Yay to Sydney Council Rangers who now have the power to fine smokers who discard their butts on the street. Butt littering is a serious environmental problem that has been the focus of numerous educational programs to no avail. Now the council is getting serious by hitting smokers where it hurts most - their hip pocket.
Say all you like about litter in general, butts are the worst of a bad lot, simply because of their size, which can swim through gross litter filters, and their toxicity.
It is not difficult to dispose of used butts - most rubbish bins have ashtrays or you can devise your own portable ashtrays. Back in 2002 I was a volunteer for the Manly Environment Centre and spent a Saturday giving out portable ashtrays (little click top containers) to hundreds of people along the Manly Corso. I believe you can still get them for free at selected businesses. Otherwise, film containers work well, or even those Eclipse mint tins, which are airtight.
Now, if only they can start fining people who smoke while they walk, leaving a trail of non-smokers choking in their wake. Hire me!
31 May, 2006
29 May, 2006
The Book Thief (book)
The Book Thief (2005)
By Markus Zusak (Picador)
A hefty tome, at 584 pages, 'The Book Thief' is nonetheless a swift read. As I was heading home in a taxi after the Sydney Writers' Festival (where, earlier in the week, I'd briefly met Mr Zusak) I struck up a conversation with the driver, who had incidentally heard a radio interview with "a guy whose name started with Z". He continued to say that his wife had read the book in two days. While I had no such luxury with time, it took me about a week of commuting and a little extra before bed and this morning to finish it.
Plot outline: On the cusp of World War II, a young girl, Liesel, and her brother Werner are travelling with their mother to Munich where they are to be handed over to foster parents. Werner does not survive the train ride and in the aftermath of his burial, Liesel steals her first book, 'The Gravedigger's Handbook'. Liesel arrives alone in a new town, stirs up some trouble and learns to read. As the scars of war deepen, Liesel learns many more things like how to steal and how to hide a Jew in the basement.
First of all I'd like to mention that the plot outline doesn't do all that much justice to the novel. The novel is built on narrative and character relationships, rather than plot and it is the reader's understanding of these that give much more flesh to the plot than the bones I have provided.
The second thing of importance is that the narrator of the book is Death, not Liesel or an unseen third person.
Using the grubby backdrop of war, Zusak's deceptively simple language is poetic but never strays towards being burdened with flowery language, nor cluttered with unnecessary description. His masterstroke is Death's voice, which swaps the stereotype 'doom and gloom' tone for the genial, almost resigned, words of one whose job is simply to collect souls as they die. Death's description of each moment is conducted with clarity and more than a hint of deeper knowledge - who knew that the moment you expire could indicate so much about you as a person?
Liesel's adolescence is a series of big and small changes that steadily builds on the reader's perception of the characters involved. Death is not always present, in fact, his narration is aided by Liesel's own autobiographical written account, from which he borrows to colour the periods between his sightings of her.
As I mentioned, the core of Liesel's story is not so much about events but the relationships that characterise them. Her brother's death leads to nightmares which leads to the strong relationship she builds with her foster father, Hans Hubermann, which then leads to comparisons of her relationship with her foster mother, Rosa, painted as externally maniacal but essentially kind-hearted.
Liesel's friendship with Rudy Steiner, the boy next door, is the gateway to understanding her position at school and in the neighbourhood, as well as providing a healthy dose of fun into their adventures around town - from Rudy's retelling of the Jesse Owens incident, their collusion with a gang of thieves and football games in the park.
Then, with the arrival of Max (a Jew whose father saved Hans' life in WWI), Liesel's love affair with words deepens. In sharing stories, the unlikely pair form a friendship that counters the cruelty of Hitler's war and foregrounds the kindness of the Hubermanns. The Hubermanns, in effect, represent the real Germans whose humanity was drowned out by Hitler's manifesto.
It is here, with Liesel and Max, that Zusak clearly presents the reflexive device on which the novel is perched. 'The Book Thief' is thus seen as Death's narration about Liesel's adolescence containing Max's life and Max's stories. Max's stories further contain references to his friendship with Liesel, to Hitler and also to the power of words.
All this - plot, language, characters, device - is woven seamlessly into a book and it is the simplicity of everything that makes the novel more powerful. I laughed at Liesel's childhood innocence and I cried when her world, at different points scattered throughout the book, crumbled. And cried some more for the last fifty pages. The mark of Zusak's genius.
***** - a new perspective of WWII based on friendship and the power of words using pared back sentimentality
By Markus Zusak (Picador)
A hefty tome, at 584 pages, 'The Book Thief' is nonetheless a swift read. As I was heading home in a taxi after the Sydney Writers' Festival (where, earlier in the week, I'd briefly met Mr Zusak) I struck up a conversation with the driver, who had incidentally heard a radio interview with "a guy whose name started with Z". He continued to say that his wife had read the book in two days. While I had no such luxury with time, it took me about a week of commuting and a little extra before bed and this morning to finish it.
Plot outline: On the cusp of World War II, a young girl, Liesel, and her brother Werner are travelling with their mother to Munich where they are to be handed over to foster parents. Werner does not survive the train ride and in the aftermath of his burial, Liesel steals her first book, 'The Gravedigger's Handbook'. Liesel arrives alone in a new town, stirs up some trouble and learns to read. As the scars of war deepen, Liesel learns many more things like how to steal and how to hide a Jew in the basement.
First of all I'd like to mention that the plot outline doesn't do all that much justice to the novel. The novel is built on narrative and character relationships, rather than plot and it is the reader's understanding of these that give much more flesh to the plot than the bones I have provided.
The second thing of importance is that the narrator of the book is Death, not Liesel or an unseen third person.
Using the grubby backdrop of war, Zusak's deceptively simple language is poetic but never strays towards being burdened with flowery language, nor cluttered with unnecessary description. His masterstroke is Death's voice, which swaps the stereotype 'doom and gloom' tone for the genial, almost resigned, words of one whose job is simply to collect souls as they die. Death's description of each moment is conducted with clarity and more than a hint of deeper knowledge - who knew that the moment you expire could indicate so much about you as a person?
Liesel's adolescence is a series of big and small changes that steadily builds on the reader's perception of the characters involved. Death is not always present, in fact, his narration is aided by Liesel's own autobiographical written account, from which he borrows to colour the periods between his sightings of her.
As I mentioned, the core of Liesel's story is not so much about events but the relationships that characterise them. Her brother's death leads to nightmares which leads to the strong relationship she builds with her foster father, Hans Hubermann, which then leads to comparisons of her relationship with her foster mother, Rosa, painted as externally maniacal but essentially kind-hearted.
Liesel's friendship with Rudy Steiner, the boy next door, is the gateway to understanding her position at school and in the neighbourhood, as well as providing a healthy dose of fun into their adventures around town - from Rudy's retelling of the Jesse Owens incident, their collusion with a gang of thieves and football games in the park.
Then, with the arrival of Max (a Jew whose father saved Hans' life in WWI), Liesel's love affair with words deepens. In sharing stories, the unlikely pair form a friendship that counters the cruelty of Hitler's war and foregrounds the kindness of the Hubermanns. The Hubermanns, in effect, represent the real Germans whose humanity was drowned out by Hitler's manifesto.
It is here, with Liesel and Max, that Zusak clearly presents the reflexive device on which the novel is perched. 'The Book Thief' is thus seen as Death's narration about Liesel's adolescence containing Max's life and Max's stories. Max's stories further contain references to his friendship with Liesel, to Hitler and also to the power of words.
All this - plot, language, characters, device - is woven seamlessly into a book and it is the simplicity of everything that makes the novel more powerful. I laughed at Liesel's childhood innocence and I cried when her world, at different points scattered throughout the book, crumbled. And cried some more for the last fifty pages. The mark of Zusak's genius.
***** - a new perspective of WWII based on friendship and the power of words using pared back sentimentality
18 May, 2006
Judge not lest ye...
At the moment I'm volunteering at Fairfax where a bunch of us are judging the WriteNow! competition for the Sydney Writers' Festival. WriteNow! is a high school writing comp for Year 7-9 specifically designed to fill a gap between primary school writing comps and the prestigious Sydney Morning Herald Young Writer of the Year Award, which caters to Year 10-12 students (apt opportunity for a rare brag that I was once a finalist of this Young Writer comp).
WriteNow! is run slightly differently in that the submissions are not open theme. Instead, SWF gets three authors to provide a 'story starter' and participants must continue the story in 1000 words or less. Prizes are awarded in six categories, a boy and girl from each Year 7, 8 and 9.
This is the second year that I've been a judge so I feel qualified to give some advice to budding writers, entered in not just this comp but similar ones around the world. Here are some tips...
At the end of the day, after a judge has read hundreds of stories, they're just going to chuck yours on the reject pile if they can't read it properly. It takes very little to annoy a judge when they've waded through hundreds of badly-written, unoriginal stories and it is very easy to throw out anything that doesn't immediately capture.
However, that being said, it is conversely also very easy to please a judge with an entry that has been well-written and is driven by a strong narrative, characters and a logical plot. Be commended and spin us a good yarn, eh?
P.S: And don't worry, we comb through the shortlist to ensure that everyone there deserves to be there. Then we have a massive debate about who we think should win, so rest assured that you really do have to be a good writer and please as many readers as possible to be a winner, therefore validating the award.
WriteNow! is run slightly differently in that the submissions are not open theme. Instead, SWF gets three authors to provide a 'story starter' and participants must continue the story in 1000 words or less. Prizes are awarded in six categories, a boy and girl from each Year 7, 8 and 9.
This is the second year that I've been a judge so I feel qualified to give some advice to budding writers, entered in not just this comp but similar ones around the world. Here are some tips...
- Follow the instructions. This includes presentation requirements e.g. typed on A4 paper, double-spaced, personal details provided, and adherence to the comp. This comp was based on a story starter but there were a few renegades who either wanted to write their own story or didn't adequately follow on from their chosen opener.
- Legibility is important. In addition to double-spacing, I would suggest a clear-faced font like Times New Roman (not my favourite, but standard) in 12pt BLACK (have you ever tried to read tiny single-spaced fancy yellow font on a white piece of paper?). No fancy/coloured fonts, no coloured paper, no illustrations, no decorations.
- Edit your work. Or get someone to help you. This means checking spelling and grammar. There are always well written works with spelling and grammar errors but when it comes down to deciding the winner, correct spelling and grammar has the edge. And don't just rely on your computer's spellcheck, really read your work.
- Make sense. We want you to be creative but your story still has to follow a logical sequence of events. Particularly in short stories, each character you introduce needs to have a function. Your ending must resolve all the situations that you (or the starter author) have mentioned.
- Be original. Easier said than done when you don't know what everyone else is writing. However, the general rule when responding to stimulus is usually to reject the first couple of ideas that come to mind. Don't assume anything about the stimulus, think of what it could be and brainstorm off that. Also, we have automatic rejections for bad endings such as "it was just a dream", "and then I died" as well as weak endings "and then I went home and mum cooked me breakfast".
- Choose your words wisely. Sometimes when you don't have a great idea, a sophisticated vocabulary can set your work apart from others. Don't use big words indiscriminately, know what they mean and use them effectively. And big words aren't everything - original descriptions and your own personal style count for a lot as well. Cultivate unusual similes and metaphors and use them sparingly. Be careful with detail - we really don't want to know the specifications of the car you were driving or what your mum cooked you for breakfast unless it is relevant to the story.
- Don't be afraid of your creativity. We're not going to think any less of you if your chracters go on some outlandish adventure (as long as it is logical and well-written). You don't need to qualify your writing with a moral or an "it was just a dream" ending. Characters do bad things, you can switch genders, people die. What's fabulous about fiction is that no one actually gets hurt.
- Adopt a style and/or genre. The stimulus will generally give you an idea of the kind of story that would suit. 'Wider' stimuli have the capacity to go anywhere - crime, romance, drama, fantasy, comedy etc. However, especially with WriteNow!, it is important to follow the style already provided by the starter author, including tenses and first/second/third person narratives. Choose the starter you are most comfortable with and follow the author's 'voice'.
- Avoid plagiarism and cliches. I know we live in a highly interactive world, but if you can avoid repeating the plot of your favourite movie or book you have a better chance of being original. Judges watch movies and read books too. Yes, even texts for younger audiences. Cliches are annoying and indicate that you can't think of your own way to say something.
At the end of the day, after a judge has read hundreds of stories, they're just going to chuck yours on the reject pile if they can't read it properly. It takes very little to annoy a judge when they've waded through hundreds of badly-written, unoriginal stories and it is very easy to throw out anything that doesn't immediately capture.
However, that being said, it is conversely also very easy to please a judge with an entry that has been well-written and is driven by a strong narrative, characters and a logical plot. Be commended and spin us a good yarn, eh?
P.S: And don't worry, we comb through the shortlist to ensure that everyone there deserves to be there. Then we have a massive debate about who we think should win, so rest assured that you really do have to be a good writer and please as many readers as possible to be a winner, therefore validating the award.
10 May, 2006
Abby Dobson (gig)
Abby Dobson supported by Melanie Horsnell
The Vanguard, Newtown (6th May, 2006)
The radiant Ms Dobson is always at the top of my list to see live, mostly because she only plays a handful of times a year and hasn't yet put out a solo album. However, word is that she's signed up with a label and is quite a way towards recording her songs, which accounts for this more dynamic set.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Support act Melanie Horsnell has been around on Sydney's live scene for years now with her innocuous blend of folk rock balladry. It's easy to let your ears gloss over her sound but more rewarding if you pay attention to plaintive lyrics delivered with a tinge of melancholy, some of which were inspired by "listening to the Boyz II Men Best of album". She's a quirky one.
After coming up to the mezzanine to say hello to the folks sitting in front of Stuart and I, Abby brightened the stage with a swish of her angelic white dress. It's hard to say what was different. She's certainly had guests playing with her before, such as last year's Christmas shows when there was a mini Leonardo's Bride reunion, even Naomi from CODA is now a regular fixture. But a cello, a violin, a xylophone and Paul Mac on piano combined with Abby's earthy, dulcet tones and guitar made the songs more than what they've been before.
For starters, it was the usual set list shuffled a bit plus Paul Mac's 'Gonna Miss You' and 'Fall' from Angel Blood (one of my favourite tunes from that album) but there was an indescribable synergy that seemed to lift the performance beyond the usual, comfortable state. The effect, as I mentioned before, was dynamic.
Even with just piano accompaniment, the songs seemed richer and more focused, perhaps layered with something more than music. The strings suit her style and I do hope that she keeps favouring them over drum and bass. It's hard to label her style, just as it was always difficult to label Leonardo's Bride. Abby Dobson has turned a different corner, lyrically and emotionally, but she's still cut from the acoustic pop cloth. And that's far from a bad thing when she comes up with this type of gig.
P.S: I'm still annoyed about the timing - support comes on at 9pm, plays for 30 mins, followed by a 30 min interval before the main act. It's just so hard to get a decent seat on the mezzanine at 10pm so usually whoever I'm with and I have to eat first and then kill 90 mins (from 8:30pm) warming the seats with a decent view. No money, no drinks.
**** - more here than there has been before; a polished performance
The Vanguard, Newtown (6th May, 2006)
The radiant Ms Dobson is always at the top of my list to see live, mostly because she only plays a handful of times a year and hasn't yet put out a solo album. However, word is that she's signed up with a label and is quite a way towards recording her songs, which accounts for this more dynamic set.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. Support act Melanie Horsnell has been around on Sydney's live scene for years now with her innocuous blend of folk rock balladry. It's easy to let your ears gloss over her sound but more rewarding if you pay attention to plaintive lyrics delivered with a tinge of melancholy, some of which were inspired by "listening to the Boyz II Men Best of album". She's a quirky one.
After coming up to the mezzanine to say hello to the folks sitting in front of Stuart and I, Abby brightened the stage with a swish of her angelic white dress. It's hard to say what was different. She's certainly had guests playing with her before, such as last year's Christmas shows when there was a mini Leonardo's Bride reunion, even Naomi from CODA is now a regular fixture. But a cello, a violin, a xylophone and Paul Mac on piano combined with Abby's earthy, dulcet tones and guitar made the songs more than what they've been before.
For starters, it was the usual set list shuffled a bit plus Paul Mac's 'Gonna Miss You' and 'Fall' from Angel Blood (one of my favourite tunes from that album) but there was an indescribable synergy that seemed to lift the performance beyond the usual, comfortable state. The effect, as I mentioned before, was dynamic.
Even with just piano accompaniment, the songs seemed richer and more focused, perhaps layered with something more than music. The strings suit her style and I do hope that she keeps favouring them over drum and bass. It's hard to label her style, just as it was always difficult to label Leonardo's Bride. Abby Dobson has turned a different corner, lyrically and emotionally, but she's still cut from the acoustic pop cloth. And that's far from a bad thing when she comes up with this type of gig.
P.S: I'm still annoyed about the timing - support comes on at 9pm, plays for 30 mins, followed by a 30 min interval before the main act. It's just so hard to get a decent seat on the mezzanine at 10pm so usually whoever I'm with and I have to eat first and then kill 90 mins (from 8:30pm) warming the seats with a decent view. No money, no drinks.
**** - more here than there has been before; a polished performance
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