Come and play, everything’s A-OK
I am very thankful Sesame Street won’t be pulled off the air. It is one of two shows that I enjoyed as a child that my two children also enjoy (The other is Play School, which I still find enjoyable for some of the male presenters…:)).
The ACMA ruled that a scene involving three year old fairy in training Abby Cadabby did not breach its G classification. The scene, which had Abby using a wand to perform a spell and ask help from her mum when the spell backfired, was deemed to have low sense of threat or menace and was justified by context.
The ruling was in response to a written complaint which believed the scene contained witchcraft and was “totally inappropriate for the target age group”. Abby is a fairy, not a witch, who is pink and purple. As a disclaimer, she is also one of Miss BG’s favourite Sesame characters. It would make me chuckle that someone found the time, after watching this, to compose a letter of complaint to the ABC and then to ACMA were it not for the fact that I am still GOBSMACKED that people think like this!
I am thankful that I am day 5 into my Febfast commitment and I am still ‘dry’. I can buy a day off the no-alcohol challenge for $25, but I will hold off until I really need it.
I am thankful for friends who cheer me up no end when I am tired and prone to navel-gazing.
I am thankful it’s the end of the week and while the weekend is full with swimming and family commitments, I’ll have two hours to myself at the hairdressers while I have cups of tea made for me, read glossy magazines and have my scalp massaged. Ahhh, bliss….
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Tags: children, febfast, Friends, television
On yer bike!
Hooligans like a challenge- an “indestructible” bus shelter razed to the ground. This reminds me of the indestructible chairs we used to have in our classroom in Year 8. They were removed after the boys in my Year 8 class proved this statement to be wrong…
An interesting day today! I rode to the railway station and left my bike at the Parkiteer station. I was quite thankful that there were few people to witness my ride as I showed a bit of leg- I’ll go the A-line rather than the straight skirt next time.
A pretty full-on day at work with a few interesting enquiries and requests for help, with a quick wander around the city at lunchtime for a break from the rarefied air of work…
It was lovely to come home to my little family though to catch up with their day, and make plans for tomorrow, which includes kinder, vacuuming, mopping and the supermarket. Oh, and making my son into a Viking, which I think will be the first of many obsessions. I remember my brothers into Ancient Egypt and dinosaurs. My obsessions could take some time to recount and as bed beckons I will leave you hanging 
.
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Tags: bike, children, library, viking
Kinder. I have been looking forward to it since the start of the year, but it thrown out my routine somewhat. My workdays have changed to accommodate the drop off/pick up routine and I feel a bit out of sorts. Right now I should be somewhere near Sunshine, iPod on, book open and sun streaming through the windows of the train. Instead the kids are playing with Playdoh, and I should start thinking about tea.
Master BG’s first day of kinder was good- he enjoyed it and I was happy to see him after his session. So too was his little sister, who kept looking for him all over the house. We did have fun at the park, the post office and the kinder again when I had to drop off his snack box .
I love Paris- a selection of photos from the early 20th century, which include photographers such as Man Ray and Eugene Atget. The images really evoke the timeless beauty of one of my favourite cities (so shoot me for being sentimental!).
Government 2.0 for Victorian Government- the Victorian government is set to respond to a report from the Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee on Improving Access to Public Sector Information and Data. Hopefully the response will be to adopt the recommendations which included adopting a Creative Commons Licensing Model for government information. There is a tendency for government agencies to hide behind the Freedom of Information Act to hinder access to information, not to mention “Commercial in Confidence” .
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Library has recently updated its Background Note on Boat Arrivals to Australia since 1976. It includes an historical context, and Government responses to this situation.
The State Library of Victoria has a series of Fellowships for budding playwrights, authors, artists and art historians. Getting paid to go to the library, what a dream job !
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Tags: asylum seekers, Ballarat, children, kindergarten, library, Paris, Victorian Government
Drop it like it’s hot
Did you hear the one about the dictionary which contained rude words? It was withdrawn from circulation in a Californian school district because it included a definition of a sex act. I would think that parents would be applauding their children for going to a book (the Merriam-Webster disctionary, no less) to look up this information rather relying on the girl from the 6th grade who hangs out behind the school hall to tell you what oral sex is.
Half the fun of learning a language, whether it be English, French, Chinese or Greek, is to learn what the rude words are. That is basically what sucks a child in to leanring a foregin tongue. I can swear in 5 languages, including English (I am extremely fluent in Anglo Saxon ).
You could always while away a boring class with checking the dictionary for words. My favourite definition of the fart was ‘explosion between the legs’. Still a bit unclear as to what the word meant, I asked my mum what ‘fart’ meant (I was 8 at the time). Mum went white and told me never to say that word again- then she told me what it meant. Yet she never questioned the fact I got the word from a book.
The knee-jerk reaction from school officials to comply with a SINGLE parental complaint is breathtaking. Thankfully the dictionary is back in school- perhaps the school officials should look up the definition of ’spineless’.
OK, rant over…
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Tags: censorship, dictionary, languages, United States
These are just a few reasons, and I am sure there will be many many more!
- I get a buzz when I hear a song about libraries and librarians and this list made me think of updating my iPod playlists to include a Library playlist. 10 songs about libraries and librarians- not a bad mixtape, but there are a couple more I would have added, namely Danielle Steel by the Lucksmiths, Karen by the Go Betweens and French Navy by Camera Obscura.
- Visiting other people’s libraries. Part of my previous job involved travelling to Victorian public libraries, and looking at their particular quirks and meeting their staff. I got to visit the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office today which was enlightening and incredibly valuable.
- I’m looking forward to the VALA library conference and meeting other librarians I know, attending sessions and gaining a greater insight into what is happening in the bigger library world. When you’re working in a special library environment it is easy to become introverted.
- I still go to the returns trolley to see if there have been any interesting books which have been recently returned. I got lucky today with a book called Melbourne: Art Deco, which is packed with photos of examples of this beautiful architectural style. Sadly Ballarat somewhat missed the Art Deco stage and there are very few houses and buildings from that period- Victorian/Edwardian tends to be the flavour in Ballarat. Having said that, I should really visit the library and check that out if that’s true…
- See above last point- I also happen to know the local history librarian quite well
- I have started accumulating non-fiction books for the children on dinosaurs, ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, Animals and Planets- because I want them to realise that you can get some really cool information not just from the internet but from books. Thanks to my days in public libraries I also happen to know the Dewey numbers for these areas off by heart. Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa…
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Tags: art deco, Ballarat, books, library, music
Out on the patio we’d sit
Happy Australia Day. Today I will be celebrating the 2nd public holiday of the year (and we’re not yet even out of January) with a barbecue with snags, rissoles and kebabs, a nice Australian red wine and listening to great Australian music. I will not be listening to the Hottest 100, because I hardly know any of the songs (yeah I’m old, so shoot me:)). One thing I will not be doing is wearing the Australian flag.
Call me old-fashioned, but a flag to me belongs on a flagpole, not on someone’s back as a cape, a tattoo, or a boob tube. I guess while I’m at it, I think V8 supercars are a waste of time, I don’t tan, because I can’t, I drive Japanese, not Ford/Holden and I think John Farnham is overrated. For all of these actions, you could call me un-Australian, that word which people such as Alan Jones and John howard used to love slapping on to any action which did not conform to their conservative, xenophobic, 1950s outlook.
The funny thing is, I am Australian as you come. My children could trace their family back in Australia to the 1820s when their ancestors came out in chains. Another lot came out as a result of the clearances in Scotland. And more recently some arrived as the last of the 10 pound Poms- that would be my parents and 1 year old me. We arrived in 1972 from Belfast, at a time when my mother would worry whether or not my dad would return home alive. I gained citizenship, hold an Australian passport, barrack for Geelong and love roast lamb.
Marieke Hardy’s piece does some it up for me. There are times when I fear that what is displayed in the name of patriotism is a very small step from nationalism.
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Tags: Australia Day, patriotusn
Land of the long weekend
A thoroughly enjoyable day has been had at chez Bookgrrl. In celebration of the Australia Day public holiday tomorrow, I took the Monday off, as did Mr BG.
With the children in care we went out for lunch (Cafe Bibo decor nice, but menu a tad tired), then to the movies (Sherlock Holmes, which was quite good). Will soon adjourn to the back deck to enjoy the rest of the day with a book (The Swan Thieves by Elizabetha Kostova, quite a page turner!).
Have to dash, children clamoring for dinner!
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Tags: Ballarat, books, eating, movies
Some people I know
Sources of inspiration.
KT is finally having a baby. After trying for an umpteen number of years, with a variety of fertility treatments here and interstate, she and her lovely husband are going to be parents. She is the type of person whom you know would be a fantastic mum- kind, nurturing and a gorgeous smile. She is a devoted auntie to the myriad of nieces and nephews. I remember the heartfelt congratulations I received when we told her of our pregnancies. It felt like such a cruel injustice that she was unable to do what she what most wanted in the world.
When others would have given up, she kept on hoping, looking for alternative treatments and options. Thanks to her sister-in-law, KT will be a mum. Her sister-in-law will be the surrogate and underwent IVF treatment with KT’s embryo in New South Wales. She is currently 20 weeks pregnant and all is well with the bump, which will be a boy. A great excuse to go baby present shopping!
RG is a librarian who lives in Darebin. He rides a bicycle practically everywhere. He shares a car with another couple, but doesn’t use it that often. He makes his own honey, which is delicious, has chooks and has converted his suburban backyard into this garden of Eden. This is watered by two huge water tanks he has installed. He doesn’t own a television, but is a passionate movie-goer. A good bloke, apart from the fact he is a Collingwood supporter that is .
AV works for the United Nations and has recently completed his Masters in IT through Charles Sturt University, which is where I met him through a shared class and group assignment. His job has taken him to New York, Geneva (where he is currently based with his wife and two young children), and he is currently in Haiti as part of the On-Site Operations Coordination Centre and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. His tweets tell of working from tents, eating interesting rations and aftershocks which are still occurring.
Three very different people, all of whom are inspiring and doing their bit to make the world a better place.
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Tags: Haiti, librarian, pregnancy, surrogacy, United Nations, university
Sister madly
I feel as if I leaving a myriad of things half-finished today. Work has caught up with me, and I seem to be working on a few things at a time and not getting them done. I have half-written articles and blog pieces which are sitting in my in-box suffering my lack of completion and inspiration. This article from Catherine Deveny is one I have taken to heart.
It feels as if I’m all over the place, which could be attributed to a little person invading the bed early this morning. Miss BG couldn’t get comfortable and tossed, turned and flung little arms hands into faces and backs. When I left the bed this morning she had a wide expanse of bed yet was cuddled up against her daddy. I think an early night tonight for all will be on the agenda.
I ventured out at lunchtime to spend a voucher at Borders and as usual, came out with considerably more than what I had anticipated. Bookshop and the need to spend a voucher by the end of January can make for costly decisions. I am thankful, though, for the fact that I’ve recently done a cull of my books and there is space on my bookshelves .
How would you envisage the library of the future? In 1972, Geoffrey Hoyle envisaged what the library in 2010 would look like. His predictions may have sounded fantastical, but some of them have come true. Me, I’m still hanging out for the flying cars from Back to the Future II…
What Hitler does when he discovers The Tote is closed
Will write soon!
Book Grrl
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Tags: books, library, music, writing
Labour of Love
Lynn, my Maternal Child Health Nurse, used to emphasise the need to read, then she would check herself and say, “But you’re a librarian, so I don’t need to go on!” (With two bibliophiles as parents, and a house with books everywhere, there is no escape for the young’uns.) No, but it’s nice to know that there are health professionals out there to emphasise to parents that reading is essential for little people.
It’s not just words and pictures on a page, but the language spoken, the rhymes, the metre of the words, the rise and fall of the voice. It’s how children learn how to speak, articulate and argue. It’s fun and for some parents, one of the few chances they will get to spend with their children. A banker friend of Mr BG’s who lives in Sydney gets home at 7.30pm just in time to read to his 7 and 9 year old daughters before they go to bed. They’re currently half-way through the Harry Potter series, and for the girls, one of the best parts of the day.
It’s fun to see the love for reading being instilled in your children. One of the loveliest memories I have as Miss BG as a baby is seeing her big brother ‘read’ The Hungry Little Caterpillar to her while she lay on her rug .
Age-inappropriate literature- reading books before you are ready for them can make you realise how much living you need to do before you can understand them. I read Tess of the D’Arbevilles when I was 12, not knowing what the word seduced meant- I found out soon enough . And I would have to confess to reading Jackie Collins a couple of years later in Year 10- very educational for a girl who was going to am Catholic girl’s school!
After reading this article though, it made me realise that I should have read Catcher in the Rye before I became an adult- it didn’t seem as relevant as it would have been if I were a disaffected 16 year old…
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Tags: Friends, reading
