Though the words stunned, amazed, horrified and saddened would have worked equally as well.
What am I babbling on about?
I was watching the telly the other night when up popped Jamie Oliver and I found myself being sucked in to the vortex that was,Jamie Oliver’s food revolution. I was totally horrified to see that a whole classroom full of six or seven year old American children couldn’t identify a potato, a tomato, a cauliflower or any other fresh vegetable you cared to mention.
I was sitting there with my mouth wide open, totally gobsmacked.
Now I knew that some children thought that eggs came from the carton and milk came from the supermarket but to be faced with this scale of food ignorance just blew my mind. It is easy as an Australian to dismiss this as just an American thing but as we all know, where America goes the rest of the world follows.
Last night I was intrigued by this tweet from @gluckman
I have no idea how I’m going to last on just $2 of food a day! I eat SOOOO MUCH!!! #numnumnum#livebelowline
That plaintive tweet immediately reminded me of my own teenage son who eats his own body weight in food approximately every three days.
So I followed a link on @gluckmans twitter stream to find out why this young man was twittering about living on $2 a day in August of this year and came to this pageLive below the line which explained about theglobal poverty project
But this post isn’t just about raising money for a good cause it is about the broader issues of poverty in an affluent society like Australia. There is an underclass here in Australia that live in poverty and experience the despair that comes with it, we ignore our homeless and our charities are stretched to breaking point.
But even though things are tough when you are broke in Australia they really aren’t that tough. Not really.
We have access to clean water, to clean air, to free medical treatment and we aren’t being shot at or thrown into jail for our religious or political beliefs. Our children aren’t being kidnapped to be used as child soldiers or mutilated to make better beggars. Our girl children are allowed to live and we all have access to education.
I could bang on and on about this but I wont. In my time I have been hungry and I have been cold, I have gone days with out any money at all in my pocket, but I have always been safe. I have always been able to speak my mind, dress how I like and swallow my pride and front up to the Salvos for a food order.
So I have sponsored young @gluckman because I think it is a good cause but also, because I think it will be good for him and his friends to try and live on $2 a day.Whether they are able to achieve their goal within the safety of affluence is another matter but it will be a good learning experience and I say good on them for having a go.
Yesterday was my last class withDr Christl Berg. I cant remember the exact title of the class but in a nutshell Christl’s class was all about developing ourselves as artists as well as learning to look at art critically. It was a valuable experience as we had lots of presentations from established artists describing their own art practices.
Our last presentation yesterday was fromvisual artist, Glen Dunnand I had a lightbulb moment during his presentation when Glen said,”That in essence, artists are thinking in public.” I realised that is what I am doing, I am thinking in public, I am having a public conversation with you. I know it looks glaringly obvious but I hadnt actually thought about it that way before. A couple of pieces of the puzzle clicked loudly into place yesterday and my mind is buzzing.
My proposal for the sculpture trail has been accepted by the friends of Chauncy Vale committee and I am really excited and terrified at the same time. Now I have to do more than actually think about making the eggs, I have to produce them. Eeek.
Just to add more excitement and terror to the mix, yesterday Glen also suggested that I should film the whole process. I was going to photo document everything anyway but making a short film has captured my imagination. I have absolutely no idea how I am going to go about it at all but the thought of making a film is really exciting.
Now back to the idea of thinking in public. I hadn’t really thought much about the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico other than general, “gosh that’s awful” type of thoughts until I followed a link on twitter to the Boston.com’s Big Picture, News stories in photographs and the images truly brought home to me the devastating impact of this massive environmental disaster.
The dragon eggs are a very public thought. The dead albatross bowls are very public thoughts. And now I want to make a couple of oily dragonfly plates. This dragonfly is trying to clean itself while it is perched on an oil soaked blade of grass. I cant get the idea out of my head that to the executives of companies like BP and Monsanto we are as worthless to them as insects.That the destruction of our environments dont matter as long as they get their fat paychecks and the shareholders get theirs.
How can BP compensate the world for the loss of a dragonfly? How much is a dragonfly worth?
I have again taken a post straight from the Tasmanian Times. This is also important. Local independent radio is very important, if we lose stations like Edge Radio we have lost part of our voice.
I will post something that I have actually written myself tomorrow or possibly Monday. If you can help to Save Edge Radio could you please click onto any of the links provided in the post or attend the rally at Salamanca next week.
Edge Radiotoday launched its major survival campaign‘Save Edge Radio’. The campaign calls on the Tasmanian community to help Tasmania’s only independent, youth, arts and culture focused broadcaster.
For the last seven years Edge Radio has made a significant contribution to the Tasmanian community with a unique focus on youth, arts and culture, but is now facing a dire financial situation and needs the local community’s help to survive.
Station Manager, Melanie Page, is confident that the Tasmanian community won’t allow Edge to disappear, but admits that the next few months will be critical.
“In the short-term, we have done all we can to reduce operating costs,” she said.
“We have made significant cuts to staff hours as well as hosting our first Radiothon to increase public awareness and to raise money.
“However, at this stage Edge Radio does not have the funds to continue broadcasting longer than the next few months, so we need to raise funds before the end of the financial year.
“Edge is financially viable as community radio station, but its dependence on sponsorship income and one-off grants results in budgetary fluctuations that impact on day-to-day operations,” says Page.
Edge Radio will continue to explore partnerships with State, Local and Federal Governments as well as the University of Tasmania, to secure ongoing core funding in order to ensure the station’s long-term viability.
This potential core funding along with current sponsorship will assist the station to keep broadcasting, but Edge needs the greater community to get behind the station and contribute financially. Edge Radio is a not-for-profit organisation that contributes over $20,000 per annum in the form of community service announcements and with a small dedicated staff and more than 100 volunteers and presenters it has grown into an important cultural asset.
“Edge is an important training ground for college and University students. It supports emerging bands and covers a number of Tasmanian events. Most importantly it also gives young people a voice of their own, which is priceless,” said Page.
The closure of Edge Radio would mean the loss of over 120 hours of locally produced content and a voice for numerous community and educational groups.
“One day we hope to be able to concentrate on making great radio and engaging more with the community, than trying to survive one week to the next and putting our energy into keeping the station afloat,” concludes Page.
Save Edge Radio will be officially launched at Salamanca Square on Saturday 29th May with a rally 11am – 1pm, encouraging the public to sign a petition which will be taken to Minister O’Byrne on Wed 2nd June.
Make a Tax Deductible Donation Online
Alternatively, with the end of financial year creeping upon us, you might like to make a tax deductible donation here: http://www.edgeradio.org.au/donations.php
Sign the Save Edge Radio Petition Online
It’ll only take a minute of your time and if you can’t afford to become a Supporter or make a donation this is a great way of helping us. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveedgeradio/
Save Edge Radio Rally
Where: Salamanca Square
When: Sat 29th May, 11am – 1pm
We need as many people as possible to come and show support.
Please wear a red t-shirt or bring a red balloon.
I have been asked to help spread the word about theBreast Cancer Network Australia’sfield of women LIVE event 2010,which is going to be held in Melbourne.
It’s taking place on Friday, 7 May 2010 and will see 14,000 women and men standing together in pink ponchos to form the Pink Lady silhouette on the MCG, reflecting the number of women expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. The event aims to raise awareness and much needed funds to support women diagnosed with breast cancer (BCNA is a unique not for profit organisation, its sole focus is on providing complete support for women who are diagnosed with breast cancer and their families).
I remember the cold terror that gripped my heart when my twenty one year old daughter told me that she had a hard lump in her breast. I remember the fantastic relief when the lump was just a cyst.
My grandmother had a masectomy in her seventies and is still going strong at the ripe old age of eighty seven. I have had three lumps in my breasts over the years and they have all been benign.
So I am more than happy to help spread the word here on my blog and you can help as well my lovelies.
You can provide a link to the event www.fieldofwomenlive.org.au on your blog and encourage your readers to promote this link on their websites and blogs as well.
You are more than welcome to copy this and post it onto your blog as well.
