Mary and Max: The Exhibition is on at ACMI.
Tuesday 2 March – Sunday 6 June 2010
Open daily 10am – 6pm*
Free exhibition > Gallery 2
*except ANZAC Day (April 25) open 1pm-6pm
Mary and Max at ACMI
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Should we fly?
An upcoming talk at the Climate Action Centre: Should we fly? Air travel and climate change.
6.30 pm Thursday March 25
Climate Action Centre
Lvl 5, New Building, Victorian Trades Hall
Cnr. Victoria & Lygon Streets, Carlton South
Political Rebranding
Yarra Climate Action Now has a youtube video up on their efforts at ‘Political Rebranding’ of Brumby Government Minister Dick Wynne.
The action currently takes place every Wednesday from 5.30 to 6.30 at 112 Smith Street in Collingwood
Info on recent media coverage can be found on the YCAN Blog.
Precious
Finally got around to seeing the movie Precious this evening. 
A rather full on story but well told and nicely realised. It is based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. Certainly worth seeing (IMHO).
Property Bubble to Burst?
Leon Gettler in The Age on bubbles, in particular the property bubble in Australia: Predicting when the property bubble will pop is bad for your mental health
Yale economist Robert Shiller says asset bubbles can be diagnosed the same way one would diagnose mental illness. Bubble symptoms include sharp increases in the price of an asset considerably higher than its underlying value; great public excitement; media frenzy; stories of people earning lots, causing envy among those who aren’t; growing interest in the asset class among the public where, for example, taxi drivers start talking to you about shares or property investments, and ”new-era” theories to justify unprecedented price increases.
Bubbles tipped to burst this year include China, gold, US Treasury bonds and, according to the Melbourne-based Land Values Research Group, Australian property.
World Music at Fairfield Amphitheater
The World Music Concerts are on again at Fairfield Amphitheater. Each Sunday in February from 5pm to 7.30pm. More info at Cultural Infusion.
7 February
Cypher Sapiens – Contemporary Hip Hop Dance
Fuefukuro – Japanese traditional bamboo flute ensemble
Sergei Golovko – One of World’s best ‘tuned’ percussionists14 February
Mattopancetta Comedic improv – 15th Century Italian theatre
Brunswick Women’s Choir – Diverse community of women
Chinese Performing Arts – Development Inc Celebrating Chinese New Year21 February
interACT – with live art by Anthony Breslin
A VicHealth sponsored promotion of diversity in the
Arts including leading intercultural musicians28 February
Go Figure – Performance focusing on Health & Well-Being
Cook Island Royal Polynesian Dance Team – Cook Island drumming & dance culture
The Black Jesus Experience – Afrojazz/Hip-Hop ensemble
Batteryback
Battery recycling on trial in Melbourne (until 30 April 2010). More info: Batteryback
- Coles Flemington; 320 – 386 Epsom Rd, Flemington, Vic 3032
- Michaels Camera & Video; corner Elizabeth & Lonsdale Sts, City, Vic 3000
- Officeworks South Melbourne; 231 Kingsway, South Melbourne Vic 3205
- Officeworks Preston; 121 Bell Street, Preston Vic 3072
- Officeworks Bundoora; 1101-1181 Plenty Rd, Vic 3083
- Bunnings Northland; corner Chifley Dr & Murray Rd, Preston, Vic 3072
- Bunnings Maribyrnong; corner Rosamond Rd & White St, Maribyrnong, Vic 3032
- Bunnings Hawthorn; 230 Burwood Rd, Hawthorn, Vic 3122
- aToMik Green Cheltenham; Shop 2056, Level 2 Westfield Southland, Vic 3192
Filtered Water Station in Bourke St
The Melbourne City Council has installed a filtered water station in Bourke Street (as a trial) to encourage people to use their own water bottles rather than to buy bottled water. More info: Filtered Water Station
Ethikl
A new (to me at least) online marketplace selling ethical, organic and handmade goods: Ethikl. Australian based.
Vindaloo Against Violence
A positive contribution to the so far not particularly productive discourse about racially motivated violence in Melbourne: Vindaloo Against Violence
Airbrushed for Change
An entertaining ‘open source’ parody website taking a tilt at the UK Conservative leader David Cameron: Airbrushed for Change
Sample below…
The Impossible Hamster
A novel explanation of economic growth from impossiblehamster.org
Sunset Cinema
A new outdoor cinema has opened in Melbourne. The Sunset Cinema is running on the rooftop carpark of South Melbourne Market. [via White Hat]
NAPLAN Testing
An opinion piece by Trevor Diogenes (of Lowbottom High Diaries) in today’s Crikey: NAPLAN tests and My School: one size doesn’t fit all
Teaching to the test is what education authorities increasingly require of teachers. It already happens in Year 12 where students are coached to reproduce the answers that the assessors expect. If students learn anything in Year 12, it is that competition is king in the world they are about to enter. They will also understand that they are expected to conform. At which point students would have every right to feel betrayed by their teachers who, up until this final year, have sought to open the minds of their charges to the infinite possibilities of learning.
Parents have every right to know how their child’s school is performing in relation to other schools. The only problem is that the information is based on flawed data since it is largely derived from the results of the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) diagnostic testing. NAPLAN is a version of those ghastly tests that students have been made to submit to since the 1960s. You know the kind of thing: brain teasers about relative velocities and the like. Horrible. And of very limited educational value.
The article is in the free section at Crikey, so probably best just to read the whole thing.
Sustainable Living Festival
The Sustainable Living Festival is on again in February. The full calendar of festival events stretches from the 6th to the 21st of February. The main event is on the 19th to the 21st of February at Federation Square. 
Dogs on Moscow’s Subway
Two interesting pieces on research into stray dogs use of the subway in Moscow: Moscow’s stray dogs and Smartest Dogs [via The Dish]
The Rise of US Consumer Debt
A pretty clear graphic from visualeconomics.com – The Rise of Consumer Debt [via daily kos]. I wonder how the numbers for Australia compare.
Ethical Undies
A comprehensive summary of places where ethically made undies can be sourced put together at IsisMade – Ethical Undies [via gogreeneraustralia and littlecofootprints]. This particular resource seems to be part of an Ethical Clothing Pledge made by the author.
South Melbourne Commons, Sustainable Supermarket
Friends of the Earth Australia have found a site for their pilot sustainable supermarket campaign. To be located at the old South Melbourne Catholic Primary School (next to the church of Fr Bob Maguire). The tentative name is South Melbourne Commons.
The site will feature, a cafe, food cooperative, grocery store & deli with a weekly Saturday Eco Market operation starting later in the year. Weekly workshops and community activities will be a common occurrence.
They’re looking for volunteers to help out with preparing the site.
Gardening Working Bee with BBQ & Beer – Sunday January 31st 10am – 3pm
Bring your shovel, fork and gloves as we get down and dirty in the garden. We’ll be weeding, mowing, slashing, cutting and removing some plants to make way for a host of future food production gardens. We’ll also need a slasher and lawn mower.
Demolition Day with BBQ & Beer – Sunday February 7th 10am – 3pm
Under guidance from experienced trades people, we’ll be cutting out internal walls, washing, filling gaps, painting, sweeping and getting the site ready for use. Everyone is welcome, but we would especially like people with trades skills and tools to contact us so we can be prepared.
Greens’ Interim Carbon Tax Proposal
The Greens have put forward an interim (two year) carbon tax proposal in place of the CPRS (apparently based on a suggestion by Garnaut). Seems like this proposal ma do a reasonable job of buying some time to work towards a better long term proposal (hopefully improving rather than further worsening the targets, compensation, offsets, other dodginess). Not sure Fielding would every support it though (perhaps one Lib senator may). Rudd has said he’ll consider it, as you’d expect – need to see how strong the disconnect between words and action is (a force that is usually strong with this one!)
Update: Christine Milne in The Australian – Interim carbon price preferable to time-wasting political stunt
Local Food Map
A neat little site designed to help you find locally produced food: localfoodmap.net
Daft Liquor Licensing Laws
Andrew Crook in Crikey on a particularly daft outcome of Victoria’s liquor licensing laws: Brumby falling on his sword over liquor laws
The controversial one-size-fits-all approach to Victoria’s liquor licensing laws is again under fire after a Queen Victoria Market wine shop was classified as a “high risk” in the same league as a 1,000-capacity South Melbourne superclub.
Managing Director Brendan Beattie told Crikey he has been saddled with an extra $11,697.60 in fees this year, which were due to be paid on 1 January. Beattie applied for an exemption, but because he employs over 5 full-time staff, the request was slapped down in a tersely worded letter from controversial liquor licensing chief Sue Maclellan.
The controversial changes to the Liquor Licensing Act, based on a contested report by a group of external consultants, have already claimed one scalp with yesterday’s forced closure of The Tote amid a $60,000 doubling in compulsory security costs.
In an emailed statement compiled by her advisers, Maclellan said Swords Wines was able to apply for a reduction in trading hours, which would see a “significant reduction in fees”. However, Swords told Crikey they were required by market management to align their opening hours with other stores on the premises.
Chinese Transportation Growth
A detailed look at China’s transport trends with lots of nice graphs for the text-averse by Stuart Stainford at Early Warning: Chinese Transportation Growth
BoM 2009 Climate Statement
The BoM Annual Australian Climate Statement for 2009 is out and about on the interwebs. In short: mostly hot and dry!
No Clean Feed
Haven’t noted this as it is pretty well covered around the place. Electronic Frontiers Australia have been fairly active with nocleanfeed.com and also a mandatory isp filtering blog on their website.