Author Archives: suesbent

Smelling the roses

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Yellow, purple, white, red and orange flowers are in full blossom in my garden. The perfume from the flowers on the orange tree and grapefruit tree fill the air with a citrus fragrance. I have picked the first roses of the season and their perfume fills my kitchen.

 

Since my recent change of direction I have not had a minute to spare. I have been totally occupied and feel fresh, rejuvenated and creative once again. I have so many ideas coming at me that it’s hard to keep up and to know which track to take.

 

I have practiced playing the piano, designed a new website, been to the movies, eaten out with friends and family on several occasions, shopped, walked, cycled a 60 kilometre route through the nearby hills, cleaned the house and my study, enjoyed a lively discussion at Book Club, listened to music and practiced yoga. And this is just week one of my new life. I am also thinking about the next stage of my oil painting of tree ferns. I have been stuck after the initial laying on of paint, but now I feel free to attack the next stage.

 

I have also worked in the local public library. What a great relief it is for me to once again be working in a positive, professional, and truly valued service to the community. To be able to help people find the information they seek and to see their immediate joy when we succeed in helping them. It is a pleasure and a privilege.

 

One elderly lady wanted pictures and diagrams of Couta boats so that she could restore a model of a Couta boat that she had inherited. We have, in the collection, a fantastic book that answered her question specifically.

 

This public library has Wii’s for the junior electronic games folk in our community. I have little experience with Wii’s, so after switching them on, I left it to the 6 year olds to work it out. And of course they did. One excited boy proudly told me he had reached Level 4!

Leap and the net will appear

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I sat in the boat out on the bay soaking up the sunshine while my husband fished. No nets required but the bucket was soon full of Whiting for dinner.

I had leapt from my job hoping the net would appear. One can only stay in a job for so long when the feelings of being under-utilised, under valued and unproductive become burdens too great to carry. So I leapt without a safety net. And like magic the net has appeared and I begin work in a new job the very day after I finish the current one.

Returning to public library work feels like a gift to me. It is work that is busy, interesting, satisfying and of real and immediate benefit to the community. I love it. I can continue to follow my interest in technology, website design, art and architecture whilst also helping others follow their own interests.

Grand Designs

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Grand Designs is my favourite TV show at the moment. It really is a great concept. Made in the United Kingdom and intelligently hosted by Kevin McCloud, it follows domestic building projects from start to finish.

There are a wide variety of circumstances that add to the interest and individuality of each unique project. Some people use professional architects, project managers, builders, etc. Others use one or two, while some go at the project alone – bravely or perhaps foolishly. It is often surprising to see the results from some really determined people.

For Australians it offers some architectural work not commonly seen here in Australia. For starters we lack old stone castles, and you won’t find too many buildings over 200 years old ripe for renovation. Then there are the obvious climatic differences. This brings a whole range of differing factors that shape the design and construction of the buildings. Their ground is a lot different to ours. They experience a lot more mud than we’ll ever see. The heat and light in Australia are harsher and this means we design to accommodate those conditions. You don’t see too many verandas in UK building design. But those UK cousins of ours soldier on, building their castles in the snow and mud and cold. You really have to admire their tenacity. How many aussie tradies do you know that knock off and go surfing if the conditions are right? And good luck to them.

Kevin McCloud brings intelligent commentary to the process. He plays the devils advocate baiting the starry-eyed visionaries with possibilities of things that could go wrong. His background in architecture and design ensures his input comes from a solid knowledge base and understanding.

It is a real pity Australian TV production companies don’t take careful note of the popularity of this show amongst Australian viewers. Everyone I talk to watches it and loves it as much as I do. I thought my background in industrial design made me specifically attuned to this show, but it seems to reach beyond that. I suppose we all dream of beautiful homes to own and live in, and we’d all like to shape that nest to fit our own unique sensibilities.

I cringe at the aussie shows like Location Location and Backyard Blitz. When Better Homes and Gardens comes on I can’t change channels quick enough. The loud discordant theme music is enough to make me shudder and this is quickly followed by the shouting bullying monologue of the presenters.

Even the introductory theme music of Grand Designs is beautiful and of real quality. Well done Kevin McCloud and Grand Designs and the ABC for airing it in Australia. On Facebook I’ve joined the groups Kevin McCloud Makes Architecture Sexy and The Kevin McCloud Appreciation Society. Cool!!

 

Big Brother

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I have recently read a couple of interesting articles about privacy on the internet. Two of these were marking the 10th anniversary of Google. ‘Big friendly giant…or big brother?’ by David smith was published in the Age’s Good Weekend magazine on 13th September 2008. Here is his blog about the article. It was reported that Google “harvest more of our secrets than any totalitarian government”, and that “they have amassed more information about people in 10 years than all of the governments of the world put together.” Scary thoughts. But Larry Page and Sergey Brin who founded Google in September of 1998 instill this daily reminder into their employees – ‘Don’t be evil’. Their mission is to “organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”

I then read the article ‘Facebook and the social dynamics of privacy’ by James Grimmelmann. The Grimmelmann article reports that “A 2006 survey of Facebook users found that 77% of them have never read its privacy policy.” And that “later regret about initial openness is an especially serious problem for the most active social network site users: young people.”

I think that the difference between using Facebook and using Google is that in general people don’t realise that Google are farming your personal details, whereas with Facebook personal information is voluntarily and knowingly provided by the users.

I am an avid user of Google’s tools and use Gmail, Google Reader, Google Maps and Street View, YouTube, Google Books and Google Docs as well as being my first port of call for any web search. And I love Facebook. What a clever interface designed by the young Mark Zuckerberg. It pulls in many of the tools used by web-users and offers them up on the same website. Users can communicate with their friends via chat, email, posts, and share images, videos, games, and links. Users can join groups where their interests lie. It really is an amazing and addictive piece of software. But it is public and therein lays the problems. Where is the protection from predators, or future employers, or friends who are no longer friends, or identity frauds? Many people seem to be unaware of the dangers and often believe that there is ‘safety in numbers’. But in this era “connectedness is social currency”, so what can we do? Be aware I suppose. Read the small print. Be mindful of what you put on there. Self censor. Is it possible to do that and still have fun? “Our social lives are infinitely richer than any controlled vocabulary [labels to describe] can comprehend.”

 

 

Stingrays unplugged

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It seemed strange sitting on the dais talking to the parents of the 17 and 18 year old football players at the Dandenong Stingrays Football Club. It brought back memories of our recent experiences there as parents of our son who played with them. He captained the Stingrays to a Grand Final in 2005 playing at the MCG on AFL Grand Final Day. To many of these people we would appear to be the success story they are hoping their sons will follow, and yet it has never felt like that to us. It has always been a roller-coaster teetering between success and failure. Our son’s football career still hangs in the balance.

The purpose of the session was to provide information to the parents as AFL Draft Day approaches. We are the parents of a son who is now a current AFL player for Port Adelaide Football Club. There were two AFL player managers, and an AFL recruiter also sitting as part of the panel. Darren posed questions and we answered for an attentive audience of parents from two of the TAC Cup clubs.

We did not have to try to be positive because it really is a fantastic privilege to be involved at this level of football. Whatever has happened for our son has been a real bonus and offered life-enriching experiences. It’s been a great ride so far and we have met some wonderful people and done some great things: not least of all is watch some great football.

This session was unplugged! No videos, no PowerPoint presentations, no ustreaming to the WWW. And it wasn’t that these people don’t use these tools. This is AFL football! Everything gets recorded, edited, replayed, seen everywhere. Everyone’s comments are analysed and rehashed over and over. The relevance to other people outside of this group is also something that would rate highly. But it was really nice to not have these distractions. It was a conversation between people in real time and real space. It was a delight.

 

 

Walking on the moon

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Ron Howard knows how to capture the great stories and preserve the knowledge for future generations. I watched In the Shadow of the Moon which is a documentary about the moon landings. Between 1968 and 1972 nine American spacecraft voyaged to the moon. Twelve men walked on the surface and only 24 astronauts have ever seen the earth in its entirety; as a blue and white jewel suspended in the blackness of the universe.

 

The integrity of this documentary was apparent in its use of actual footage of the Apollo missions and the commentaries in the words of the astronauts. It makes for compelling viewing in its simplicity. It needs no special effects to give it significance. There is no hype.

 

I remember clearly seeing the TV coverage of Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon. I was at primary school and remember watching it at school on TV. It filled me with awe and wonder and an interest in space flight and our universe that has never left me. Ron Howard obviously felt that same sense of awe. It is important to record the moments as they occur and then preserve them for the future. It is also a real gift to see and hear the astronauts recall these events, especially now looking back. And it’s imperative to get the dialogue from those interviews recorded before those courageous men get too old. When asked about the popular notion that the moon landings were staged, most replied with amusement pointing out the obvious problems with this thinking.

Eugene Cernan: “Truth needs no defense. Nobody can take the footsteps I made on the surface of the moon away from me.”

 

Now just 40 years on and everything we do in our whole world is recorded and edited. It is great to see the creative and thought-provoking work being done by many people. I only hope that the stories of real importance and significance aren’t lost amidst the barrage of superficial nonsense that is out there – much of it being constantly peddled by the paid media on TV.

Are you clickable?

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“Are you clickable?” – We were reminded by Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach at a recent talk she gave at our school. She is referring to the fact that many employers will “Google” potential employees and so teachers today should be making students aware of this and showing them how to create positive online information about themselves.

Sheryl’s presentation was about 21st Century Learning; something she is passionate about and trying to spread the word to the world. She encourages collaborative efforts towards this end. She encourages us all to become familiar with these online tools so that we can be proficient and knowledgeable in the 21st Century because “you can’t give away what you don’t own.”

Step 1 is “lurking”. Just log onto the web 2.0 sites and start reading and watching so that you get a feel for what’s going on. I think “lurking” is an unkind term for what is really personal investigation and self-education.

Step 2 is where you realise you have things to say and you find your own voice. This can be daunting especially for those of us who are reserved, and who perhaps like to give due consideration to our train of thought before we bleat it to the world.

Step 3 is connecting with others online and this too can be a challenge. Each group tends to have their own language according to their field of interest and for those not quite involved it can feel exclusive: like a clique. It really depends how much you wish to immerse yourself in that group.

I enjoyed hearing Sheryl speak but I felt my eyes begin to glaze over when she described how she set up virtual food for guests she had invited into her Second Life room to watch the Superbowl together. I could feel myself looking for the door but fortunately she did not dwell too much on this topic and moved forward. I agree with her in that Second Life does have a place in education but I wonder if that level of immersion in the virtual world is necessary or even wise.

Book Club

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Finally I am in a Book Club and have attended my first meeting this week. The book we read and discussed was Wicked but virtuous by Mirka Mora. It is an autobiography of the Melbourne artist. As someone who formally studied art and design in Melbourne I was embarrassed to admit not knowing of either her or her work. Having said that I discovered she is probably as good an artist as she is a writer, and that is “poor” in my opinion. The book was more of a memoir in the style of an unedited stream of consciousness. It lacked detail, information, and insight into her life and relationships. It was pretentious and parasitic in the way she loved to name-drop.

 

I know of and really admire the work of other great Australian female artists such as Margaret Olley, Margaret Preston, Stella Bowen and Grace Cossington Smith. These were artists of substantial talent and contribution. Stravinsky’s lunch written by Drusilla Modjeska is a rich and brilliant exploration of the art, life and times of Stella Bowen and Grace Cossington Smith set alongside the happenings of Australian society at the time. It is a book I wholeheartedly recommend.

 

The Book Club offers me a chance to broaden my reading outside my habitual tendencies. It also is a privilege to share our varied responses to literature and to hear the opinions and thoughts of others. It gives depth to my own limited ideas and notions. The things known about a topic beyond what is written in the book adds more to the story and discussion. Others in the group knew of Mirka Mora and her art and shared their tales. It served to enrich the experience and opened us all to more of Melbourne’s short history.

 

Meanwhile at work our Book Club students competed in the annual Readers’ Cup Challenge. I helped judge the quiz where the teams answered questions about the four books they had read: What I was by Meg Rosoff; The red necklace by Sally Gardner; Town by James Roy; and One whole and perfect day by Judith Clarke.

 

The girls had decorated their tables, responded to creative tasks by making colourful masks, and wedding dresses, and they had dressed up for the occasion. It was a fun activity and The Jane Austen Book Club won by a slim margin.

I like to move it

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What an inspiration the Olympic performances are for us all to get out there and move our sluggish bodies! How thrilling is it to watch those toned perfect human physiques pushing themselves to their limits?

 

It can and does inspire many of us to get on a bike, or run, or swim or whatever. But let’s face it, one or two sessions is not going to do it. It needs to be regular, repetitive, focused and ongoing for all of our lives. It has to be a life style.

 

My recent trip around Europe involved too much sitting, beer, cheese and pasta and no exercise. I did sweat but that was only because it was so hot in Italy. It has taken me a little while to get back into my exercise routine but now I’m back at it.

 

I continue to move my body as it ages and it gets harder to keep hold of fitness and flexibility. I love moving my body. I know the feeling of mastery of a movement: having mastered a skill then pushing it to the next level. Having the confidence in your body to be able to accelerate: stretching out with your arm and pulling back with strength; leaning forward on your bike and pushing down hard with your legs; putting your weight into a lean or jump, or pull, or push, knowing your body will respond and reward you with a rush. But the full reward of that rush can only be realised after a foundation of work and effort has been built. It needs discipline, effort, practice, refinement and improvement.

 

We can’t all be as talented and focused or graceful as Olympic athletes or AFL footballers. We don’t need to be in order to feel that euphoria of achievement. This kind of movement is not a chore but a JOY.

Fuel your mind

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Library in Nice France

Library in Nice France

Driving through Nice in France I was surprised to see an extremely unusual building and then delighted to learn it is a library. Who else but the French would build such a quirky building? I love it. The busy tour schedule meant that I couldn’t get back to the library to walk around or go inside. Next time I visit Nice I will for sure. 

Meanwhile at our library we are preparing for the annual celebration of Children’s Book Week and the theme this year is Fuel Your Mind. The CBCA website offers promotional materials for sale to libraries, such as posters and bookmarks, however access and availability of these is limited. Often the graphics are directed towards a young audience and not suited to the secondary school students. So we produce our own signs, posters, and bookmarks. This year we have used the Nice library as the key graphic as it represents the theme of Fuel Your Mind perfectly.

I can only admire and applaud the French creativity, ingenuity and courage for producing architecture such as this unusual library.