Read full post >>

thanks for your continued support...






Feed2JS : Build a Feed You Can Cut 'n Paste

Read full post >>

Maos Last Dancer
Li Cunxin’s Autobiography, "Mao's Last Dancer", was recently published and immediately hit the top of Australia’s best sellers list. It was number 1 in the non-fiction category and won the Book of the Year Award in Australia, the Christopher Award in America and it was short-list for the National Biography Award among other prestigious literary awards. It stayed on the top 10 Bestseller List for over one and a half years and it is in the 32nd printing, it has been published and sold in over 20 countries and a featured film is in the pipeline.

*** Click here to view the movie trailer! ***






AQUA is a cinematic odyssey that tells the story of the Great Barrier Reef, without words. In a ground-breaking approach to natural-history storytelling, AQUA has no narration and no presenter, and is entirely driven by the best dance/trance DJs in the world.

Who Does She Think She Is?
Five female artists explore the competing demands of muse and family in “Who Does She Think She Is?,” an engaging documentary about the struggle to create art while nurturing life.
click here to view the trailer

Read full post >>

“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work.” —Chuck Close

Inside the Painter's Studio Joe Fig ISBN 97815689885287 x 9.5 inches (17.8 x 24.1 cm), Paperback , 240 pages 200 color illustrations In print (publication date 10/24/2009) A PAPress publication; Rights: World; $35.00 £22.50

Inside an art gallery, it is easy to forget that the paintings there are the end products of a process involving not only creative inspiration, but also plenty of physical and logistical details. It is these "cruder," more mundane aspects of a painter's daily routine that motivated Brooklyn artist Joe Fig to embark almost ten years ago on a highly unorthodox, multilayered exploration of the working life of the professional artist. Determined to ground his research in the physical world, Fig began constructing a series of diorama-like miniature reproductions of the studios of modern art's most legendary painters, such as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. A desire for firsthand references led Fig to approach contemporary artists for access to their studios. Armed with a camera and a self-made "Artist's Questionnaire," Fig began a journey through the workspaces of some of today's most exciting contemporary artists.

Inside the Painter's Studio collects twenty-four remarkable artist interviews, as well as exclusive visual documentation of their studios. Featured artists were asked a wide range of questions about their day-to-day creative life, covering everything from how they organize their studios to what painting tools they prefer. Artists open up about how they set a creative mood, how they choose titles, and even whether they sit or stand to contemplate their work. Also included are a selection of Fig's meticulously detailed miniatures. In this context Fig's diminutive sculptures—reproducing minutiae of the studio, from paint-tube labels and paint splatters on the floor to the surface texture of canvases—become part of a fascinating new form of portraiture as diorama. Inside the Painter's Studio offers a rare look into the self-made universe of the artist's studio. Inside the Painter's Studio features interviews with Gregory Amenoff, Ross Bleckner, Chuck Close, Will Cotton, Inka Essenhigh, Eric Fischl, Barnaby Furnas, April Gornik, Jane Hammond, Mary Heilmann, Bill Jensen, Ryan McGinness, Julie Mehretu, Malcolm Morley, Steve Mumford, Philip Pearlstein, Matthew Ritchie, Alexis Rockman, Dana Schutz, James Siena, Amy Sillman, Joan Snyder, Billy Sullivan, and Fred Tomaselli.

Joe Fig is an artist born and raised in Long Island, New York. Fig's work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and two children.

For further information, PLEASE CONTACT KATHARINE MYERS, T.212.995.9620 ext. 216 or katharine@papress.com

Read full post >>

check out the latest in technology:

# emerging Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009 list, compiled from the Top 10 Tools contributions of learning professionals worldwide.
You can compare the rankings of the tools with the last two years.
Twitter is number 1...
Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009


# Best Websites for Teaching and Learning
VoiceThread has been recognized by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) as one of The Best Websites for Teaching and Learning, a list of 'tools and resources of exceptional value to inquiry-based teaching and learning.'

# Microsoft Launches Tools For Teachers


# Mix graphics, photos, videos, music and text into slick Glogs.

Read full post >>

Lucia Milano





Per

Posted using ShareThis

Read full post >>

Lets101 Quizzes - Fun Quizzes
I just found this over at Jackie's blog The Painted Veil and thought I would take a break to see what my stars say...

Jackie found the quizz at her friend Bill's blog My Piece Of Paradise.

Talking of quizzes and competitions be sure to check these out!!!

Mariuca is having a Win a Free Perfume Contest at Mariuca's Perfume Gallery
I hope to enter before the end of the month


another exciting giveaway is at Also Mommy where TH is giving away a SIY and more!!
I hope to enter this contest too....

Read full post >>

amy lilley designs
Mariuca's Perfume Gallery
Meow Diaries
Wishing On A Falling Star
laketrees
The Writing Nag
Split Rock Ranch
Learn Affiliate Marketing
Drop it like EntreCard!
earth to holly
Happy Steps travel blog
sharing information
Drop it like that..
Thoughts...by Charity Joy Bell
Welcome
All Stace, All the Time
Redmption Song
eetrasmile
Cheapest Airfare
Tekkaus
Altered Pages
Zental Floss
By Any Other Name
flitting on fiction
WillOaks Studio

your support is very much appreciated!!!

Read full post >>

TWO Australians have made the shortlist for one of Britain's richest poetry prizes.
Peter Porter has been nominated in the £10,000 ($20,000) best collection category of the 18th annual Forward Prizes for Poetry for his Better Than God book of poems.
Porter is up against five other poets for the top prize, while compatriot Emma Jones is among six poets vying for the £5000 ($10,000) Felix Dennis Prize for best first collection.
Porter, who has lived in Britain for five decades, began his career in 1968 as a freelance literary journalist and reviewer. He has published 17 books of poems, plus four further volumes with the Australian painter Arthur Boyd.
Sydney-based Jones won the Newcastle Poetry Prize in 2005, Australia's largest prize for a single poem, and was appointed poet-in-residence for the Wordsworth Trust for 2009.

[Read more]
heraldsun.com.au

Read full post >>

Misunderstood


Some say she is angry

From time to time


Yet it is never really

In her armoury


She creates


Challenges


Others cannot meet


She gives us lessons

From which to learn


The white froth


Smacks


Against the immovable


Showing her power to impact


Her implicit authority

To alter our world

At will

Has us wondering


Why she needs us at all


Some say she is angry

From time to time


Advice in dealing with her

Is a must


So many things

One must keep in mind


Though

It is not her rage

One should fear


Do not question her motives

Or her moodiness


Do not query her influence

Or dedication


Resist the temptation

To retort

Or believe you can win


And never spit in her face


Lest she spit back with interest


Some say she is angry

From time to time


However, I fail to see anger

As her weapon


It has been my experience

Across the years

To note emphatically


It is something


We should call inherent



© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet

BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

2009 People's Choice winner
Vincent Fantauzzo



Brandon

Melbourne artist, Vincent Fantauzzo has won the 2009 Archibald People’s Choice Prize for his portrait of child actor Brandon Walters.

Vincent Fantauzzo was highly commended at last year’s Archibald Prize for his triple-image portrait of his friend Heath Ledger, painted just weeks before the actor’s death. The painting also won the People’s Choice Award.

Read More >>

Read full post >>

My shoes are wet

A leaf on the wind

Travelling where it is blown

Free to manoeuvre at will

Landing softly at is chosen location



An idea in a drop of rain

Exploding when it hits the pavement

Releasing its genius upon the world

Through a man with wet shoes



A tiny butterfly suspended

Using the breeze to survive

Fires a man’s imagination

Giving him new hope



The soft touch of an innocent arm

Sending shock waves through the body

A signal read for what it is,

Or what it is not



The ocean’s current

Sailing the vast expanses of the earth

Carrying with it the base of all life

And the occasional sailors dream



The dream itself arriving at night

Yet so much stronger through the day

As it moves from a man’s head

Into his heart and soul



A decision made for the wrong reasons

Never leaving a man alone

Haunting him until it destroys the very idea

Leaving him to fail once more



Feelings never spoken of

Bring even the toughest men to their knees

Letting the world see them for who they are

And leaving them stronger



Love seeking the brave

Cupid’s arrow searching for an open target

Shot through the heart in a fatal act

Bringing new life from death



Words flowing on paper

Supplying knowledge and understanding

And replacing Cupid’s arrow

To those who remain open



A thought spilled in ink

Ramblings to those not listening

Takes lovers to new worlds

And spawns new life



One small grain of sand

Lies on the winter beach unnoticed

And in it exists the power

To change the world


An idea in a drop of rain

Exploding when it hits the pavement

Releasing its genius upon the world

Through a man with wet shoes





© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet

BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

Feed2JS : Build a Feed You Can Cut 'n Paste

---

Read full post >>

---

Magic


Life used to be about the magic

Life was once about the wonder

We ruled the earth

Nothing could stop us

Our oyster awaited

Life grew to be about surviving

Life developed into making it

Work ruled our existence

Our freedom usurped

Old age awaited

Life used to be about surviving

Now it is about enjoyment

Magic rules our world

Life is full of wonder

Our dreams await

Life survives because of the magic



© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet

BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

Fluffy Towels



What is life if not fluffy towels?

Big enough to wrap you twice

A night looking up at the sky

Counting stars in the Milky Way



What finer sight than a coastline

Windswept and soaked in rain

In the dryness of the cabin

Playing cards and drinking tea



No greater pleasure than friends

Dropping in totally unannounced

A slap up meal and drinks all ‘round

Sleeping bags and pull out beds



What is life if not fluffy towels?

Big enough to wrap you twice

And Sundays in bed ‘til brunch

In the arms of the one you love.



© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet

BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

Wilderness (for Joy)


Ancient trees reach majestically for untouchable deep blue skies

Casting their shadows over crowded, isolated jungles

Powerful cobalt oceans surge in search of wondrous lands

And the crystal sands of deserted islands accept their sweeping tides

All manner of majestic beasts strive for continued existence

Every example an amazing achievement in itself

A rarity each one in its own unique environment

Polished a million times by their own remote wilderness,

Through which the only true beauty of nature can exist

A million stars that forever remain out of reach

Come together to set the perfect wilderness backdrop

Yet one body outshines the combined beauty of them all

She is my wilderness, you are my wilderness


© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet

BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

Escaping

The upper pond is frozen, the waterfall has ceased

Goldfish swim nervously in the lower catchment

Magpies rip at the ground searching for worms

Numbed by the frost and unable to escape

Naked trees shiver, waiting for a warmer sun

New buds form on optimistic branches

Ready for a show in the spring


One week too late, we head to the tropics

Where the only ice is floating in our drinks

And the effortless warmth fills our bones.

Yesterday’s layers of heavy clothes

Have become figments of our imagination

The biting cold of home

Is a distant memory unrecalled


Flimsy swimwear is the costume of choice

Tourists swarm poolside like European wasps

Dipping into water for their next drink

This is the land where love is encouraged

Where the sun encourages new romance

Between old lovers who still hold the flame

And need no encouragement whatsoever


© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet

BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

Animal magic



After 22 years as an illustrator, Helen Ward admits that it's a lonely job. "Although I reckoned on the poverty, I didn't anticipate the isolation," she says with a rueful smile. But you can't help feeling that she thrives on that solitude.
"I'm not a joiner-in, never have been. I avoid book 'events', and talking about myself is an ordeal." But surely, as an award-winning illustrator with more than 20 books to her name, she has to do these things sometimes? "Yes of course. I'm not a mean-spirited curmudgeon. Just shy. And given the choice I'd much rather spend the day working, or walking the dog."
Ward lives in Gloucestershire, not far from where she grew up. Her parents, who live nearby, are artists, and she says she had a good old-fashioned "leftwing, atheist upbringing". She always drew and painted, and from an early age had the freedom of the library at the college where her father taught. "I grew up with a respect for books, and I knew that I would be an illustrator."
Hidden away up an alley, in the damp shadow of a nonconformist chapel, her tiny cottage is fortified and insulated with books, paintings and more books. A narrow staircase leads up to her attic studio, where she pulls illustrations from a plan chest, until we're almost knee-deep in them - early works, pictures from unpublished books such as a ravishing lemur from an abandoned ABC, a tenderly observed dormouse, leafy jungle scenes that recall Rousseau, and exquisite plant drawings that call to mind those intrepid lady explorers of the 19th century. There are birds of every description, from African bee-eaters to harlequin ducks and a fabulous cavalcade of animals, but although there are one or two centaurs and some elegant fashion drawings, human beings are largely absent.
Ward studied at Brighton Art School in the 1980s, hoping to go on to the Royal College of Art to study natural history illustration. But on graduating, although she had won the Walker prize for children's illustration, she didn't get the first-class degree she had hoped for, or a place at the Royal College - "That was a real kick up the bum." But luckily, someone from Templar Publishing had seen her degree show and snapped her up - and she's been with them ever since, developing and perfecting her distinctive style that combines a meticulous attention to detail with a gentle informality. Recalling that late, lamented era, when children, as a matter of course, pressed flowers, identified butterflies and rescued fledglings, Ward, who is 45, approaches the natural world with vision and integrity in a way that's neither dutifully pedantic nor patronisingly simplistic. [Read More]

---

Joanna Carey
The Guardian, Saturday 29 March 2008

Read full post >>

When I am Old

---

When I am old will I be remembered

For who I was

Who they thought I was

Or who I wished I could be


Will my words have had such power

To make people smile

Or will they not have been

What I always wanted them to be


Will they recall that I loved life dearly

For what it is, and

That I knew it was continuous

And always there to challenge me


Will my words reflect the depth of my heart

The love I held

For my family and friends

And all the things that touched me


When I am old will they remember I tried

To always be fair

In all that I said and did

And to let life roam around free


Will my words be known to share my thoughts

On life’s richness

And it’s many great joys

That allows us all to stay free


Will I go down as one who made an effort

To enrich the lives

Of those around me

And to live life like it was meant to be


When I am old will I be remembered

For who I was

Who they thought I was

Or who I wished I could be



© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet


BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

To those who need inspiration and positive affirmations in their lives


Dance, be emotive

Take the hand of a goddess.

Skip through the day,

Caressed by a silken bodice.

Waltz naked ‘round the floor

Never waste the night.

Float on your midnight dreams

As though a bird in full flight

Be as you are

You are loved as such

Seemingly cooled by ocean waters

Then warmed by the suns touch

Hold your lover close

Swing from the chandelier

Let nothing intervene

The time for happiness is here



© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet


BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

© 1904 Dorothea MacKellar




The love of field and coppice, of green and shaded lanes,
Of ordered woods and gardens is running in your veins.
Strong love of grey-blue distance, brown streams and soft, dim skies-
I know but cannot share it, my love is otherwise.

I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges, of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons, I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror- the wide brown land for me!

The stark white ring-barked forests, all tragic to the moon,
The sapphire-misted mountains, the hot gold hush of noon,
Green tangle of the brushes where lithe lianas coil,
And orchids deck the tree-tops, and ferns the warm dark soil.

Core of my heart, my country! Her pitiless blue sky,
When, sick at heart, around us we see the cattle die -
But then the grey clouds gather, and we can bless again
The drumming of an army, the steady soaking rain.

Core of my heart, my country! Land of the rainbow gold,
For flood and fire and famine she pays us back threefold.
Over the thirsty paddocks, watch, after many days,
The filmy veil of greenness that thickens as we gaze.

An opal-hearted country, a wilful, lavish land -
All you who have not loved her, you will not understand -
Though earth holds many splendours, wherever I may die,
I know to what brown country my homing thoughts will fly.



Click here to view how Australians saw the bushfires - February 2009

Read full post >>

My heart flows from the end of my pen

Written from the juice of a blood red grape

The love, the joy all appear before me

A poet’s grace, my one true escape


The tears that flow from my pen so free

Save my eyes from a river of pain

A release of heartache and desperate longing

The words colour the paper with no refrain


The words of love that carry me high

Speak of life and its pure rich magic

Then they turn to help as they always do

To assist the poet through a time so tragic


Landscapes and beauty touch the writer’s soul

As this great land his words for a moment hold

Never to be owned just shared and enjoyed

To try to do more, who would be so bold?


The blood of my soul is the poet’s ink

Written in the words that are me

Exorcised from within to be seen and dealt

Then leaving the poet’s spirit forever free.

© Bernard J Rossi
Author & Poet


BIO
Bernard J. Rossi has been writing in one form or another for almost 30 years and over that time his writing experiences have been in many diverse areas including technical, short stories, poems and a number of books.
His first short story published was Michael’s Birthday (1991).
Bernard has poems published in many anthologies, most notably “The International Who’s Who in Poetry” and another international publication, “The Best Poems and Poets of 2007.”
His most recent achievements in writing longer works have been the publication of Room 22 in late 2007 and Arlington Reef in early 2008 and Bernard has two completed manuscripts awaiting publication, The Bloodline and The Spiral, which is the sequel to Room 22.
Bernard’s latest work is different from all his previous works and is an exciting move into an intriguing direction.

Bernard J Rossi
Room 22
Arlington Reef

Read full post >>

to my Top EC Droppers for December!!

Mariuca's Perfume Gallery
amy lilley designs
Wishing On A Falling Star
Photography by KML
My Big World of Crap
Blogger Help and Assistance
Let's Jump Together
Toltec Insights with Dr. Susan Gregg
flitting on fiction
Angels on Your Shoulder
If The Walls Could
The Half-Life of Linoleum
spuddybuddies
Sharon Hart
laketrees
The Virtual Dime Museum
My note's
Look around
Picture to People
Dunia soer
Symphony of Love
Kitchen Retro
Car on The Blog
investment
Tech News

---

Happy New Year everyone!!
and my first New Year Resolution is to:
1. See more Art Exhibitions...
these two look like a good start...


Petrina Hicks, Eye Candy (from The descendants series) 2008.

Contemporary Australia is a comprehensive arts program current at GoMAs blockbuster Optimism exhibition.
Genre The Arts
Location Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA)Address Stanley Place, South Bank
Date Until February 22
Tickets Free
More information http://www.qag.qld.gov.au/kids
[Read more]


Degas: Master Of French Art opens at the National Gallery next week.
It will be the first Degas exhibition ever held in this country and the first comprehensive showing in the southern hemisphere.
[Read more]

Little Dancer … sculpture in bronze, gauze and satin.

---

Read full post >>