OUR GENERATION: Preview Screening in Byron Bay

I got the message from fellow TAFE student Dale Simone Roberts to spread the word about the preview screening of OUR GENERATION, the long awaited documentary on Aboriginal rights in Australia at the Byron Bay Community & Cultural Centre on Tuesday December 8th.

This will be followed by Q & A with the filmmakers and a special free gig by dub groove favourite Oka. To check out the sounds of Oka click here

This project started out in June 2007 and is being independently funded, so that its message can stay clear, truthful and uncompromised. There will also be special screenings across Australia (including remote Aboriginal communities), as well as educational outreach through schools and universities.

Date: Tuesday 8th December
Venue: Byron Bay Community Centre
Time: 7.30pm
Tickets: $15 from venue box office (02) 6685 6807 and Planet Corroboree

For more information and to view the trailer for the film click here

 

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Mullum Music Festival kicks off!

The Mullum Music Festival kicks off with the Gala Opening Night Performance tonight at the Mullumbimby Civic Hall at 7.30pm with Vince Jones, Lucie Thorne & Hamish Stuart, Sal Kimber & The Rollin Wheel, M Jack Bee, Ange Takats, Leah Flanagan, Domini Forster & some very special surprise guests. With 50 acts over 4 days it will be unforgettable!

Music festivals are not only great for the local community to come together and have a fabulous time, but are very important for the local artists to share their talents with the community. One third of the acts are local and will be performing amongst international acts.

You never know what talents are in our midst. I enquired about the Mullum Music Festival to my TAFE teacher Tony Hogan – who is also a musician and runs the very popular Acoustic Guitarist blog – and found out a fellow IT student is playing there on the weekend.

Sal Yates is a multi talented and highly motivated guitarist and vocalist in the band Ghost Mountain. They are releasing a new album soon “Art Without Audience”, and Sal is fired up!! 
To preview one of the new tracks “Animal”, click here

This is what she had to say about her Mullum Music Festival experience.

“Last year the Festival was awesome. It is such a community event that everyone enjoys in a relaxed way. Moving from venue to venue through the streets of Mullum and running into every random you could imagine makes the experience like a home coming. Everyone is in top spirits and there is a sense of pride from the locals and their friends alike.

The music last year was amazing, artists from all over Australia and beyond. I was extremely proud to be a part of it and very impressed by the work that Glen Wright and his team from Vitamin Records put in to make it happen. For Glen the whole Festival is a labour of love. He is a true music appreciator and this especially made the whole event be the success that it was.

We play on Saturday at the RSL at 6pm and would love to see you there!”
Cheers,
Sal

To check out Ghost Mountain, click here

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Tumbulgum on the Tweed River

Tumbulgum has always been a laid back little village on the banks of the Tweed River except on the weekends – it comes alive with boat enthusiasts, water skiing and picnickers.

I remember when the old car ferry was the only way to cross from Terranora to Tumbulgum before the bridge was built in the 90′s, and when the ferry broke down it was a long drive to get to the other side! The public boat ramp is where the car ferry crossed over to North Tumbulgum.

Here’s a photo gallery of some images of Tumbulgum.
Click on the images to enlarge.

Boat Ramp

Relaxing Riverside

Riverside Drive

Sunset

Tumbulgum Tavern

Tweed Endeavour Cruises

I have often taken a detour through the village as it’s so beautiful to see the river and the view of the surrounding countryside with Mt Warning as a backdrop.

Mt Warning in Background

You often see houseboats taking a slow cruise down the river and can be hired at Tweed River Houseboat Hire at Tumbulgum. A great way to cruise the river for a day and learn about the history, is with Tweed Endeavour Cruises that stop at  Tumbulgum.

Tumbulgum Village General Store

It’s a lovely stroll along the riverside and interesting to peruse the quaint village shops and the famous historic Tumbulgum Tavern. There is also picnic facilities, boat hire, a public wharf and boat ramp.

The Poinsiana Trees on the riverside are in full bloom at the moment and look magnificent.

Tumbulgum was one of the first settlements in the Tweed Valley. To learn more of Tumbulgum’s history, click here

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Mullum Music Festival 2009

The Mullum Music Festival is almost here!

Starting on Thursday 26th November till Sunday 29th November.

4 Days      8 Venues     50 Acts

Over 100 performances and workshops!

The Mullum Music Festival has a great website with all the Artists listed with buttons that go to their websites and YouTube videos so you can check them out.

Here’s a taste of what it had to say about the Opening Night Gala Performance:

“Every festival has it’s blue ribbon event. At Adelaide Festival it’s the opening night cabaret, at Melbourne Comedy Festival it’s the Gala Comedy night and at our very own Mullum Music Festival it’s the Opening Night Gala Performance.

The opening night is about short / sharp tastes of the festival and the line up is a snapshot of the diverse cross section of International, National and Local acts. This is a chance to catch the best of the fest, to see your favourite artist in a cabaret setting, collaborating and creating in the spirit of community created by that magical phenomenon we call ‘festival.’

With performances by Australia’s leading Jazz Vocalist Vince Jones, Lucie Thorne & Hamish Stuart, Sal Kimber & The Rollin Wheel, M Jack Bee, Ange Takats, Leah Flanagan, Domini Forster & some very special surprise guests.”

For more information about all the artists, events and to purchase tickets click here

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Scribd and Adobe InDesign CS4

In my Cert IV Web Design class at Kingscliff TAFE we are taught many different practical tools for use on the net and to get us out there testing what works.

Scribd is the largest social publishing company in the world, where tens of millions of people each month publish and discover original writings and documents. On Scribd, you can turn nearly any file into a web document and share it with the world. To view an article about how Scribd can substantially increase your viewing audience, click here

I have made some tutorials and uploaded them to my Scribd account, creating my own online library. By making the tutorials about lessons I want to remember, not only do I get practical experience re-creating the steps and have an on-line reference for the future, I am testing what information is needed by others out there on the web.

Adobe InDesign has become the industry standard for creating professional layouts and compiling content for printing and digital publishing. Last week we were taught some basics of using InDesign and I created a tutorial on Creating Hyperlinks in PDF files for on-line publishing and posted it as Blogging and Adobe InDesign Tutorial.

Yesterday I made a tutorial on Importing a PDF file into Adobe Indesign. I have embed it into this post for ease of viewing and because I can!!

View this document on Scribd

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Success for Inaugural Kirra SurfStock Festival

Spread over the 4 nights and three days of Surf, Music, Movies, Art and Lifestyle events, the Kirra SurfStock Festival was blessed with sunny weather, pumping waves, big crowds and has set the scene for a successful annual event.

Damien Norman

World title contenders Joel Parkinson and Mick Fanning made their presence felt on Friday morning at Kirra for a Live SEAFM radio outside broadcast with special guests Bob McTavish author of “Stoked”, new General Manager of Surfrider Foundation Kristy Theissling, Movie Man Tim Bonython and Surfer/Musician Lucas Proudfoot of Max Judo.

There were many events over the 4 days including a free concert on Kirra beach with musical artists generously sharing their talents to bring back one of the best surf breaks in the world. One of the bands was The Genes and here’s a YouTube video from the concert.

The Kirra SurfStock raised nearly $8,000 for charity with the beneficiaries being Surfrider Foundation, Kirra Surf Club, Kirra Surfriders and Kirra Point Inc. Organizers are now planning next years event. To see more photos from the event click here

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Ukitopia Festival and Eco-Expo

The Ukitopia Festival Opening Ceremony on Saturday was exceptional and I love watching the YouTube videos that I made about the Wishing Wall and Be the Love.

Not only was there non-stop entertainment on the Main Stage in Uki Village all day on Sunday, the famous monthly Uki Buttery Bazaar was in full swing also. There were many interesting stalls and a line-up of entertainment and activities at the Buttery Market stage.

The little village was packed with people keen to see and experience all that was on offer. The Images of Uki Art Exhibition was most impressive and the Uki Primary School held their 1^st Annual Eco-Expo.

Fresh Organic Vegies from Bio Organic Farm

Zehvitt and her husband Avi from Bio Organic Farm grow certified organic fruit and vegies and have recently opened a stall to the public on their property at Byangum.

Solarwise Hotwater

James from Solarwise Hotwater was glad to be in the shade and Mt Warning Spring Water next to him should have been doing a roaring trade as it was so hot!

I learn’t a lot about the environmentally friendly and sustainable options available and was amazed at all the local businesses and groups there to share their knowledge. Free workshops were available throughout the day and the Uki Kids Club had activities for the kids.

I spoke with the new Principal Jeff Robinson (who was once my son’s teacher) and he was very happy with the day and looks forward to it being bigger and better next year.

Caldera Art Display

Caldera Art and the Rainforest Information Centre had a lovely display with art students working on their latest creations under the tutelage of Andy Reimanis.

Art Student Regina at work

For a slide show, click the link Ukitopia Festival 2009 Photo Gallery

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Mullumbimby Library invites you for Poetry and Tea.

Dangerously Poetic Press is a community group from the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, that encourages, publishes and promotes quality local poetry.

Author Laura Shore is one of the main driving forces behind this organisation as she is very passionate about poetry and the written word. Laura is also very eloquent and expressive when it comes to poetry readings and fires up the audience with her enthusiasm!

Dangerously Poetic Press have 2 upcoming poetry readings that are sure to be uplifting and inspiring.

Laura Jan Shore and Bev Sweeney will read selections from Dangerously Poetic’s latest anthology

All the Way Home, Poetry From Byron Bay and Beyond.

Enjoy a cuppa.

Check out the library’s free flowing poem.
You might like to add a line.

Laura Shore, Katherine Boorman and Mayor Jan Barham at the Book Launch

2pm  Thursday November 19 Mullumbimby Library. Station St . Mullumbimby.
This is a free event.

Also, Mark your calendars for our last 2009 reading

A Celtic Christmas Celebration

This will be held at the Yogalates Centre in Bangalow on Sunday, the 29th of November at 3:30 pm.

Our own local Irishman, Karl Farren will regale us with his original songs.
Poetry on the Celtic theme will be performed by local actress, Susan Hayward and poet, Paul C. Pritchard.

Open Reading…

You are invited to share your favourite poem on the theme of celebration or a Celtic poem either classical or contemporary. Or share a poem you have written.

Please bring a plate to share for afternoon tea. Pre-wrapped books perfect for holiday gifts will be available at sale prices as well as Karl’s cds so save some shopping for Sunday afternoon.

Admission $5.

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Ukitopia Festival Opening Ceremony

The Ukitopia Festival is about celebrating all that is Uki. It was a beautiful start to the festivities with wishes from the community Wishing Wall being sent out to the universe. Armed with a hand held camera and no experience, I filmed some of the event and created my first YouTube videos.

Through the dedicated and untiring work of Natascha Wernick , the Ukitopia Arts Collective and a team of local community groups, they served up the most engaging opening ceremony that set the stage for an extremely unique celebration of Uki life, arts and culture.

Natascha and Sue lead a fabulous sing along with some of the local musicians weaving their talents into the colourful kaleidoscope that is Uki, and with the captivating Deya Dova and Loren lending their vocal talents, the crowd was spellbound and wanting more.

Afterwards we were lead by Natascha to the hall for the opening of the Images of Uki Art Exhibition. When the door opened we were greeted with an amazing display of talent and imagination that filled the hall.

Images of Uki Art Exhibition

The evening festivities had only just begun and things were hotting up with live music and DJ’s getting the crowd going off. Everyone was in a celebratory mood and I tell you, there was dancing in the streets!

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Blogging and Adobe InDesign CS4 Tutorial

There are millions of sites out there on the net and in my Web Design course we are taught many different methods for creating a profile on the net and getting your website/business/product known.

Blogging is a tool that can be used to share your creativity with the world, network, become famous, help on-line businesses lift their rankings, make money or connect with people who share interests, activities and information. Linking to other sites is a good way to create online connections.

Some other students of Web Design have created WordPress blogs associated with their profession or business. One such student has posted a very informative article about the Therapeutic Benefits of Massage on her blog. To view Yaninayoga’s blog click here

Scribd is a very popular service that people use to share information and creating links to their sites is one method for attracting visitors. I like sharing information and I have created a tutorial on Creating a Hyperlink in PDF File Using Adobe InDesign CS4 as people have had trouble making hyperlinks work in PDF files when uploaded to Scribd.

I have embed the tutorial here so people can print or download immediately. I also have created a tutorial on How to Embed a Scribd Document into a WordPress Blog

View this document on Scribd

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