Want to feel thankful for Medicare? Read this book.

Lionel Shriver (We Need to Talk About Kevin) has written a funny book about terminal illness. Or at least, funnier than you would expect, considering the subject matter.

The hero of So Much For That is Shepherd Knacker, the epitome of a decent man. His life is turned suddenly upside down when his wife Glynis is diagnosed with a rare cancer, and given a poor prognosis.

We follow him as he tries to navigate the hideous expense and bureaucracy of the American healthcare system, while remaining a good husband, father, friend, son and brother to those around him. The main storyline is predictable, but there are some audacious twists that somehow remain believable.

Shep’s staunchest ally is his best friend Jackson, who, despite dealing with his own serious family health issues, provides comic relief in the form of long rants against the government, the establishment, or anyone else he thinks deserves it.

These passages in fact are the parts of the book that didn’t ring quite true for me. Informative, yes. Particularly for a non-American reader. However, they had the feel of a long ‘letter to the editor’ from Shriver, conveniently put into quotation marks and treated as dialogue.

Many of the characters are angry, flawed, unlikeable. They are also, for the most part, beautifully drawn in great detail, although a few (Glynis’s sisters and Shep’s sister Beryl in particular) are little more than caricatures.

The damning portrayal of the American health system is sobering. It was written before the government reforms of 2010, so we can only hope that things are starting to improve. However, it did make me feel incredibly lucky to be living in Australia where Medicare (although far from perfect) means we all have a safety net if the worst comes to the worst.

Shriver has a knack of getting right inside us, where the thoughts we are ashamed of reside. And she holds them up to the glaring light. The book poses some truly uncomfortable questions: How much is a life worth? How well do we deal with death, living in a society where the subject is more taboo than religion, money or even sex? Do nice guys finish last? And how good a friend will we really be when our loved ones need us most? 

www.tlcbooktours.com

Maggie Sakko

It's SNOT that hard... or is it?

By HH

I am the proud mother of two boys!
They are 14 months apart. I’ve had a few people take their hats off to me, but I am neither the first nor the last brave mother to have her kids this close.
It is hard work. It’s that simple. HARD WORK.
But you learn as the days pass to become a really great juggler in your new life at the circus. Of course you are dressed as the sad clown. That’s due to lack of sleep so I guess the sad clown make-up is a blessing then!
I am trying my best to get back on the writing band wagon to entertain you all with my mummy-in-traning antics.
There is so much to tell, and it may come out in dribs and drabs so please forgive me.
How was my week?
Baby #1 is sick with a cold, full of snot he licked baby #2 and now he's is sick with a cold too. Off to the doctor, who advised it was a throat viral thingy and antibiotics are required. Thank God baby #2 is young enough to just swallow the medicine with a confused, shocked, (what is this crap?) look on his little face.
Baby #1 on the other hand is an entirely different story. He can not be reasoned with and has excellent mouth clenching abilities. After a battle and many tears the only way to get this medicine in there is to hold him down, and shove the syringe into the back of his throat while he gags and splutters and I’m sure he hates my guts.
I’m the mum- it’s my job I have to do it. So cleaning snot has been on the agenda this week. Listening to the kids cough and sneeze and breathing like monsters overnight. I’m not getting much sleep worrying about them. Sad clown make-up has turned into ‘Return of the Living Dead’ zombie face.
I’m soooo beautiful right now! Not.
Tomorrow is another day.
Good night my monkeys, mummy loves you.

Photo: My monkeys. Xander and Slater.

Easy Weekend Reads… ‘The Honey Queen’ by Cathy Kelly

Sunday Times bestseller, Cathy Kelly, returns with her latest book The Honey Queen.  In true Kelly style, the characters are believable, immediately likeable, and engaging.   The story is beautifully crafted with just enough tension to make it comfortable to read and a page-turner at the same time.

The novel follows three main characters: Peggy, a young woman desperate to escape her past by setting up a knitting shop in a town far from her family; Francesca, a career woman on the verge of menopause and retrenchment; and Australian born Lillie, whose husband’s death awakens an intense need to return to her birthplace and discover her roots. 

Kelly has a wonderful ability to write about the everyday lives of women in a way that makes it nearly impossible to put the book down.  Like her last novel, The House on Willow Street, she uses the narrative to raise awareness about the rights of women in domestic violence situations.  Through Peggy, who tries to convince her mother to leave the family home and start a new life, Kelly again explores the fear of staying, the fear of leaving, and the eventual relief when the cycle is broken. 

The author’s deep love of true family and community shines through the narrative.  The reader is transported into the realistic but loveable town of Redstone and into the innermost thoughts of her characters as they try to build good lives and genuine relationships. 

www.cathykelly.com

Amanda G

Easy Weekend Reads… ‘The House on Willow Street’ by Cathy Kelly

Number One Bestseller, The House on Willow Street (Harper Collins 2012) is a romantic fiction set in Ireland during the global financial crisis. It follows the lives of four women who return to the Irish village of Avalon to heal their broken hearts. 

Mara, after being cheated on in a publically humiliating way, is determined to create a new life in Avalon.  She moves in with her aunt Danae – a hermit who is forced reluctantly into socialising by her niece.   Sisters Tess and Suki must forgive the past if Tess is to restart her life after divorce, save her antiques shop, and reconnect with the one man she never stopped loving.  Suki, a once famous writer, needs to resurrect her career and write the book that will help her do it.   

An ambassador for UNICEF and supporter of rights for women and children, Cathy Kelly draws the theme of domestic violence into the narrative.  She treats the topic with sincerity and care.  Her insightful observations of human behaviour shine through in her strong, believable characters.

Although it is an easy weekend read, there is plenty of tension in this book.  Kelly keeps fascinating details about her characters’ pasts secret until she is left with no other choice but to reveal them. 

Guaranteed to keep you turning the pages…

 www.cathykelly.com

Amanda G

The Dark Side of the National Census

Despite the risk of sounding like someone from Grumpy Old Women, I am still cross about the last Census forced upon me in 2011.  This one was so intrusive I’ve got bets on the next one having additional blank pages for our life stories.

In this dangerous new world of terrorists, hackers, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, just where will our precious information end up?  Let’s not snuggle up with the idea that our data is secure.  If the Chinese can access the blueprints to the ASIO building, it’s safe to assume privacy is nonexistent.

In 1933 and 1939 Hitler used Census information to identify the Jewish population.  Edwin Black, author of IBM and the Holocaust writes: "Each person over the age of twelve was required to fill out census and registration in duplicate, and then was fingerprinted. Part of the form was stamped and returned as the person's new identification form. Without it, they would be shot. With it, they would be deported."[1]

Refreshingly, Canada has tossed the threats of fines or jail, and replaced it with a voluntary survey to safeguard their citizen’s security. 

If only my local Census lady, who hunted me like fugitive for weeks, would embrace Canada’s perspective.

www.ibmandtheholocaust.com 

Amanda G

---

[1] Edwin Black, IBM and the Holocaust, Dialog Press 2008, p.197

Black Books on the best list of sitcoms.

By Morgana Hassan

 

Image: Fan pop

Black Books is a sitcom that will serve you a satisfying comedic fix especially when you are in the mood for satire, dry wit and dark-humour.

Black Books, co-written by Dylan Moran is performed by some of Britain’s best comedians. Bernard Black (Dylan Moran) is a jaded bookshop owner who openly repudiates his customers. Manny (Bill Bailey) is Bernard’s new shop assistant at Black Books who possesses a more submissive and enthusiastic nature. Although their personalities are polar opposite their chemistry is very transparent. Bernard’s old friend Fran (Tamsin Greig) owns a gift shop right next door to Black Books and visits very frequently. Fran’s character is very diplomatic and she acts as an adhesive for Bernard and Manny when they fight, however she (like Bernard) is a raging alcoholic with an unfulfilling love life.

Bernard relies on Manny for being the backbone of his bookshop; Manny relies on Bernard for self-realization and worth for his work, while Fran relies on Bernard and Manny for genuine company and recreational drinking.

All three rely on Black Books as a place to hide away from the world however after a bottle of wine or two (per person), a whole new opportunity for adventure opens up to them.

A fine balance of surrealism and realism is combined into the scriptwriting of Black Books making the series of plots so effortlessly believable for the audience. The realism side of the sit-com allows you to relate to the plot and the surrealism side allows you to surrender to escapism. Not to mention the subliminal pull of craving a wine after 5 minutes of watching the characters guzzling down theirs.

Don’t take my word for it though, give it a go and see how long you can last into a Black Books marathon without craving a drink.

All in all I think Black Books is one of my highly favoured sitcoms, best suited to watch on a rainy day with a glass of red. 

Cheers.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaeeCV8eRr4

THE LOST THING

THE LOST THING

The Lost Thing is a delightful book by Shaun Tan, an award winning Australian author and illustrator. Published in 2000 by Thomas C Lothian, it is a fantasy story about a boy who comes upon a bizarre but benign creature at the beach while hunting for bottle tops for his collection.

The story was developed over about a year and Tan says that the boy is loosely based on himself beach-combing near his Western Australian childhood home. The plot involves the boy’s attempts to figure out what to do with the creature which include visiting fancifully named government departments like the “Department Of Odds & Ends.” Classic themes such as the need to belong, alienation and bureaucratic indifference are explored as the story moves towards its intriguing conclusion.

In 2010 The Lost Thing was adapted into a short animated film which was co-directed by Tan and Andrew Ruhemann and narrated by actor/comic Tim Minchin, and at the 2011 Academy Awards it won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film. The Oscar win is all the more impressive as The Lost Thing’s main competitor was an adaptation of The Gruffalo, which not only was a best selling children’s book but boasted the star power of actors Robbie Coltrane, Helena Bonham Carter and John Hurt.

Rewind a little to 2006 and I had the good fortune to attend the Byron Bay Writer’s Festival where Shaun Tan was a featured speaker. Both myself and my daughter were fans of his work and so I lined up with many others to have a copy of The Lost Thing signed by the author. Fortuitously, I had chosen that book totally at random from the 5 or 6 Tan titles that were available at the festival bookstore.

Shaun Tan turned out to be every bit as charming as his work suggests he would be. Not only did he sign the flyleaf, but also embossed it with his very impressive DEPARTMENT OF ODDS & ENDS rubber stamp and a very cool sketch of the book’s central character giving me a wave and a hello!

What price on eBay you may ask? Well, I’m here to tell you that you can continue to wonder, because that’s not going to happen.

Michael D Hansen -  24 July  2013

Go here http://www.thelostthing.com to check out The Lost Thing official website.

Go here http://www.acmi.net.au/shaun-tan-lost-thing.aspx for details of an ACMI exhibition dealing with the transition from book to film.

ADDITIONAL STUFF - Went to the ACMI exhibition on Saturday afternoon with my daughter and it was an absolute treat. All kinds of audio visual presentations, prints of sketches, colour palettes, fabric samples for textures, and a fascinating insight into the intricacies of the animation process, PLUS a tiny alcove where you can watch the Grammy winning film. Shaun Tan will also be featured at The Melbourne Writer's Festival (22 Aug - 1 Sept).   

MDH - 28 July 2013 

RAVIN' HAVEN

By Morgana Hassan

 

Image: Billboard the venue

Are you into the rave scene? Or not sure where to go on a Saturday night when you have the itch for ‘Progressive house’ and ‘Hard trance’ music? If yes and you haven’t been to Billboard the Venue on Russell street then you’re missing out!

Last Saturday night the 20^th of July was indeed a euphoric night packed with the latest underground electro beats, which made it impossible for the audience to sit still.

Melbourne’s rising DJ stars that comprised of Will Sparks, Joel Fletcher and Jamie Vlahos took the audience on a musical journey with their latest tracks ‘Afterturn’, ‘Afterdark’ and ‘I’m a Trumpsta’.  

Billboard is one of the best venues in Melbourne to scope out the latest DJ’s. The growing popularity in the underground music scene guarantees brand new material every week, so you’ll never be bored.

Our younger generation are becoming so consumed with DJ’s that many want to become one (and succeed). So if you wonder why ‘Stereosonic’ has now stretched to a two-day festival, this is why.

So if you’re seeking a night out packed with energy, fun and beats that’ll keep everyone dancing long after leaving the club, Billboard the Venue will deliver this and so much more.

http://www.billboardthevenue.com.au/#b

 

What they don't tell you about giving birth...

By HH

 

Photo: http://www.maplegallery.com.au/blog/page/4/


Here I am, sitting on the edge of the theatre bed, playing tug of war with the itsy, bitsy, teeny, weenie hospital gown with my backside on display for all to see.
Thank God my contractions are only very slight and I’m not in any pain.
Two nurses come either side of me. They each clutch a hand and brace me. I feel safe, it’s nice and I smile thankfully.
Then I see my friendly obstetrician, who’s turned from a clean cut looking Santa with a bow tie and red runners to the butcher of Bagdad in operating garb ready for slaughter.
I’m not smiling anymore.
I hear the words ‘spinal block procedure’ and remind myself of what they said about it not being an issue.

The spinal block is necessary to put the body to sleep from the chest down, in order to perform the c-section. It is a one-off injection along with some anesthetic that needs to be inserted into the spine.

Stay still. Stay very still. Or the needle will puncture something else and do some serious damage. Scary but necessary – I have worked out the odds, weighed up the pros and cons and have decided to do it as so many other women before me. After all, I’ve had needles before, how bad could this be?

I was born with a condition called scoliosis. It is a curvature of the spine. In my family it is hereditary; my grandmother on my mother’s side has it. I had to have a spinal fusion at the age of 13 and now there are pins and rods in my spine along with a mass of scar tissue. During my pregnancy in preparation for the delivery I made an appointment to discuss pain relief options with the anesthetist. I had some concerns with needles being inserted into my spine and the possibility that this wouldn’t work for me due to my spinal fusion. After much discussion with multiple doctors, I was given the all clear and was told that there would be no issue.

Ready. Set. Inject.
The pain was like shards of glass stabbing into my flesh and bouncing off my bones. Now I know why the two nurses are holding my hands. I hold onto them so tightly I leave nail indentations.
The fun didn’t end there. The needles didn’t work. Too much scar tissue to get through. Urgency turns into emergency. You could cut the tension with a scalpel.
Six failed jabs later and I am swearing to the heavens above for salvation.
The nervous anesthetist was desperate to deliver that to me. Sweating. Apologizing. And trying again and again.
‘Stop’ said my obstetrician. He advises Plan B – put me to sleep under a full general anesthetic. This meant my partner was not allowed in the room during delivery. This also meant that baby will be five weeks premature and rushed to the special care nursery and we would not see it till much later. What’s more, my recovery would be much worse.
Decisions, decisions.
I said a silent prayer to God.
I knew then that I wanted to be awake for my baby’s birth, no matter what.
One more jab. Then I felt it, the pins and needles tingling down my legs. The spinal block worked. Hallelujah! A huge sign of relief was exhaled by all. How joyous I was that I couldn’t feel my legs anymore.
My partner was allowed in and I was comforted to no longer be alone in a room full of medical staff in butcher’s outfits. My eyes fixed on my partners face as I kept asking him if it was a boy or girl? With one final tug, the baby was out and the smile on his face was bigger than Texas. ‘It’s a BOY!’ he yelled.
Our newborn son proceeded to pee all over the surgeons.
I thanked my obstetrician for delivering baby X in good health then pleaded to him, ‘sew me skinny’.
And so my new job as Mum began.

What they don't tell you about pregnancy...

By HH

Photo: http://naturalalternativesacupuncture.com/?page_id=33

So they say its nine months, but when you do the math, it’s an endurance testing 10 months. Have you noticed how the doctor or midwife only talks to you in ‘weeks’? So your given your due date, you calculate the stages of the pregnancy, and then you realize there’s more to it than you were led to believe.
One more month.
Just when you thought you were ready to push, you’ve got to ‘keep your legs crossed for thirty more days’. That’s 720 hours. Which is 43,200 minutes. Or to be more precise, 2.592 million seconds of not only further but also increased fatigue, swelling and that little bit of incontinence every time you cough. Staring back at you in the mirror is something that once resembled your body, but it has now morphed into whale bearing proportions.
The last nine months you have been inundated with many decisions. Whether your choice of venue be a hospital (public or private) birthing centre, home or water birth, all those agonizing months of waiting to see what your baby looks like; you know will be worth it.
Now you’re down to the business end of the pregnancy:
• You’ve gone over the birth plan with your doctor, tick.
• You’ve decided the ‘perfect’ birth experience, tick
• You’ve filled out the questionnaires, tick, tick, tick
• Now you wait, tick tock, tick tock, tick tock …
Until my water breaks at 35 weeks.
I’m rushed to the hospital
I haven’t packed my bags
I haven’t showered
I haven’t waxed my bikini line
I haven’t got baby’s room ready
And the baby car seat!
I’m told that baby is in breech
‘What the F is breech?’
Feet first
There goes The Plan
Out the window
With the bathwater
Emergency c-section
NOW
What
Happened
To
The
One
Whole
Extra
Month?
Oh the horror, the horror!
We screech to a grinding halt under the ‘Emergency’ sign, which should really read ‘leave your dignity at the door’.
The nurses take good care of me and prepare me for my c-section.
I have more forms to sign as they explain the procedure and spinal block to me. I am wheeled into a cold theatre room, naked underneath a hospital gown three sizes too small for me.
My partner is left outside waiting until I am appropriately anesthetized.
He may be waiting a while…

Twilight vs. True Blood

By HH

TWILIGHT

Photo: http://gallerywallpaper.com/twilight-breaking-dawn-part-2.html

When you see Twilight for the first time you are instantly transported to a romantic fantasy land where you secretly wish you met a super hot vampire that loved you so much it oozed out of every inch of him. You close you eyes and get swept away at how intense Edward and Bella’s love is and you long for them to kiss, to touch, to take that final step and confirm their undying commitment for one another.

But they don’t. No kissing and no real touching either. How can this story be so full of intense feelings and no kissing? It doesn’t hurt that Bella has another admirer in sexy Jake- even if he is a dog, he’s worth every inch of the perv we get. Where Edward is sickly sweet in his love and devotion and vampish brooding tortured looks. Jake is hot blooded and angry- just the way we like them. A bit on the teenybopper side, but still worth a good look.

 

TRUE BLOOD

Photo: http://www.locatetv.com/blog/true-blood-vs-twilight-similarities-and-differences/

Then you have True Blood. Well this show turns your fantasyland upside down!

There is a smorgasbord of kissing and touching in this series. Enough to satisfy any would be fang-banger. With Sookie Stackhouse playing the lead and a plethora of hot hungry vampires after her blood and the odd hunk of a werewolf in tow, who wouldn’t be hooked? There is guts and gore. A kinky tall Viking Vamp named Eric who is delicious and of course Sookie’s brother Jason Stackhouse who has abs of steel and a butt to match and has slept his way through every woman on the show- for all of us to see. Nothing is missed in this phenomenal series. It has it all. The intensity of lusty love, and a good measure of romance, mixed with just enough sex to keep you interested. And then some! More for grown ups, or somewhere in between.

To sum it up- I think True Blood is the raunch we are looking for that Twilight doesn’t give us. I rate both as titillating. It all depends what mood you are in when you are flicking channels. In the end… we all want to be a vampire!

 

 

Why I want to be a writer

People choose to be writers for a number of reasons.  Some for commercial success, others for fame and fortune, hoping to be the next J.K. Rowling.  The real reason I wan to be a writer is to perhaps hone my humble skills to such an extent, so as to one day produce a best seller. But the most important thing for me is to be true to my craft, to be true to myself. I will not write to suit the market, which no doubt will be good for finances, rather I wish to write from the heart. About what I hold dear, about what I feel greatly about, about those universal truths that never change or go away, even through the passage of centuries.  Is that possible in this brave new world? Yes. I say it is. Even in this age of mass production and mass consumption, something of value will survive.

Ivy D'Souza

Easy Weekend Reads… 'A French Affair' by Katie Fforde

Light and full of good feelings, A French Affair (Random House 2013) is a perfect match if you need to escape into another world, namely a little English village, an inherited antiques business, and a romantic mini-break in France. 

The novel is set amongst the fallout from the global financial crisis. Gina Makepiece, an unmarried thirty-something PR graduate, struggles to pay for her London-based lifestyle when her clients cut their budgets.  She accepts a tiny inheritance from her late aunt, which includes a small, rented corner in Matthew Ballinger’s ‘French House’ antique shop.    

While the storyline is predictable, Matthew’s thoughts are not immediately clear, which creates well-needed tension.  Although its genre is not something you’ll own up to reading the next time you are sitting at a dinner party with English literature professors, the book is written well.  Having published over twenty books, Katie FForde has established a solid reputation as a leading British romantic novelist. The Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller list described it as, ‘gorgeous humour and the lightest of touches.’

Certainly a cute, weekend read.

http://katiefforde.com/

Amanda G

Worldwide tube transportation anyone?

image courtesy of www.ET3.com 

Just when I thought I couldn’t fall in love with Elon Musk anymore than I already have, he comes up with a new secret project.  If you are not yet familiar with Elon, it’s time you were acquainted.  He founded Tesla Motors (electric vehicles), SpaceX (space exploration technology), SolarCity and PayPal. If there is anyone on the planet with the mind of a reincarnated alien from a technologically advanced civilization, or Spock, it’s Elon. 

His latest passion is the ET3 Worldwide Tube Transportation Project.  Fear not, aeroplane scaredy cats, greenies, and those suspecting they may have been dropped here as infants from Sirius or the Pleiades, Elon may have the key to save us, or at least remind us of our home planets.   

Rocketing through a tunnel in a tube up to 4,000 mph to reach your overseas destination sounds a tad frightening, but, in my opinion, not as much as flying through the sky in a steel container strapped to a seat.  I’d take the ET3 over Jetstar any day.  So when can we expect to see this ET3 or ‘Evacuated Tube Transport’? A test version could be built by the end of 2013.
www.et3.com

            

Amanda G