Yesterday I took myself off to the cinema to see Mrs Carey's Concert www.mrscareysconcert.com
The reviews didn't exaggerate. This Aussie documentary engaged me 110% from the opening moments till the very end, as truly good filmmaking does. And for the second time in recent months I realised just how rich the cinema experience is compared with DVD or TV. Or worse still, downloaded on a computer.
In the dark, with a big screen and surround sound, the guffaws, gasps and groans of other audience members heighten the pleasure. Yesterday, walking out into the bright sunshine and sharing my enjoyment with a complete stranger, a young musician, put the icing on the cake.
Months ago The King's Speech www.thekingsspeech.com affected me the same way. Even though I knew it would be available on DVD in the not too distant future, I chose to see it in the cinema.
To quote Lord David Puttnam's 2010 SPAA Conference address, “The unique cinema experience works on a multiplicity of levels.” www.spaa.org.au for his full transcript.
It was such a joy to sit in a crowded theatre and laugh along at the unexpected humour. And what filmmaking The King's Speech is. It's rare when absolutely everything works - screenplay, casting, directing, acting, music, editing, cinematography...
What made the experience even better was that my sister-in-law, Beth, accompanied me and we could share our enjoyment on the drive home, a rare occurrence in our busy lives.
I love a good story, one that nourishes the soul, and both films certainly do that.
As as aspiring filmmaker I rate both films 10 out of 10. My wish is that Suz and I produce features and docos as good as these through Murubakgira Productions. If that seems a bit cheeky, that's okay. Long ago I learnt a basic principle of Olympic Games target archery. If you aim high, you shoot high. If you aim low, you shoot low. I'm sure Mrs Carey would agree. And, whatever else you do, remember the 10s, the perfect scores.
So do yourself a favour, go to the nearest cinema and enjoy Mrs Carey's Concert before it's too late.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
To car or not to car, that is the question.
Santa brought me a car. And I am very grateful.
Ever since my ageing Suzuki died nine years ago I have, out of necessity, used public transport. I figured it was time to walk my talk and have as light a carbon footprint as possible, but what I hadn't bargained for was that using public transport was sheer hard work. Except in Sydney, where trains leave Kings Cross station every 10 minutes, so I could travel around with ease. On the Sunshine Coast there were no buses to my destination after 7pm, a factor which was extremely limiting to a vibrant social life.
Now I don't have my head in the sand. I do make the connection that there's a 95%+ chance that droughts, floods and extreme weather events like cyclone Yasi are the result of global warming as a result of humanity's lifestyle choices. Clearing tree cover, coal fired electricity, emissions from cars are just some of the causes. Water temperatures in the Coral Sea in 2010/2011 are something like 20 higher than in previous decades. Result. A very wet east Australian east coast. A flood and cyclone ravaged Queensland, my home state.
Now I am contributing to global warming simply by driving my own car. Yikes! Not a comforting thought. But driving makes my life so much easier and I can be more effective. So how am I going to minimise my car carbon footprint?
Firstly, I am committed to following the Permaculture principle that everything I undertake must have three uses. So every journey must have at least three uses. A wee bit of strategic planning is required. I'll simply have to think of it as a game. The footprint game.
Secondly, I need to take responsibility for finding ways to offset my footprint. I know that by simply taking responsibility all my needs will be met, as if by magic. Eat your heart out Harry Potter!
Thirdly, because I am committed to having a super business head, I need to make each dollar go further.
As a treehugger, my initial response was to donate to enable the planting of trees. Just as I was pondering this option I met up with my friend Shivanii Cameron again at Bunya Dreaming. Shivanii, a talented filmmaker, is responsible for a project in India, an orphanage for “untouchable” children, a school educating 300 children and a micro finance project enabling the purchase of organic seeds. The village is poor, but has an amazing headman, Tinku, who has teamed with Shivani to enable sustainable change. And the Hinterland community of Maleny, where Shivani lives, has embraced the cause. For more check out Prabhat Alloi Facebook page
I sensed a huge connection here. Alleviating third world poverty reduces harmful emissions. It's a no brainer. So my $50 donation went to Prabhat Alloi Foundation. This way, as well as offsetting my carbon footprint, the money is enabling Shivanii to pursue her life purpose and benefiting an entire village in a third world country.
Phew! That's the Permaculture three taken care of. For January and February that is.
Ever since my ageing Suzuki died nine years ago I have, out of necessity, used public transport. I figured it was time to walk my talk and have as light a carbon footprint as possible, but what I hadn't bargained for was that using public transport was sheer hard work. Except in Sydney, where trains leave Kings Cross station every 10 minutes, so I could travel around with ease. On the Sunshine Coast there were no buses to my destination after 7pm, a factor which was extremely limiting to a vibrant social life.
Now I don't have my head in the sand. I do make the connection that there's a 95%+ chance that droughts, floods and extreme weather events like cyclone Yasi are the result of global warming as a result of humanity's lifestyle choices. Clearing tree cover, coal fired electricity, emissions from cars are just some of the causes. Water temperatures in the Coral Sea in 2010/2011 are something like 20 higher than in previous decades. Result. A very wet east Australian east coast. A flood and cyclone ravaged Queensland, my home state.
Now I am contributing to global warming simply by driving my own car. Yikes! Not a comforting thought. But driving makes my life so much easier and I can be more effective. So how am I going to minimise my car carbon footprint?
Firstly, I am committed to following the Permaculture principle that everything I undertake must have three uses. So every journey must have at least three uses. A wee bit of strategic planning is required. I'll simply have to think of it as a game. The footprint game.
Secondly, I need to take responsibility for finding ways to offset my footprint. I know that by simply taking responsibility all my needs will be met, as if by magic. Eat your heart out Harry Potter!
Thirdly, because I am committed to having a super business head, I need to make each dollar go further.
As a treehugger, my initial response was to donate to enable the planting of trees. Just as I was pondering this option I met up with my friend Shivanii Cameron again at Bunya Dreaming. Shivanii, a talented filmmaker, is responsible for a project in India, an orphanage for “untouchable” children, a school educating 300 children and a micro finance project enabling the purchase of organic seeds. The village is poor, but has an amazing headman, Tinku, who has teamed with Shivani to enable sustainable change. And the Hinterland community of Maleny, where Shivani lives, has embraced the cause. For more check out Prabhat Alloi Facebook page
I sensed a huge connection here. Alleviating third world poverty reduces harmful emissions. It's a no brainer. So my $50 donation went to Prabhat Alloi Foundation. This way, as well as offsetting my carbon footprint, the money is enabling Shivanii to pursue her life purpose and benefiting an entire village in a third world country.
Phew! That's the Permaculture three taken care of. For January and February that is.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Christmas Revisited
Dear Santa
Thank you so much for the car which arrived on New Year's Eve! Wow! Having a hotline to the North Pole is really great. Imagine being given a car! (And no, it's not the car in the photo. that's number one daughter's Smart car which I lust after.)
In January I used my “not very pretty” Laser to visit family and friends, have fantastic “wimmin's space” with some like minded women, attend the doco GasLand with business colleagues intent on developing and marketing clean, green energy, and drive some friends to the Bunya Dreaming to enjoy our local Indigenous culture and be reminded of all things sustainable.
And it was all just so easy. No more tedious hours spent on 2 or 3 buses, to arrive at a destination less than 30 minutes away.
Still to figure out the most effective way to offset my car carbon footprint, but I'm getting there.
So thank you again Santa for my not very pretty car. I know a swan when I see one.
Love and laughter
Barbara
Thank you so much for the car which arrived on New Year's Eve! Wow! Having a hotline to the North Pole is really great. Imagine being given a car! (And no, it's not the car in the photo. that's number one daughter's Smart car which I lust after.)
In January I used my “not very pretty” Laser to visit family and friends, have fantastic “wimmin's space” with some like minded women, attend the doco GasLand with business colleagues intent on developing and marketing clean, green energy, and drive some friends to the Bunya Dreaming to enjoy our local Indigenous culture and be reminded of all things sustainable.
And it was all just so easy. No more tedious hours spent on 2 or 3 buses, to arrive at a destination less than 30 minutes away.
Still to figure out the most effective way to offset my car carbon footprint, but I'm getting there.
So thank you again Santa for my not very pretty car. I know a swan when I see one.
Love and laughter
Barbara
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Not All Muslims Are Terrorists
Last October I awoke to a freezing cold Sat morning. It had snowed on the Blue Mountains the previous night and the gale force winds had closed all but one runway at Sydney airport. Undaunted, I ventured out in the chilly wind to my favourite curio shop in Woolloomooloo, in search of a present for Number One Daughter.
Initially I was disappointed. The terrace house had been sold and Somi, the delightful store owner, was downsizing. Though I couldn't see a potential present among the remaining bric a brac, a pair of pine trestles definitely winked at me. I was seriously in love. I'd wanted a trestle table for years, but an eco chic one, something sustainable, recycled rather than Ikea.
Somi agreed to sell the trestles, as long as he could use them for two more Saturdays for his moving sale. He was highly amused, wondering how on earth I was going to transport them back to Queensland. After all, they weren't exactly carry on luggage, though they would fit behind the surfboard in Sam's apartment until I could find a solution.
Later that morning I asked myself, “What's the easiest and cheapest way to get the trestles back to Queensland?” To my surprise the answer came immediately. “Go on www.gumtree.com.au and find someone who'd appreciate some petrol money when driving to Queensland.”
And so it was that just before Christmas the trestles were delivered by Imran Khan, a young man from Pakistan. To my surprise and absolute delight, he refused my offer of petrol money. “I am Muslim,” he said. I nodded. I'd already figured that much. “My wish is to show Westerners that not all Muslims are terrorists.” His kindness and intention radiated from him. Here was a true Muslim.
I told Imran I had studied philosophy and comparative religion on and off since my teens and been reading about Islam for many years. I was definitely on his wavelength, in absolute awe at the power of intention. His and mine.
After all, in 2010 my favourite book was the inspiring Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Check out www.threecupsoftea.com
Now every time I look at the trestles I grin, thinking of Somi and Imran, two delightful young men who have enriched my journey in different ways, and I am reminded of peace and sustainability, for without these the human race will not survive.
So the elders tell me and I believe them.
Barbara Carseldine
10th January 2011
watertools@gmail.com
Initially I was disappointed. The terrace house had been sold and Somi, the delightful store owner, was downsizing. Though I couldn't see a potential present among the remaining bric a brac, a pair of pine trestles definitely winked at me. I was seriously in love. I'd wanted a trestle table for years, but an eco chic one, something sustainable, recycled rather than Ikea.
Somi agreed to sell the trestles, as long as he could use them for two more Saturdays for his moving sale. He was highly amused, wondering how on earth I was going to transport them back to Queensland. After all, they weren't exactly carry on luggage, though they would fit behind the surfboard in Sam's apartment until I could find a solution.
Later that morning I asked myself, “What's the easiest and cheapest way to get the trestles back to Queensland?” To my surprise the answer came immediately. “Go on www.gumtree.com.au and find someone who'd appreciate some petrol money when driving to Queensland.”
And so it was that just before Christmas the trestles were delivered by Imran Khan, a young man from Pakistan. To my surprise and absolute delight, he refused my offer of petrol money. “I am Muslim,” he said. I nodded. I'd already figured that much. “My wish is to show Westerners that not all Muslims are terrorists.” His kindness and intention radiated from him. Here was a true Muslim.
I told Imran I had studied philosophy and comparative religion on and off since my teens and been reading about Islam for many years. I was definitely on his wavelength, in absolute awe at the power of intention. His and mine.
After all, in 2010 my favourite book was the inspiring Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Check out www.threecupsoftea.com
Now every time I look at the trestles I grin, thinking of Somi and Imran, two delightful young men who have enriched my journey in different ways, and I am reminded of peace and sustainability, for without these the human race will not survive.
So the elders tell me and I believe them.
Barbara Carseldine
10th January 2011
watertools@gmail.com
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