Twain Street, Footscray - Monday 17 November - Community Day

After many weeks in the planning, we finally held our Community Day last Saturday!

It was a great success. Approximately 50 neighbours turned up, including: Mrs Chicello from number 17, Sophie, David and Angel from number 25, Pauly, Simon and Pia from number 10 and even the punk rockers from number 19 (Sean volunteered that his visit to the police station was due to him violating his parole, we didn't get into why he was on parole in the first place). Abdul turned up just before we packed up.

We collected many great ideas on what we could do if Council gave us a piece of the car park land for open space. It was great to see people like Mrs Chicello writing down her ideas and meeting new people. I really hoped it was giving her a bit more optimism for the street that held over 56 years of memories.

Just the fact that the community came together, met one another and shared their ideas was really encouraging. It proved to me, and my fellow organisers, that people wanted to get involved with their community. They definitely wanted a space where they could exercise, walk their dogs, play, get involved in community activities like a community garden and that’s just a small selection from the many ideas we received.

So, now the next step – delivering these ideas and our petition to the Council. Watch this space…

Twain Street, Footscray - Monday 10 November - A Close Call

The weekend just gone saw a near tragedy in Twain Street.

Pauly, 8-years-old and Simon, 12-years-old live with their Mum, Pia – a single mother who emigrated from Chile 15 years ago. The boys have lived at number 10 Twain Street all their lives.

Much to their mother’s great anxiety, the boys have a habit of kicking a soccer ball on the road. No one in the street blames them for this. They don’t have a backyard and there’s nowhere close by to go and play.

Last Saturday afternoon they were out on the street, kicking the ball around, when a car screeched around the corner and missed Pauly by just centimetres. Pia witnessed this from her front window, as did myself and several other neighbours.

She ran out, hysterical. Picking Pauly up off the road, she hugged him tightly, alternating between crying from relief that he was unhurt and chastising him for playing on the road. We were all relieved – Pauly could have been killed.

When everyone had calmed down and gone back their respective homes, I thought about what had just happened. Now over the shock, I became angry. I thought about my childhood and the huge backyards that were completely taken for granted. Surely it’s every kid’s right to have somewhere safe to kick a soccer ball or just run around and play.

I sat down at my computer and started emailing invites to our Community Day (the following Saturday) to our Mayor and local Councillors.

Twain Street, Footscray – Monday 3 November - Small coincidences

The festive season is almost upon us once again. For me, after a Melbourne winter of hunkering down and keeping warm, I quite enjoy this time – emerging from ‘hibernation’, as it were.

Last Friday night I went to my first Christmas party for 2014. It wasn’t a late night and I found myself hailing a cab just before midnight. One stopped fairly quickly and I hopped in, asking to be taken to Twain Street, Footscray.

The driver was a young man, I guessed of Indian or Pakistani descent. He asked me which way I preferred to go and I told him Dynon Road.

“Have you been busy tonight?”, I asked him.

“No, not really, it’s been pretty quiet”, he replied.

We chatted some more and then he told me, “I have another job that I work in during the week, so I only drive taxi’s Friday and Saturday nights”.

He also told me he was studying his masters.

“Wow, that’s so full on”, I told him, “Where do you find the energy to do all that?”

“Oh, I’ve been doing it for a while now. All my friends from Pakistan who live over here do pretty much the same.”

He turned into Twain Street and asked where I wanted to be dropped. I asked him to continue down to the end of the street.

As we were going past number 35 he said, “I actually live in this street as well, in this blue house”.

I was surprised, “I’ve never seen you around? But I guess given what you’ve told me about life, it’s not surprising”. We both laughed.

He pulled up to my house. “It was lovely to meet you”, I said. “What’s your name? “My name’s Abdal”, he told me. “I’m Caroline”. 

Before I jumped out I told him about the Community Day. He said he would try his hardest to be there.

Twain Street, Footscray – Monday 27 October – Escape from ‘Alcatraz’

The weekend saw some beautiful Melbourne spring weather. My star jasmine had suddenly burst into flower and the frangipani was showing the first signs of new leaves. I decided to do some work on the front yard.

I had just got stuck into the weeding when I realised I had an intruder. There, sitting in the pathway was a tan coloured English Bulldog, staring at me with large soulful eyes.

“Hello, where did you come from?” It was all the encouragement she needed. She scuttled over, tail in manic mode, snorting and snuffling with glee.

“Angel! Angel, where are you?” Immediately, the dog paused – head turning towards the direction of the voice.

“There you are, you little rascal!” A woman appeared at my gate. She was attractive, in her mid thirties, with long dark brown hair up in a ponytail.

“Hi, I’m Sophie. We’ve just moved into number 25. Thank you for minding her, she can go for miles when she escapes.”

“No problem”, I replied, “welcome to the neighbourhood.”

We chatted a bit and I learnt that she and her partner, David, were both lawyers. They had been living in a flat in Elwood and this was the first house they had ever brought. She explained that David had been brought up in the Western suburbs and due to this, and the fact that property in Footscray was still within their budget were the reasons they moved 'across the river’.

“You must come to our Community Day on 15^th November. Bring Angel, there will be lots of other dogs.”

Sophie said that both she and David were very keen to get involved in the community, so they would definitely be there. We said our goodbyes and, holding onto Angel’s collar firmly, they headed back up road towards number 25. Angel’s moment of freedom clearly over, for now…

Twain Street, Footscray - Monday 20 October

Last Saturday afternoon wasn't short of drama in Twain Street. 

I had spent much of the day organising for our open space ‘Community Day’, to be held in five weeks time. I was telling my neighbour, Mrs Chicello (a widow who has lived at number 17 for 56 years), about it, when a police car drew up to the next-door house.  

Two police officers leapt out and bounded up the steps to the front door. They banged on it loudly several times, announcing to occupants, “Police! Open up”. 

The door opened, revealing a young, 20-something male punk rocker. The police talked to him for several minutes. Then, placing the handcuffs on the young man, they lead him away into the police car.

As the police car drew away, a young female punk rocker put her head out the front door and yelled, “Don’t think you can get way with this you arseholes, my father is a famous lawyer!”

Mrs Chicello, looking a little shocked, told me, “The Bongiovani’s lived in that house for over 60 years. They were our best friends”. Shaking her head sadly and starting to move away back up her garden path, more to herself than me, “What has happened to street, it used to be such a lovely street …”.

As I watched her disappear through her front door, I felt for her. Trying to imagine what it must be like to live in a place for so long. Seeing her neighbourhood change so much, through both the continuum of life and death, and socio economic changes to the municipality.

I walked back to my house and before going inside, surveyed the ugly concrete car park at the end of street, “That has got to go”, I announced to no one in particular. From behind me I heard, “With you on that one, Caroline”. 

I turned to see Tania, smiling and walking towards me, pushing her 6-month baby, Ben. "Do you know about the community day?”, I asked. “Coming with bells on!”, she replied.

An Ode to Love and Beauty (SK)

By Sean Keating

The aesthetics of life, to perceive of a feeling of expression and that emotional response from this is within us, especially, my preference, the expression of love, expressed ina number of different ways.

Is the glass on the table half-full as the optimist decides or half-empty by the pessimist or is it the chance to imbibe the fulfilment of life? To quench one’s thirst to a potential of growth, the simple drop of water is in time with great laughter and joy, of life in all its manifestations; of love in all its appreciation of such hope and joy, both of physical pleasure either through nutrition or the chance to be needed by someone else, or the pleasure of powers beyond the physical pleasure to expression of life itself, in all its beauty and resilience; the pleasure of the flesh that has the chance to soar beyond the clouds, to a place of greater love that humanity may some day experience.

The revelry within the mind continues towards its final destination... towards the infinite... a place that humans have long realized, the concept of the greatest love of all, of the positivity and strength of the divine, which is within all of us, in life and beyond. We watch and wait and hope towards the expression of the infinite within of love...

We appreciate the chance to express the aesthetics of beauty, of each one of us in all its physical forms taken. Within our physical bodies, the way we thirst after the water and its the chance of life and the knowledge of time, of beauty and existence, of the aesthetics of love of life, of the positive of life, in its expression of happiness, our way of feeling, we see the meaning of the written word on the page and we ponder...

An amazing journey we all have travelled in this life, in its endeavours, its expression in emotion and knowledge but as I write these words I hear the rain outside, a love beyond a glass of water, a chance of further life, not only from within but our civilisation... Further advances in the positivity, of beaut, a step towards advancement towards the hearing, feeling, taste of the rain and the new life contained within it: away of striving towards dreams of the infinite in a single drop of water. 

Nutrition of the mind (SK)

By Sean Keating

I watch the chip packet slowly emptying as each chip I place into my mouth with great delight; the salt excites that bitter part of my tongue; of savoury delight of the new bacon and egg flavoured chips swim down my gullet. I HAVE BEEN DREAMING OF THIS FEAST FOR EIGHT YEARS.

Conceptually still in anticipatory state for the flavours dreamed, now realty. As each mouthful my brain swimming, in a state of pure tranquillity, the wait now over... The crunch of each chip between each bite... flavours reaching chemical receptors, tongue stimulated as the shooting along of each path of nerve cells talking to my brain, the chips are very moreish.

Mind, now Dickensian, pleads “Please sir, can I have some more...” The answer is always yes until the packet has served a purpose, the stomach now far from empty, as I look further at the T.V watching the movie ”Longitude”. Time passes by in its human definition talks to me of life and existence.

The mind now refreshed with that feeling of calm with a thirst of knowledge of history and of a journey within, of time. The now restful state keeps going as my active mind watches the screen, as each detail of each moment in time passes, preparing my head to accept the introduction of improvement by adding new pathways.

Construction within the mind continues as I prepare for another day with a chance to dream once more in a reality more real than in the state of sleep.

Politics of War (SK)

By Sean Keating

The freedom of rhetoric, of free speech and the role of the forms of communication in the media and other forms would have us plummet towards another war. A war, not only of the mind, which has been reinforced month after month of the terror and fear of the enemy as dogs bark loudly of the stranger, that alien, foreign creature that approaches the gate, as the war on terror continues blanketing mind and heart of the terrors of was and pain.

We are led by the abbot, of no Christian persuasion, to realize no God I an aware of, in either Christian Bibles or Muslim Quran of the hunting and hatred of humanity through the destruction of life, through barbarism of war. The bullet pierces through each layer of skin, blood pouring out, of great pain and anguish, as the symbol of this pain screams of the battle in all its atrocious noise level and complexity.

The symbol of he end of life with the end of its ability and potential of love and goodness in this world lost...

The politics of war in its struggle, of the economics of power and reinforcement of money perpetuating the pain within all of us, often describes the use of rhetoric like words including freedom and other ways to fight against the positivity of life in its real growth, to help each other instead of killing of the often innocent to seeing the potential of humanity to be superior to animals.

Abbot and Obama having been making plans over many months, sending young men and women to war and death (a statistic may number humans dead but can it show the worth of them) but as we must have already realized neither Abbot or Obama have not send their children to the front-line of warfare.

As plans are made and also the screams of terror, the calls of freedom to kill human beings we understand through the machinations of government and politics, we are led like Lemmings towards darkness, to the possible annihilation of our species and the chance of destruction of all life on the planet.         That’s real freedom for you. 

Communication (SK)

By Sean Keating

As a writer, my pen flows with the ink that is flowing throughout my venous and arterial network. Ink flows throughout my being at each pulse the movement of pen. I put pen to paper, the ink flows from within to explode into the semantics of words within; my mind in a state of rhetoric as it discusses the news of the day, cognitive revelry, ideas of a lifetime; of experience, not only of talking and dreaming, of different states of arousal; but of a meaning of its own, of happiness, of sadness, experiences of growth, tears of laughter and joy, of lowest depression, known most deepest from within, to life itself of all its qualities...

To grasp with each breath; to cling onto every bit of life, fingernails extended, holding on, to the edge of this precipice before us, digging with each nail deep into solid rock, as each millisecond of life we care enough to go, breathe once more, as time, always the enemy continues...

As each word I place upon the page, that feeling of happiness brims within; a feeling that only a writer knows, that ability to communicate from pen to paper; the flowing of a river, our stream of consciousness, fully comprehending our life long struggle to conceptualize existences we have, as we cry out loud in our own God given voice, of freedom of a kind...a way of communicating from inside to out to an audience we hope to enthral or stimulate and evoke response to other feeling and encouragement of a different perspective... another direction of expression. 

Dreaming (SK)

By Sean Keating

Rapid Eye Movement: Fully asleep, my dreams in sullen evocative states, of life forgotten, of concepts time forgot, in neither darkness nor light, just being.

The strengths and weaknesses within, fall into place as time of deepest sleep, its uncontrollable lack of movement of body, still unaware in this time and space of no meaning?

I drift around in space like an astronaut pondering, all systems ready, and as the computer system within speaks to me of the journey with its fully programmable images. The journey of a day, of crises or relaxation or nothing continues.

Digital tapes all playing sights, smells and feelings within. Working together the mind continues until sudden vast blackness.

REM sleep: of statutes, states of mind in excitation and the need to... to cognitively filter information in the process of making sense of our existence; now to a deeper dark sub-conscious void. No sense of time or space... no senses of the mind, not even a blink... nothing but darkness, no memories... Is the mind activating at all?               

Yes. It is activated our entire life.

Brief darkness until that period of ninety minutes elapses... another period of dreaming.. The ticking of a clock beside my bed, my head keeping perfect beat...Circadian rhythm, clock in perfect timing... Darkness, bleakness, nothing, non-reality, reality, the quiet, refreshing the healing process continues.

The mind activates the physical... Side to side, around and around, as the Rapid Eye Movement starts another cycle, once more dreaming, of reality that time of day that each one of us in the prison of the mind, the time of psychoses, sleep... the dream reality, the lucid mind, now lucid dreaming, where we know we are in dream; the feeling of power?

Controlling dreams and minds, we awake to another day, another state of arousal, of the lucid mind.

Quantum Cryptography

By S Gray

Two papers that have been published in the last fortnight by Physical Review Letters have renewed my interest in the field of Quantum Cryptography. Interestingly, the papers are involved in very different aspects of this field.

Credit: http://www.iqst.ca/media/html/macgregor_files/macgregor02.jpeg

The first paper, Measurement-Device-Independent Quantum Key Distribution over 200 km, brings the practical uses of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) much closer. QKD is a means of distributing encryption keys in such a way that if a third party tries to view the key while it is in route, their observation will effect the quantum state and can be detected by the intended party. The team, led by Jian-Wei Pan and Qiang Zhang from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, have implemented this technique over a 200 km fibre optic cable – four times further than previous attempts. They have also achieved speeds potentially 500 times faster than previous setups.

Conceptual illustration of a photon-based qubits

Credit: http://images.iop.org/objects/phw/news/17/6/10/PWqua_120613.jpg

The second paper, Experimental Realization of a One-Way Quantum Computer Algorithm Solving Simon’s Problem, showcases the first time that an algorithm has been successfully run on a Quantum Computer. Although Simon's algorithm has no practical applications, the experiment is a major step forward for Quantum Computing and the implementation other quantum software such as Shor's algorithm – potentially capable of cracking encryption keys exponentially faster.

Sources:

Secure quantum communications go the distance

Milestone algorithm runs on quantum computer

Thanks Roof

By S Gray

Credit: Screen capture from http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDR024.loop.shtml

As I said in my last post, I was excited to write about Quantum Cryptography today. Unfortunately my roof has had other plans for me, so the post on QC will have to wait for another day.

Last night my roof decided to start leaking directly above my bed. Nowhere else in the house – just above where I was trying to sleep. On the upside it meant that I found out quickly and dealt with the situation before it became a real mess. However on the downside I woke up to splatters of water on my face and got very little sleep. I mean, I know it's not the end of the world and there are plenty of people (actually, probably the majority of the world's human population) that have to deal with worse on a daily basis. But still, I've come to expect my roof to work.

It has got me onto thinking about FWPs. My first thought was that a leaky roof most definitely is not an FWP. It is more the sort of thing you expect to happen to people in the third world, but then I started to think about my attitude towards it. Rather than dealing with the situation or trying to fix it (I have put a bucket and some towels underneath it, so I guess that's something), I decided I was going to blog about it instead. And, I think, there is something very FWPish about that.

What do you think constitutes a First World Problem?

Getting lost in reddit land

By S Gray

Credit: mashable.com

I decided to have a look at reddit this morning to see if I could find something that is currently trending to blog about. I'd been planning on heading to /r/science, but my caffeine deprived brain saw this and decided it was going to click it instead. My decaffeinated brain, also ensured me that after the caffeine had started to take affect we could click on the Science subreddit and look for something to write a sciency blog about. I mean what's the point of trying to write something serious when your brain is still asleep, right?

So I clicked on the image, managed half a smile, thought that's mildly amusing and then clicked the back button. Right, time to bust out a blog post. Oooohh, 995 comments! Okay, I'll just read the first couple, I mean the caffeine still hasn't reached the synapses yet and it's Saturday morning. I'll just procrastinate for a little bit and then I'll get to it.

Two hours later and I suddenly realise I still haven't written my blog post for the morning, haven't had a shower, haven't had breakfast and badly need to pee. I've somehow transitioned into zombie mode and my brain has been looping through just one more click and then i'll pee for god knows how long.

I'm no longer on reddit, but I now have a bazillion tabs open in chrome that read like a geological record of the last two hours of my life. Somewhere along the way I did stumble across a page on Quantum Cryptography so on the upside I've also found a topic for my next post.

A new study sheds light on the history of insect evolution

By S Gray

Fulgora laternaria

Credit: Andrew McCormick for the California Academy of Sciences

The journal Science recently published the largest ever study on Insect Evolution. The paper involves the collaboration of 100 scientists from 10 countries studying a phenomenal 144 species. The study looked at 1478 genes – a large proportion of the expressed genes across the entire insect genome.

'That amount of data was so enormous that once we got it, it was too big to analyse: we didn’t have the computational power to deal with it,' says Michelle Trautwein, assistant curator and Schlinger Chair of Dipterology at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. New software and algorithms were developed to analyse the data set and even so the analysis took months for supercomputers to crunch.

The study confirmed that insects, which first appeared on earth 500 million years ago, evolved wings around 400 million years ago. This was about the same time that early plants were beginning to gain height and forests began to spread across the earth. While it can't be determined if one of these events worked as a catalyst for the other, the correlation between them shows that their evolutionary history was definitely intertwined.

If you are interested in hearing more about this study, there is a great interview between Ira Flatow from PRI's Science Friday and Michelle Trautwein.

Bounce goes the Comet Lander

By S Gray

Rosetta’s lander Philae is safely on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, as these first two CIVA images confirm. One of the lander’s three feet can be seen in the foreground. The image is a two-image mosaic. The full panoramic from CIVA will be delivered in this afternoon’s press briefing at 13:00 GMT/14:00 CET.

Credit: ESA/Rosetta/Philae/CIVA

Comet Lander Philae is now stable on the surface of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. European Space Agency (Esa) scientists are still trying to determine its exact location, but its presumed to be about 1km away from its intended landing site. After bouncing twice, the first time hundreds of metres back into space, the lander has come to rest in the shadow of a cliff. The location of the lander could prove problematic as its solar panels aren't receiving enough sunlight to recharge its battery system.

It is receiving approximately 1.5 hours of light in every 12-hour rotation of 67P. This is insufficient to top up the initial charge it had when it decoupled from Rosetta, which was enough for 60+ hours. This means that if a solution isn't found Philae will be unlikely to continue operating past Saturday. The lander is equipped with 3 feet capable of hopping Philae around. However, the precarious position of the lander, one of its feet is currently in the air possibly hanging over the side of a crater, make this manoeuvre to risky.

Another possibility is to deploy an instrument named Mupus that will likely shift the lander's position. Even a slight change in the angle at which Philae is resting could improve the amount of sunlight reaching its solar arrays dramatically. A panoramic photo will be taken after the instrument is deployed to determine if there has been any movement.

Adapting to change: hydrating, and apparently low in calories.

By James W.

My routines are hard to break out of. I guess that's the same for everyone, although I admittedly don't adjust to change the best of ways. For about two years now, my usual lunch when I'm near my work's shopping centre consists of an assortment of california hand rolls and iced tea. I'm very particular, often ordering the same hand rolls (raw salmon, cooked tuna, california, and teriyaki chicken) and always the same flavour of iced tea (peach mango). Since I'm usually passing by work more often than not, these hand rolls and iced teas have pretty much become my core diet. I don't think that's necessarily bad, everything on the menu is healthy. I think it's healthy, anyway.

With that being said, my beloved brand of Nestea peach mango iced tea hasn't been on shelves for a while, and I think they're going to stop being sold altogether pretty soon. As heartbreaking as that is, I've been lucky enough to discover that a brand new flavoured water/iced tea has arrived.

It's currently being advertised on TV with average people singing poorly as they get through their day with this Ovi Hydration water, and while the ad isn't very engaging, I decided to try it out anyway. I've only had the peach flavour (I am only just now realising how much I must love peach), but I have to say it's pretty good stuff. To my knowledge it's only been out for a couple of weeks, and I think I've already bought five bottles or so during that time. Definitely worthy for replacing my Nestea peach mango iced tea.

Life outside without internet.

By James W.

For a couple of weeks now, the internet on my phone hasn't been working when I'm outside of the house. As someone who regularly travels to the city, between 40 - 50 minutes each way, I'm finding the lack of internet quite agitating. Luckily I have music on my phone that I can enjoy to pass the time.

An 'oldie' but a goodie; "Papaoutai" by Stromae.

By James W.

A song I’m into as of late is “Papaoutai” by French artist Stromae. Quirky, uptempo and extremely catchy, the title roughly translates to “Where are you, Father?” As an English speaker with an extremely basic understanding of the French language, the new epiphany of what the lyrics mean was extremely satisfying and gave the song a brand new dimension. The first verse reflects on Stromae’s own father, who died at war, and the rest of the song generally discusses the responsibilities fathers should have for their children.

Book Review by JG

Freycinet, Melanie Calvert, 2012

Well it had to happen – I've read great books over the years (that makes me sound old, doesn't it?) but the time has come – I was trying to be nice and just call this one of the worst books I've ever read, but no – the awful truth is that it's the worst.

The title caught my eye because it is about Freycinet National Park in Tasmania. However, despite the initial promise of a good story, it didn't hold me transfixed and eager to keep reading like so many other books I've read. I ‘drifted off’ many times, thinking about other things, and had to make an effort to pull myself back and keep reading. Good writing, I've been told, ‘shows, doesn’t tell’.  To paraphrase Elmore Leonard, good writing doesn't sound like writing. Calvert’s descriptions seem to be focused on telling, not showing, and the excessive use of adjectives is annoying - ‘a screeching clatter of birds suddenly flails close to my head’(p47); ‘The track leads us past breathtaking, twisted trees, profuse scrub, and immense stones by other hikers who seem similarly chastened and unnaturally hushed, and past the bones and dried bloody remnants and rich charcoal smells of something dead’(p36); ‘Inside, I step onto polished floor-boards that reflect the green-golden light…The furniture is made of golden-toned wood, and the curtains are a mottled orange and green.’(p18). I only found one cliché (but I didn’t finish the book!) – ‘He’s devastatingly handsome.’(p42). I don't remember what this refers to, but ‘Their colours, in shades from a greenish salmon pink to a raw red tinged with blue, are surreal and alarming, jarring against the brilliant sky.’(p10). In this instance the adjectives are applicable - it is definitely alarming and jarring. I cannot find a publisher’s name on the book, so I think it's self-published. The book has had many good reviews, but I think it’s one of the silliest books I’ve ever (partially) read.  Just in case I felt I wasn't learning anything, I came across the word 'discombobulating'. I've never seen that word in print anywhere, not in anything by Plato, Jean-Paul Sartre, or even Immanuel Kant! Someone told me it means confusing - did Calvert's editor completely miss the irony? Needless to say, I can't speak for other readers, but I read novels for relaxation, escape, entertainment - I don't expect to require assistance from the complete Oxford!

Writing Prompts With T.C Review & Contemplate

PINTEREST

I also wanted to mention briefly here as well that Pinterest is also an additional ‘Hub’ space, not just for images that you can use to create a vision board for your writing, but every so often I do come across a picture that leads to further articles, videos, or motivational quotes and tips that I can collect, print out, or bookmark for further interest, and research.

Pinterest www.pinterest.com

DAILY TAROT GUIDANCE

You have accomplished a lot in your life. You have much to be proud of. What is next? This is a time to contemplate the past and the present. Think outside the box. Be the real you.

USING TAROT CARDS AS WRITING PROMPTS

All through the month of November I have been using my various Tarot, and Oracle decks, not only you set the tone & the energy of the day, but to inspire the prompts that follow each of my posts. 

Using the decks is simple, as there are images, and messages on each one.

Take a card, look at what the message provides, and pick out a few keyword, and go from there.

An example: In one of my previous posts the topic was getting organized. I used the topic as a base, and the daily guidance to flesh questions out that related to novel writing.

Guidance:  Today also shows up a loyal friend

·        Who are the supporting characters of your novel? [Who guides them?]

It is that easy, and the possibilities are endless. This technique has helped me on numerous cases in planning my novel, propelling me forward and inspiring others via Youtube and Twitter.

An example of how I use my Oracle Decks:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpbEj9EQ43E&list=UUSv5T1GhU9bA4vYUI2oAPWg

MY INSPIRATION

One of my favorite creators and guiders in the industry is Doreen Virtue, who was in Melbourne this weekend passed. You can find her shop, workshops, and her community online at: www.theangeltherapy.com

PROMPTS

.       What life experience could you use to spice up your story or create depth in a scene?

·         What is your characters biggest achievement to date?

·         Get clear on your characters purpose throughout the story

·         How can you expand your perspective on your story today?

·         When/ How is your character not their authentic self ?

·         How is your character not themselves today?