. 

Now these companies and the government would argue that the developments help with the housing crisis but they actually don't because as mentioned, they can only be rented by students.

If the government was really interested in fixing the lack of housing in inner Sydney they wouldn't keep allowing niche housing projects to proceed. They would instead increase height restrictions so buildings can have more levels and they would not allow developments that can only be rented by a small portion of society that don't even have proper facilities.

When I say proper developments, I mean the likes of Meriton Build to Rent or similar which are proper apartment size with proper facilities like a laundry, kitchen and in most cases a balcony. That would actually help with the shortage of housing in Redfern and other inner city suburbs.

People need to start writing to Sydney City Council and the state government because these developments should not be permitted and are not doing anything to increase the amount of suitable long term housing stock. 

EDIT: Based on the NSW Planning website, Scape buildings are co-living and do not meet the minimum requirements to be considered apartments. As previously indicated, they are lowering living standards in the area.

Shortland Street's producers need to get to a hospital fast - Top 10 changes I'd make

I've been watching Shortland Street since 1994. It's one of the first ever TV shows that I started watching and it is the whole reason I got into acting in the first place. Since 1994 there have been some good years during the show's production and some absolutely awful years. Despite that I haven't ever really stopped watching.

That was until last year. After a really bad 2024 the show was cut down to three episodes a week due to budget constraints and problems with viewing numbers due to the rise in the number of people streaming and not watching linear/analogue/live TV. Most people these days who have a television only have it for dedocation or just use the applications on it rather than actually watching live TV.

That is just one of the many problems with Shortland Street though there are many more and I will detail them in this blog post.  Before you ask why I still have a blog in 2026 when most people have vlogs, the answer is quite simple. I prefer the written word and would rather write content than read content. That's not to say I wouldn't start a YouTube channel, I do have one. I just don't feel like posting videos. The written word is way more authentic for me and there's less need to perform, which is weird given I'm an actor and ernjoy being on camera.

Anyway, moving on from that and into the purpose of the blog. Here are some changes I would make to the show to get it back to its glory days.

1 - Re-introduce non-hospital sets

While some drama absolutely takes place in the hospital, normally the ED department, the best place for drama is at someone's house/apartment, the local bar, the local cafe, the local school or exterior locations like a beach or the street. The show lacks a big financial budget so that's no issue. In 1992 Chris's apartment was first introduced. Two years later Grace's apartment was introduced but they were actually the same set refurnished based on whose apartment was being filmed in. It gets very boring watching a show with only one or two hospital sets.

Retire the Molly's set. It is one of the worst bar sets the show has ever had and is absoultely awful. There also hasn't been a cafe set since the 2022 season finale when there was the Ferndale fire.  A cafe set needs to be re-introduced rather than just filming the staff outside having lunch or coffee. Even having a caravan with a couple of seats would be oky if the budget doesn't allow for a completely new set to be built.

 2 - Reduce the number of medical storylines

If people wanted to watch Grey's Anatomy or some equivalent show they would. If they wanted to watch a medical documentary they would. Basically the excessive use of medical storylines becomes boring and there's no reason to tune in every episode. 

 3 - Re-introduce a family and personal relationships

People tune into the show for relationships and want drama. Without a family you don't have drama. Without teenagers you don't have drama. Without parents you don't have drama. Without interpersonal relationships whether that's romantic relationships, friendships or sworn enemies you do not have drama.  That also provides opportunities for weddings and funerals, neither or which the show has had in at least a couple of years. Introduce a proper group of teenagers so they can interact with eachother rather than casting a teenager and giving them adult storylines like they did with Cassie.

4 - Stop recycling storylines

It gets really boring seeing Esther pregnant basically every single year. Just because the actor is pregnant in real life does not mean that needs to be written into the show. Women can have storylines other than being pregnant. Ther'es opportunities for love triangles, career issues, attempted murder, mental health issues etc.

5 - Don't refuse to cast white women

The last couple of years the producers have been happy to cast white men, coloured men, but for some reason refuse to cast white women which is outright racism and reduces relatability. Look through previous cast photos and you'll see the cast was actually MORE diverse in the 90s than it is now. It's outright exclusionary at this point and the producers will aliente the few viewers they have left if they don't do something about this. Bringing back former cast members like Rachel and Libby does not count. There are no NEW white women being cast. That is an actual fact. Race doesn't need to be a character's sole identity either. Look back on episodes from the 90s and you'll see it was just a part of who they were but wasn't their entire personality. On that, don't pair characters just for diversity sake. The reality is Chris Warner would never ever look at someone like Selina, yet they've been paired and it just suspends belief based on the character's 33 year history.

 6 - Quit with the time jumps

TV is supposed to be escapism. It suspends reality if there is a time jump between the season finale and the season return. It just looks like sloppy writing and leaves so many unanswered questions. If budget is the issue then film the season return at the same time as the season finale and THEN take the end of year break. It's also really anti climactic if there's a time jump and reduces possible drama. Shortland Street is a serial not a movie and shouldn't be written as a movie.

7 - Bring back the fun storylines

In the 90s there were some crazy storylines like a wedding ring being caught in a fish and arguments over who would have the trolley round. The producers needs to introduce the fun back  into the show rather than just having depressing storylines.

 8 - Don't butcher characters

There are so many characters recently that have been absolutely butchered like HarryWarner (this can be fixed by doing a stolen identity storyline like with Samara in 2001), Nicole Miller, Maeve Mullens and Harper Whitley. If a character has exhausted their usefulness then write them out. Don't keep them on the show just because you're friends with them. Keep them behind the scenes if you want to keep them employed but don't butcher them.

9 - Introduce a bartender and/or cafe owner

These two positions can actually be combined with the person working between the two or if a couple was brought back like Nick and Waverley or Caroline and Greg they could work in both. It would also open up potential for more storylines and give viewers a break from all the hospital sets which became really repetitive and boring after a while. 

10 - Adopt a digital first approach. Rather than targeting traditional networks simply make the show available on the TVNZ website at a small price for a subscription regardless of geographical location. Nobody wants to wait six months for a whow to be shown at a specific time anymore. That's simply not what people's viewing habits are anymore. Change with the times.

 There are so many other changes I would make but these are the top ones.