Scene in the Newcastle suburb of New Lambton.

Previous quote:
Einige Feen sind Hexen gerworden. Richtig oder falsch?

Diwali Festival 2008

This may have been the custom of photographs prior to the wedding day itself.

Flurofriday at Honeysuckle, Newcastle, focused on safety in the workplace and I saw fluro work clothes, hard hats, b-b-q and NXFM during the lunch break.

from the Nicholson museum.

Harry Potter imagery. Latin. Magicus. Monsters......as well as a....
Magic staircase..........and........
Seeking out the Philosopher's Stone.
Gothic fantasy at Sydney University.

A school with a difference. Did Harry Potter have a role in the rise in non-government education and the privatisation of schools hereabouts?
The existing schools lose their wide diversity including mix of ability when students are sent away to a private school often in another suburb and the local community is diminished.
Children from a non-English speaking background remain together in a school in some degree of isolation. All of which is nothing new to the experts but is new to me.
While Church and state are separate, if the government schools could include a totally meaningful component of religious study then church schools would become unnecessary and all kids could enjoy a state school education that is non-divisive and is a microcosm of society.
New computers etc all round are fine but loads of support staff and basics and facilities are very important in government schools particularly when they have to take up the slack. It is difficult for them to be compared with the fresh brand-new schools of the private sector.
However, many would say it is too late for all this and status, fashion and high achievement at any cost are held dear by parents.

Anyway, on another point, be thankful that the Harry Potter movies are not Hollywood productions.

I ask is this really the domain of left wing, Marxist, Post Modern Critical theorists?

(Reproduced for research purposes)

I have to rethink roses after seeing this example.

A reminder. Quest for an inclusive society.

Sunday was World Organ Day as in musical instrument. An all-earth day-long celebration and a time for THE Toccato and Fugue by Bach which is an item of spectacular melodrama and was heard in gothic splendor in the Great Hall, University of Sydney.
Children were invited for an entertaining introduction to the pipe organ and to take a closer look and play the instrument.
Robert Ampt (Sydney City Organist) and Amy Johansen (Sydney University Organist) led the show.
The audience could see that as well as expressive musicianship the organist is a type of technician able to do ten things at once and operate all the devices so as to succeed in creating full orchestral effects or quiet and reflective moments.

School excursion

On seeing a venetian blind.

John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle is a major centre serving a large area. Here is a famous anaemic figure: John Hunter in the hall of fame in the medical school at Sydney University.

Sniffer dog and workers and the airport.

The Indian Pacific train was caught idling low and powerfully at Central, Sydney and the engine was dusty with desert sands and insects, afterall, it had traversed the continent west to east and after several hours it will shunt around and repeat the journey which is long, for example, departs Sydney on Saturday afternoon and arrives in Perth Tuesday morning.
Global financial meltdown not withstanding, the fares range from $289 (concession) to $1920, one way, recliner seats or cabin. Your car is also transported for a fee. Great Southern Rail is at www.GSR.com.au


The Ghan is another train which travels north-south, from Adelaide to the deserts and the red centre up to tropical Darwin which takes two and a half days.
The Ghan as in Afghan recalls the Afghans who were important workers in the early years as camel handlers. Large herds of feral camels now roam the inland.

Galerie des Glaces!
with a delivery man

A runaway tram has been captured in a Newcastle suburb to become an abode with a difference.
Cities are becoming massive and there is no way to limit their growth so the focus is on citycentric development which overshadows all the ambitions of the rest of the state to enjoy a share of the action.
Freeways, etags, Metros, public transport, and the Mechano are the daily entertainment. Massive works are so taken for granted and criticised while the demand is insatiable. Along with the special energy of a city true frustrations exist. Who will move out and take off the pressure?
Anyway, this old tram, this asset, could have remained in service instead of being discarded . It was from Melbourne.

Obligatory image at the Stock Exchange Sydney nosediving late yesterday.
Have'nt heard any conspiracy theories that terrorists have subverted Western capitalism. They don't need to lift a finger.
Opposite is a company from the past: Burns Philp Co Ltd, trader, late of the Pacific, provender to the colonies.

Pranksters!

1. Infants 0 - 2 months...................18 hours
2. 2 months - 12 months.................14 - 15 hours
3. 12 - 18 months..............................13 - 15 hours
4. 18 months - 3 yrs.........................12 - 14 hours
5. 3 - 5 yrs..........................................11 - 13 hours

Slumber time. It is suggested that babies need this much sleep. From the US National Sleep Foundation. Includes naps.

Parents, carers, Child Care Staff and all please note!

Some months ago people waited hours for the doors to open in George street, Sydney, to be the first to get the new Apple iPhone (3G). It is a nice little device compared to my mobile for I am such a dag with a flip model and as well I hardly ever watch Oprah but today caught a show where Oprah and Bono were in a shopping epicentre promoting a new red product line with a special edition red iPod which I think we call nano something.
Those red lines from Bono and consumerism raise money for humanitarian projects. Google reveals that the episode actually occurred in Oct 2006 but, I guess it is all timeless.
In my case the new phone was flourished and run thru its features when I ventured into this 'Apple orchard'. At other times exploration of the shopping centres is not always as easy as that for often one needs a second language, even a third, to do well at discovering more about what's new and interesting in whole centres that all specialise in imports or in attempts to find items that one took for granted. Would'nt we all do well to become bi-lingual?

NATIONAL Ride To Work Day Wednesday 15 October. Register Win prizes see https://ride2work.bv.com.au
This week, photos of Newcastle are unavailable.

Another naive presentation: 'pondering the bear market'.
Entertainment is a very successful way of making money. The Wiggles merchandise is seen here on Blinky Bill and the Wiggles have successfully combined music and theories of child development in their videos, TV and live shows. Nursery rhymes and folk music are their medium which is presented in a curiously naive yet winning style. In the beginning they had links with the ABC

In Cao Dai Temple of NSW at Wiley Park. Caodaism arose in the days of French administration in Cochinchina when a Viet holy man promoted worship and beliefs which are hughly syncretic.

Dieu et Humanite - Amour et Justice - God and Humanity - Love and Justice is promoted.



Something of a bet each way is taken on by those in the US presidential campaign. Governor Palin as seen in debate today has a very pleasant personality but policy is the important thing. And like here, climate change is not tackled head-on.

The Muslim community enjoyed gathering last night and this morning, Wednesday, at the Lakemba Mosque as Ramadan drew to a close. Eid ul-Fitr is a major time of celebration .

The suburb was 'all go'. The street was closed and as result people and cars were in some chaos as they left for home.

Religious and political leaders officiated.

The Hadron Collider and immanent big bang? This is an excerpt from Farbenlicht-Spiele (colour-light play), the most celebrated work of emigre artist Ludwig Hirschfeld-Mack (1893-1965). It was first performed at the Bauhaus Lantern Festivals in Germany in the early 1920. This reconstruction was made by Corinne Schweizer and Peter Bohm in 1999.