18.01. Looking forward to things

Looking forward is something I really like.

At the moment I am really looking forward to a trip to Paris and there is a special book that is making my anticipation so much sweeter.

Called Paris: A Guide to the City’s Creative Heart by Janelle McCulloch, it is a sumptuous amuse bouche of the city that looks well beyond the usual sights (though it covers those as well) into lots of hidden nooks and crannies.

Source: janellemccullochlibraryofdesign.blogspot.com via Maree on Pinterest

She covers so much-  bookstores, vintage stores and flea markets, design, homewares, what she calls “whimsical” stores as well as eateries of all styles (from tea salons to food markets).  And for each of the arrondissements, she has a description of their vibe and a guide for a lovely wander.

We are staying in the 5th.  Her chapter opener makes my mouth water:

“The Jardin des Plantes and its glorious menagerie, the exotic gardens and tea rooms of the Paris Mosque, the grace and sheer grandeur of the Pantheon and the ‘snail’ trails between Boulevard Saint-Germain and the Seine- tiny side streets filled with atmosphere, architecture and an enchanting silvery light”

These are a few highlights I’m really looking forward to thanks to Janelle.

Tea in the pink tea salon at the Grand Mosque

Source: google.com.au via Maree on Pinterest

 

A romantic dinner for 2 at Le Bistrot du Peintre

Source: qype.co.uk via Maree on Pinterest

 

Pottering around some fab flea markets

Source: cafefernando.com via Maree on Pinterest

Source: cafefernando.com via Maree on Pinterest

 

Loads of fabulous unique stores

Source: google.com.au via Maree on Pinterest

I found an interview with Janelle here, that has her thoughts on a one day walking tour that sounds fab.

What is it that you are looking forward to?

17.01. The last of the summer blackberries

We are down to the last few blackberries on the bush in our backyard and savouring every last one.  The bush has had so much fruit this year.

We’ve eaten heaps straight off the bush- such a great flavour! And we’ve tried a few different recipes, my favourite was definitely Bill Granger’s Blackberry and Coconut Slice. It was easy to make and delicious!

What’s growing in your backyard?

16.01. Another rather good read: John Williams’ Stoner

My book club is fabulous.  I meet once a month with 11 fabulous women.  Each of us choose one book per year.  We read the same book each month and then meet over a wine or two to discuss.

Book club often forces me out of my comfort zone, to books I would not normally read.  And Stoner is one of those books.

Chosen by the lovely Angela, this book was published in 1965 and I had never even heard of it.  But ended up enjoying it thoroughly.  Here are my thoughts.

Stoner by John Williams

Stoner is the story of an inconsequential man, the author tells us so right at the start, then proceeds to prove himself wrong.  Even the “smallest” existence can be so full of life, so full of meaning, Williams seems to be saying.

John Stoner grows up dirt poor but discovers a passion for literature and becomes a teacher at Columbia University.  The book chronicles university life and politics, love, marriage and parenthood and finally, the thoughts a man has as he prepares himself for departure from this world.

The book is very quiet and elegantly written.  It is also profoundly sad.  At every turn, Stoner is denied happiness, and yet he faces every situation with integrity and stoicism, like his farmer parents.  Life is endured, not enjoyed.

”…within a month he knew that his marriage was a failure; within a year he stopped hoping that it would improve. He learned silence and did not insist upon his love.”

For all it’s sadness, the book is strangely compelling.  Williams’ insights into the working of human relationships are timeless.  And his eloquent prose is an absolute pleasure to read and has a poignancy that I found deeply moving.

Rating: thoroughly readable

15.01. Voting in the Hottest 100

I can’t remember how long I’ve been voting in the JJJ Hottest 100.

Forever.  Or close to.

And tuning in on Australia Day as they count down.

2011 there was so much great music.  It was really hard to nail it down to 10 tracks.

In fact, so hard, I nailed it down to 11.

You have till midnight tomorrow to vote.
What’s your 2011 Top Ten?

Here’s mine.  There are some tracks that got so popular its almost embarrassing, but I still love them.  Like the Gotye track, could it have been any bigger, but it is still a great track and definitely in my Top Ten for 2011.

Gotye: Somebody that I used to know

Beastie Boys: Don’t Play no game That I can’t Win

Beth Ditto: I Wrote the Book

The Black Keys: Lonely Boy

Boy and Bear: Lordy May

Lana del Rey: Video Games

Luke  Million: Arnold

Ghostface Killah: Ghetto

Kanye West and Jay-Z: No Church in the Wild

Radiohead: Lotus Flower

Kasabian: Rewired

14.01. Thinking about space

Outer space that is.

Caught the Star Voyager: Exploring Space on Screen exhibition today at ACMI.  It was interesting.

Space movies have always been a place for extreme optimisms and utopia, but also the opposite, dystopian views, extremist societies.   They give me so much to think about.  I like them alot.

The exhibition contains  3D film interpretation of the Mars surface, just over 4 minutes long it was amazing, but also a sad reminder of how bleak a planet looks without life.

My favourite part of the exhibition was the soundtracks.  You could sit and listen to a track off a whole bunch of soundtracks, including the gems below.  Love the graphics!

My favourite though is the original Dr Who theme.

13.01. Scaring myself

I guess this is appropriate for Friday the 13th.

I like scary, creepy old houses.  Or scary, creepy old shops.

There is a creepy house on our street.  Nothing grows in the garden and we never see anyone there and it’s…well, it’s just creepy.

I’m too scared to take a photo of it.  But I like imagining the secrets and ghosts that lurk there.  This is a creepy house in Forrest that was on our way to the local cafe.

Creepy!

What are you scared of?

 

12.01. Polar bears make the best cover girls

I really like Polar Bears.  To me they represent urgency and everything that is precious about the world.
And I really like magazines.
So today I was absolutely delighted to realise that other people must like Polar Bears too when I saw this amongst the best performing US magazine covers of 2011 according to Magnet.

Other Top Ten 2011 covergirls included Elizabeth Tayor, Steve Jobs and The Apocalypse.

Preview

It seems to me an interesting commentary on our times.  An endangered species, a beautiful woman, a smart man and the apocalypse.

BTW, if you like Polar  Bears too check out Paul Nicklen’s book Polar Obsession.  It has some amazing photos of Polar Bears and all sorts of other wonderful arctic creatures.  It is absolutely amazing!  My favourite coffee table book.

What animal makes you like the world the most?

11.01. People who believe we can change the world

Alex Steffen, “designing optimist” and author of the book Worldchanging spoke last night at the Melbourne Library courtesy of the great folk at the Melbourne Collaboratory.

His talk was called “How to Change Absolutely Everything without Leaving Town”- a big remit, and he delivered- he was absolutely inspiring and made me like the world all afresh, believing that it can be saved.  Hallelujah.

But this wasn’t just pep-talk mumbo jumbo, lets all recycle bottles and cycle to work etc. 

This was about macro, big picture stuff with alot of focus on urban planning, thoughts on how to reinvigorate the civic sphere and most importantly the need to radically re-engineer the way we think about sustainability and how we tell the story of what is happening and what needs to change.

He covered off a hell of alot of concepts in the 90 minutes that absolutely flew by.

Starting with a bit of “why” we think so wrongly- things like:

• Past Bias
• Sunk cost thinking
• Expectations of stability 
• Siloed thinking
• Filter bubble

Then listing off a few of the reasons that our expectations of normal are in for a rude shock.  Things like population growth, urbanisation, depletion of non-renewables, destruction of renewables etc.

That said, he then explored some ot the things that are already happening or could happen to create larger scale change.

Things like Compact Communities that provide access by proximity (the idea being, the most sustainable trip is the one you don’t take) or leveraging Surplus Capacities (things we own but rarely use).

But for me, the 2 key messages were around the need for a CIVIC REBOOT and STORYTELLING.

His point around civics was the fact that the only people who input, are those who are paid to be there (admittedly as he said, bureaucracies use boredom the way a skunk uses smell).  This is absolutely fundamental- how do we reinvigorate the civic sphere?

And how do we tell the story?  We are a young planet, with a media age of 24 and as he says, our economy is essentially an intergenerational Ponzi scheme.  The young are being screwed.  But how do we tell them the story?

As he said, we need to put the future back in the room.

So, he didn’t have all the answers- especially around the storytelling, which is something I’d like to think about some more.  But he did have some great ideas.  I can thoroughly recommend his book, Worldchanging, which is fullof great ideas for individuals (there is also a website
http://www.worldchanging.com/
)

If you want to see him speak, there is a 2006 TED talk where you can see what an inspiring speaker he is!

10.01. Holiday Coffee

A home away from home. A good coffee.  Yummy food.  A smile.  A pleasant space.

Sounds simple, but most holiday town cafes are stumped delivering even 2 out of 5 on those requisites.

Forrest is lucky- a tiny little place, but blessed with the Forrest Brewery and Cafe.

A great place for a coffee, a meal or a beer.

Treat yourself to a mountain bike ride beforehand so you can make those guilt free calories!

We absolutely love!

What’s your favourite holiday coffee joint?

09.01. I love a good challenge: some reading challenges for 2012

OK.

So there are quite a few reading challenges going around.

There are 2 I wanted to support, that promote something I find important-  Australian women’s writing and eclectic appetites.

The first is The Australian Women Writer’s challenge.

I’m thinking the Marieke Hardy memoir and Sophie Cunningham’s Melbourne. That will be  a good start- then it’s just downhill from ther. I’m planning to be  a Stella- which means I have to read 3 books and review 2.  Easy.

Objective: This challenge hopes to help counteract the gender bias in reviewing and social media newsfeeds that has continued throughout 2011. It actively promotes the reading and reviewing of a wide range of contemporary Australian women’s writing throughout 2012, the National Year of Reading.

Readers should approach this challenge with a spirit of willingness. There are no failures, just personal goals. Reviews can be long or short, favourable or “this book is not for me”. Hopefully, along the way, you’ll discover some future classics and perhaps a few surprises among genres we’re not familiar with.

Challenge period:  1 January 2012 -  31 December 2012

Goal: Read and review books written by Australian women writers – hard copies, ebooks and audiobooks, new, borrowed or stumbled upon by book-crossing.

The second challenge is the Eclectic Reader 2012 Challenge- which gets you to read from different genres.  I tend to stick to literary fiction, so this will push me out of my comfort zone.  That said, I’m currently reading Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin and absolutely loving this excursion into the fantasy genre.

“The aim of The Eclectic Reader 2012 Challenge is to push you a little outside your comfort zone by reading up to 12 books during the year from 12 different genres.

Genres

1. Literary Fiction
2. Crime/Mystery Fiction
3. Romantic Fiction
4. Historical Fiction
5. Young Adult
6. Fantasy
7. Science Fiction
8. Non Fiction
9. Horror
10. Thriller /Suspense
11. Classic
12. Your favourite genre”

Do you need a reading challenge?  Click through on the pics to be a part of these great challenges!