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GIVEAWAY: HOW I MET YOUR MUM
fter plenty of anticipation, the eighth legendary season of ‘How I Met Your Mother’ is available on DVD. The Emmy-award winning series is loved by millions of fans who have followed it since its very first season, with the show’s eclectic cast of characters charming over audiences. Over seven million views regularly tune in to the show in the United States alone, and has been a massive hit in Australia too. Josh Radnor stars as the show’s main character Ted, who is telling his future children the story of how he came to meet their mother after spending many lovelorn years looking for ‘the one’ in New York City. In his flashbacks, he recounts his life with close friends – lawyer Marshall and his wife Lily, journalist Robin and the unforgettable ladies man Barney, whose many catchphrases and antics have made him the show’s breakout character. The show’s talented star-studded cast includes Josh Radnor (‘Liberal Arts’) as Ted, Jason Segel (‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’) as Marshall, Alyson Hannigan (‘American Pie’, ‘Buffy’) as Lily, Cobie Smulders (‘The Avengers’) as Robin and Neil Patrick
Harris (‘The Smurfs’) as Barney. Season eight delivers plenty of plot twists and turns, with Marshall and Lily dealing with the arrival of their baby son Marvin, which reminds them of their lack of sleep and sex, and their unsatisfying jobs. In the meantime, Barney finally succeeds at using the suave tricks in his playbook to win over his crush Robin, although struggles to get along with her scary dad. The gang’s work lives are also explored, with Marshall trying to fix a wrong move in court in the hopes of becoming a judge one day, and Ted designing an impressive building at his firm. The Season 8 DVD has 23 hilarious episodes, with appearances from guest stars including Paul Shaffer, Ralph Macchio and Kyle MacLachlan. Packed with special features, the three-disc set includes a behind-the-scenes tour of the set with Josh Radnor, a segment on the making of the Robin Sparkles’ music video and deleted scenes, a gag reel and audio commentary. With season nine already hitting television screens across the world, catching up on all the laughs and twists of season eight is a must do.
FYI has three copies of ‘How I Met Your Mother Season 8’ on DVD to give away. For your chance to win, email the code word ‘MOTHER’ to competitions@westernweekender.com.au with your name and contact details. Entries close Wednesday, November 20. Authorised under NSW Permit Number LTPM/12/01138. Terms and conditions at www.westernweekender.com.au.
SHAKE By Carli Davidson
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he highly acclaimed book Shake by Carli Davidson is unique, amusing and brilliantly documented. It captures heart-warming and beautiful images of charismatic dogs in their most truthful moments, when they are mid-shake. Everyone has seen a wet dog shaking its fur before but not like this. It contains 61 glorious and graphic images of dogs that will make your heart melt. You get to see the dogs in ways you never have before; hair wild, eyes darting, ears and jowls flopping in every way, simply amazing. In 2011, Davidson began to experiment with an idea that she had been developing – capturing a dog shaking its head. She used high-speed photo techniques. She named her project ‘Shake’ and she immediately set to work to capture man’s best friend in the rawest of moments. She began to post these photos on the internet where they went viral, very quickly gathering millions of views worldwide. Finally, she decided to put all her collections into a book – just what the fans wanted and had been waiting for. This book takes you behind the scenes where all the magic happens and Davidson tells us what her inspiration was for the project and the details about it.
She also talks about a roster of the modelling dogs, notes the importance of animal rescues and includes an entertaining collection of behind-the-scenes photos. Davidson is an award winning photographer and an animal trainer and caretaker. Her photos have been featured in both national and international news publications, photography magazines, and websites. These include Vanity Fair, The New York Times, BBC, Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, Photo District News and ABC World News. She has a degree and background in photography, but has spent the majority of her life working in places for animal care such as zoos, shelters and nature reserves. She is an animal rights activist, volunteering with medically and behaviourally needy pets as a foster parent and trainer. Her novel has received wonderful reviews from everyone that has read it and many book critics. Praise from critics includes: “This simple but inspired photo shoot by Carli Davidson . . . is a hilarious portrayal of flying fur, flopping jowls, and budging eyes,” from The New York Times. The Huffington Post had a similarly positive review, writing: “A wet, shaking dog may be a common sight for pet lovers, but few have ever seen wet dogs captured quite like this”.