Saturday, August 21, 2010

Looking For A Monster

Master Pupeteer Gary Friedman has been working on a Holocaust related schools educational outreach programme for the last few years, and, subject to sourcing funding, is hoping to complete the project this year. The project explores the world of Hanus Hachenburg, a child who was interned in the Theriesenstadt Concentration Camp, before being killed in Auschwitz on his 15th birthday - 12 July 1944.

While in Terezen Hanus wrote a puppet play called "We Are Looking For a Monster" and the video component of the project brings this play to life, while retracing the last two years of Hanus's short life.

For more information please visit the project's website and view the short film below.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Sydney Jewish Writers Festival

The Sydney Jewish Writers’ Festival begins next week, with an outstanding line-up of international and Australian presenters, including:

· Peter Manseau, author of Songs for the Butcher’s Daughter, and most recently Rag and Bone: A Journey Among the World's Holy Dead. He has won the National Jewish Book Award, the Sophie Brody Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Jewish Literature, the Ribalow Prize for Fiction, and was shortlisted for the Mercantile Library First Novel Award. His books have published in eight languages and on four continents.

· Steve Toltz, author of Man Booker prize-nominated A Fraction of the Whole which the Courier Mail described as “Brilliantly funny… every sentence is a quotable aphorism clothed in light-hearted observations about human behaviour. A 700-page modern classic.”

· Joanne Fedler, author of When Hungry, Eat and a number of other best sellers.

· Mia Freedman, magazine editor, popular blogger and media personality.

· Paul Sheehan, columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and The National Times and the author of three best-sellers, including Girls Like You and Among The Barbarians.

· Akmal Saleh leading comedian who has performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and many other comedy festivals and regularly on TV shows such as Rove Live, The Footy Show, The Glass House

· Morris Gleitzman, bestselling Australian children’s author whose books explore serious and sometimes confronting subjects in humorous and unexpected ways.

· Barry Cohen, served as a Minister in the Hawke government and is the author of eight books.

> Immanuel Suttner, author of The African Animal Football Cup, Cutting Through the Mountain, Learn about South Africa Series and the poetry collection Hidden & Revealed

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

DOCS report on 43 year old man

DOCS (Departmet of Child Services) were asked to intervene in the following case

A 43 year old man was found in his unit in a severely neglected state. Mr N, who the social worker had had phone calls about previously (from Mr N's wife) was unshaven, still in the suite he wore to the office, his tie askew and his glasses so dirty she was amazed that he managed to see the reality show he was watching. Mr N was eating straight out of a 4 litre icecream tub, and bits of iceecream had got on to his shirt and socks. Notes the social worker: the apartment was in a poor condition, with books, papers and bits of Meccano and Monopoly scaterred over every surface. Mr N's nails were long and uncut, he needed a good haircut, and judging from his body odour, he had not bathed for several days.

The only adult in the flat, Mr N's wife, was snoring in bed all the while the social worker attempted to interview Mr N, who answered in monosyllbles or with feelble liitle waves of the spoon he was holding in his hand,, sending droplets of melted vanillaicecream onto the social worker. Upon being pressed, he insisted that he was ok, and that "everything would be all right as long as he didn't have to go into work tomorrow."

Although no thorough medical examination was done of this first visit, the social worker noted that Mr N was rather corpulant, and displayed a great deal of flatulence. There are some questions as to whether Mr N is being fed a nutritionally sound diet. Mr N's children remained fast asleep while the social worker was there but at one stage Mr N's wife awoke, padded through to the lounge and asked Mr N when he was going to do the dishes. The social worker managed to clarify that Mr N goes to work, comes home and is immediately set to work on a variety of domestic chores, but there were no other overt signs of abuse.

Interim reccomendations

That Mr N have a bath, a nail trim and a shave
That Mr N's tv watching time be reduced and happen earlier in the evening
That Mr N be removed to a place of safety where he can socialise with other middle aged dads
_______________________

Useful form letters:

Letter of demand for late birthday present

Dear So and so

We have noticed that your birthday present owing to us is now overdue by two weeks. Should said birthday present not be on our doorstep, wrapped, and with apropriate card by the date on this letter of demand, we....

Letter of demand for late wedding present

We have noticed that your wedding present owing to us is now seventen years and three months overdue. Please redress this issue immediately or we will be forced to hand the matter over .

Monday, August 9, 2010

Just how irrelevant are you?

Use the following easy quiz to rate your irrelevancy:

When tasked with looking after toddlers you are
a)unable to gain their attention
b) they physically beat you with their tiny fists
c)find yourself being assigned tasks by a domineering three year old

When you send your CV off to a prospective employer you
a) never hear from them
b) immediately receive a "Thanks but no thanks letter"
c)they take out a restraining order against you
d) they invite you in for an interview, but it turns out they've confused you with someone else


If anyone calls you it is
a) a pest control firm offering a fre evaluation of your pest situation
b) a wrong number
c) someone collecting money for children in Afghanistan
d) you don't have a phone

You go to see the doctor complaining of chest pains and
a) the doctor looses your file
b) the doctor won't return your calls even after you are hospitalised
c)the doctor tells you you only have two weeks to live and "there's no point in delaying these things"


When you receive mail it is usually
a) a court summons for unpaid traffic fines
b) someone else's mail that was put in your box
c) you never receive mail
d)a letter informing you your medical records have been lost
e) you don't have a mail box because you live on the street

If you join an online dating service, and try to find women for casual sex
a) only gay men contact you
b) women leave messages like "get lost you old fart"
c)the dating service goes bankrupt, taking with it you annual subscription of $357.00

When you try to get cleaners to come and tidy up your hovel they
a) ask you if they can call you back later but never do
b)refer you to a friend who is intending to come over to Australia on the nxt boat load of "illegal" immigrants
Feel free to add suggestions as comments

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Steady State Economics

Can an economics model which equates prosperity with perpetual growth do anything other than destroy people, planet and profits? For the sane alternative, have a look at

http://steadystate.org/