Did you watch 4 Corners last evening?

A chilling doco about the current status of women in Afghanistan.

Despite the fall of the Taliban many women still live in dreadful
repressive circumstances. One of the most disturbing things is the
number of young women who try to commit suicide by burning
themselves to death. This is often unsuccessful & they are left with

horrible scarring & living in pain thereafter. It is confronting indeed
and left me with a sense of powerlessness in terms of what can be
done. My small gesture is to be a member of Amnesty International.

http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/content/2007/s2038790.htm

Flickr groups

Have joined a few groups in Flickr. With my current interest in shadows,
two caught my eye......shadow cats & our shadows (alter egos)
Will post a few shadow pics there soon.

Done! Posted my profile shadow photo to the our shadows group.

Top 5 uncommon timesavers for bloggers

Whilst checking out some info about blogging, came across this
little gem by a guy called Tim Ferris, who is the author of
The 4 hour week. With our current binge on blogging thought
a few tips for time saving may be useful!

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/09/21/
the-top-5-uncommon-timesavers-for-bloggers/

Commenting on blogs

Have browsed through a few of the many SwinLib blogs that are out there now & left a few comments. Happy to discover someone planning to travel to Japan. Reading their blog brings back many fond memories for me of my travels there.

Can now see the use of comments
and how they're great for sharing
ideas & information.

SAVAGE LUXURY
Modernist Design in Melbourne 1930–1939
14 July - 4 November 2007

is a lavish insight into early modernist interior design originating in Melbourne during the 1930s. The exhibition is the first comprehensive survey of modern interiors and furnishings designed and commissioned in Australia prior to World War II, positioning Melbourne at the forefront of interior design at this time.

Curated by Nanette Carter, Design Lecturer, Faculty of Design, Swinburne
*****Highly recommended

Photos of Living Library @ Prahran

Tom has posted some good ones on the Wiki.
I have put the ones I took on the day onto my
Flickr account. To look at them just click on
the Flickr link in my Links list
Happy viewing!

Life after the living library!

LL was a great success. Lots of enthusiastic books & readers, a stunning cake & yummy food. Once it gets going the LL seems to just take off and have a life and energy all of it's own!

Our Off the Cuff Poet summed up the experience in her poem

Book's Epilogue

We've been read,
our pages turned.

The question is who
got more learned?

I met some brilliant
inspiring readers -

Obvious stars in life,
true leaders.

Loved the time to
re-live, chat,
share, feel rounded,
no longer flat!

Jennie Fraine

The A B C of Living Books

A is for Animator / Aerialist / AKA Fat Helen / Artist
B is for Backyard Beekeeper
C is for Costumier
D is for Dapper Feral

Just a few of the Living Books who will be at Prahran
Campus Library tomorrow between 2.00-4.00 pm

& there's more....... Off the Cuff Poet / Outdoor Adventurer /
Visual Artist / Motherboard Down / Permaculture Designer /
Intrepid Jamaican Traveller /

Do hope this tempts you to come along & join in!

Living Library comes to Prahran

Preparations are going well.....a real team effort.

We have 15 interesting Living Books generously giving their time
and ready to chat about their life stories/skills/interests.

It's all happening on Thursday, 13 September, 2.00 - 4.00 pm
in the Library @ Prahran Campus,
PK Building, St John Street

Come along if you can, as it will be a fun afternoon.

I went to the Living Library @ Croydon last week & had a great time.
Talked to several books and my eyes were opened by some of their
stories, especially those of the Burmese students, who had fled from
Burma as refugees to India & after years of living in New Delhi have
now come to Australia & are studying English.

A few days in the country does wonders...

Had a great break in East Gippsland. My friends have made a sea change
to a 5 acre block & live now, what seems to me, a city slicker, a relaxing
laid back lifestyle.

The many native trees & bushes they have are beginning to bloom & one morning I was woken by a noisy wattle bird, feeding on nectar from flowers on a bush, just outside my bedroom window.

We had a nice reciprocal exchange of skills while I stayed, as they were keen to start a blog ( of which I know a tiny bit about now) & I wanted to learn some simple yoga stretching exercises,
to help stretch out my spine after hours of sitting at a PC each day. They being disciplined yoga practitioners were happy to teach me. Fair exchange!

I had a leisurely drive home to Melbourne, stopping at a few local galleries
& visiting Kongwak ( yes that is the name of the town!) market.