STICKY POST
Tuesday, 26. June 2007, 14:26:56
Ap, H, Py, nicknames
...
Good morning/evening/day, Opera-tors
My blog. I was put off at first by the sheer banality of a lot of stuff, then the sheer excellence of many other blogs. I can put 2 sentences together better than that, but how can I match that?
So. We are going to talk about us. Us is me, my partner of 20 years (wow!), H, and my three engaging children, Ap, Py, and Ar. The names are an attempt to give a little insight into their approach to life; if it doesn't make sense, just let me pander to my Olympian fancies (that's a clue). We're a bit odd here in Oz; we secretly admire our great ones, but we reckon we can go up to anyone we like and say, nice one. So... here is a little bit of Olympus in our little bit of Norway here in Oz.
Saturday, 28. November 2009, 15:04:46
weather, climate change, politics
I know I know, and everyone is saying how strange it's becoming. But I have to say 2 things.
We are having unusually heavy downpours here inland. It's been mild & humid for nearly a week, with tropical rainstorms, but just not quite enough to tear the ground up. It's good rain, & welcome. I'm from Sydney so I'm extra pleased: it feels a bit like my past.
And - unbelievably - the federal conservative opposition seem intent on destroying themselves with climate change scepticism. Their leader, supporting action on climate change, faces a party revolt. Self-destruction. I read that many of their voters support the action; if they oppose the bill, & lose just 10% of the voters in favour of the bill, they lose 20 seats in the next election... how sweet would that be.
The opposition leader, Malcolm Turnbull, is one of the most intelligent people in parliament, & the Liberals' only hope. I feel sorry for the man, but this couldn't happen to a more deserving party.
Friday, 27. November 2009, 14:29:36
spin, creativity, Ap
My apologies. I've been away a while. Not really, life has careered on its merry way; H is here, Ap, Py & Ar are growing, jumping, dancing, living at a great rate. I've let myself get distracted, & I've stopped writing. This has not been good. It's very important to create things, it keeps your head together. I believe it's nearly as important as breathing, & as important as resting. So I've rested, & now I'm creating.
Ap made a great observation. A Young Liberal (read: conservative) was complaining about the Labor government & its spending programs on the TV. Ap said, "Hey I read those exact words in the newspaper yesterday!" Now you know what "the party line" means, Ap. Political spin-doctors, caught out by a teenager... that's a good sign.
Thursday, 25. December 2008, 22:00:00
holidays, Ap, H, Py
...
I am so glad the holidays are here.
I'm not sure how long I was going to last at the current pace. We are installing an enormous web site (in December? Why not!), and the voluntary overtime is great fun, but just a bit wearing.
But it's Christmas now. I've had a long chat to brother in the next state, and Skype has let me see sister, bro in law & nieces in Germany. We did nutty things, like take the lappy outside to show our christmas lights. Ap made faces most of the time, and we carried an inflatable dalek (Py's present from an aunty) across the background.
Sometimes the 21st Century is just right.
It's been a marvellous Christmas. Midnight Mass at the Cathedral. Coming out at 1.30am with the bells pealing into the night. We have traditional stockings out for the children, and father Christmas made his rounds. Breakfast in bits & pieces, then The Present Session after that. Ar was first "Dad here's yours." A Santa suit. How very... red.
All the parents in law were here for our long lunch, which was outdoors in a lovely 34 degrees (93 Fahrenheit). We had had a touch of rain this month, so the garden was quite green and fresh. Good Australian champagne, wines, beers, even soft drink. Ap had made meringues, & christmas cake, supervised closely by my mother. Anything with marzipan is simply good, I say.
We finished up with a bit of cooking for the extended family party tomorrow. H's specialty is gingery chick peas from the
Moosewood Cook book. A truly mellow day. A blessed day.
I hope you've had a good Christmas too. We live in a crazy age, but there's so much good around (really), and I hope you feel it, or add to it. If you can read this, you're luckier than most people.
I wish you well.
Wednesday, 3. December 2008, 13:32:56
life, digital citizensdhip, internet, creative
...
Just went to an exciting presentation: Cyber Safety & Digital Citizenship.
And guess what? It's not all doom & gloom. In fact, very little of it IS doom & gloom (although there are some sobering implications).
We learnt a few interesting facts about the lives of young people, which will be old news to young people, of course. A survey of 18,000 youngsters found they have an average of
94 numbers stored in their phones! The online world & the offline world are seamlessly joined for many people - the "digital natives".
I found it unsettling to consider this.
Does anyone remember Woody Allen's film
The Purple Rose of Cairo? Mia Farrow, in the Great Depression, goes to the movies to escape her awful life, and fantasy & reality are confused when the movie character comes off the screen.
The online world is much more grounded in reality, but is
far more pervasive than 2 hours at the pictures. It truly is 24/7/365. Where will we go with this?
But more encouraging at the talk was evidence that internet residents are much more sensible than the tabloids think. Risky behaviour is rare rather than the norm, & is done by people who are vulnerable & risky in real life. Stranger Danger is a myth online as it is in the real world - your most likely abusers are your classmates or older siblings (sadly).
There are concerns: ethical questions (downloads, plagiarism, etc.), legal issues (take a sexy picture of yourself & legally - if you're underage - you're a child pornographer), time management, etc. But mostly, it's good!
Young people are enhancing their written skills with the vast amount of writing they're doing. They are becoming media creators. They are adept & adaptable with new equipment & ideas. They are more open in certain ways. The online world is a huge fertile place to discover yourself & try new things.
They have something to say, they're saying it their way, & us wrinklies had better listen!
Monday, 1. December 2008, 13:14:07
Ap, grumpy, dance, lame
Ap came home from the school dance.
"It was okay I guess, but the music was just too loud. And the DJ, he was pretty old. And he didn't do anything! He didn't say much, he just ticked us off.
"There was a smoke machine, which puffed a bit of smoke about every half hour, so you couldn't really see the lasers. They just hurt your eyes. It wasn't that good(!)
"I didn't see many people I knew. I guess they didn't bother coming."
I can't understand why!!!
I saw the end of it. Not much music, not much energy, very few lights. Yeah it's the school gym: so do something! Roving spotlights on the silver paper lining of the walls. Big inflatables. And a better DJ.
You do have to wonder, what's it for, coz it didn't come across as much fun for anyone.
Saturday, 29. November 2008, 15:59:47
video, Py, creative, Mac
...
I'm in shock. & awe. Py has made a movie. Just like that. Well, nearly just like that.
I mentioned camping for 3 days to
help Py video his racing team. And he & sister Ar had time off school.
I lent him my Mac Powerbook lappy, with the native
iLife suite: iMovie to load & edit the movie, iPhoto looks after photos, Garageband lets you add a soundtrack, iDVD puts the whole thing onto a DVD with groovy animated menus. He might have done a bit of P2P with Limewire, but we might skate past that! The Mac software works together so well, it's unbelieveable. Yes, I'm raving, but you will when you try it.
He put together a stunning production, about 15 mins from 2 1/2 hours of tape (about 37 Gb, BTW), in just a day.
Then a minor disaster: the external hard disc was disconnected, and the project file was corrupted. So he re-assembled the whole thing again.
Py is such an artist, & such an engineer; with equipment that works well, he's startling.
Some things about these times are just great. Easy to use creative equipment, & here I am writing to you in other countries through a Norwegian web site... let's keep the good bits
Thursday, 27. November 2008, 12:42:12
night, Ar, walking, trains
Had some sleep, but more would be nicer.
Ar keeps asking "can we go on a night walk?" These are pleasant, but have to start after 8.30, to be in the dark, and school next day means it's out of the question. But Ar & Py have the day off school tomorrow... so away we went!
A warm wind blew around us, & low cloud reflected the town's lights back down. It was lovely. As we crossed the railway we heard a distant train horn, but the rails were quiet and empty. Not many cars about either. Peaceful.
Wednesday, 19. November 2008, 13:49:20
backpacking, grumpy, blogs, tired
This is a bit of a grump. Please put up with it.
I've been tired for ages, & I'm sick of it. H has finaly finished her horror project, but for weeks now it has consumed us. We (mostly she) have been working crazy hours at all sorts of times. My own work is there too, & three gorgeous but energetic children, impromptu guests, dance concerts, hayfever, work trips... it's getting to me I think.
And tomorrow I set off to a nearby town for 3 days, because I'm helping Py video his racing team. I should be asleep, not writing this.
Not quite true. I'm finding this quite relaxing; a bit of "me" time, so I'll stay up a bit longer. Read a few people's blogs.
I'm still a bit puzzled by the blog thing. I enjoy meeting people in person. In cyberspace, are people even real? And the relationships are very different; a bit detached? Intimate in a sort of anonymous way. It reminds me of backpacking in Europe. Friendly strangers, who shared such details, then moved on. I like the range of nationalities in Opera (& I have fond memories of Norway - hello Stamsund!), I like the connections - the people are real, by the way! And I like the way ideas float in & out of my head & end up on the screen for me to see later. And for you to see, I hope!
It's got this strange pull, this blog thing. Thanks for reading this.
Sunday, 9. November 2008, 15:04:28
Ar, dance, Py, Ap
...
They were stars. My dancing three, they stole the show. The whole evening. And the funniest thing was, all the other parents said exactly the same thing about their children.
Seriously, the calibre of the dance was universally stunning. From the opening moment when 2 4-year olds were towed on little "clouds" across the stage, we were entranced.
The story of Eurynome is an ancient creation myth from Greece. Our dance teacher conceived of having "cherubs" demand a bedtime story from the goddesses/older dancers, so they describe the dance of Eurynome as she, erm, "gets to know" the serpent Ophion.
Commencing with the primal ooze spread across the stage, Ap & his gorgeous companions created a sinister, dark, obscure dance, which finished with the dancers oozing off the stage onto the front row of the audience! Definitely not the Nutcracker!
From the union of Eurynome & Ophion (Ap & a friend) comes all the creatures of the earth. Ar's group was the wind, then the birds. Py's group was the sea, later humans, but a highlight was when they came out as the insects. They were wonderfully comical as they explored the stage, then swarmed around. I just cracked up.
The overall standard was so high, the choreography (a lot of it made by the dancers themselves), the light & sound, this was nearly professional quality from the teenagers, & the younger ones show the promise. We are so fortunate to have such an inspired dance studio. No excessive make-up, just a few simple costumes, such a wide range of music, linked to great stories, & NO forced smiles. That's the clincher: almost every single child beamed genuine grace, confidence & joy. It was a joy.
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