I'm off to join the Circus....

I'm not sure how many times I have seen Circus Oz perform, I think I have seen possibly 10 of their shows and I think between Griffith, Sydney and Melbourne maybe doubled up on one of two of those as well. I didn't get to see the first season 35 years ago, but I do know a local couple who did and they are also still returning to see what this remarkable company of performers and story tellers have to tell and show us. 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Star Wars: Rogue One is a new generation of Star Wars films, sort of backfill to the existing series, story lines that fill in the knowledge gap that might exist.

One National Park, Three Rivers and Nine Artists

Something has happened, I'm sure that someone, somehow has picked us up and moved us to a parallel universe. Why? You ask! It's like this, I've been taking notice of the creatives in our community, the people who tell our stories, record our histories and even look into dark inner head spaces and extract the dim and dark moments that haunt us.  The stories have become bold, big and told with a  sense of urgency that says notice me, NO LOOK AT ME and then it grabs, caresses you and flashes its blue eyes at you and you are gone, its like a thunderbolt. You are in love.

Beyond Year 12, The Class of 2016

Well Year 12 team of 2016, its here at last, that time you were told the focus of your school years, the HSC, the exam of exams, and its so important, you were told, that how you score in the various subjects over the next few weeks will determine your life outcomes. 

What a crock of crap. Seriously on behalf of every parent, Aunt, uncle and every teacher who drummed that message home into your head, so now it has become this huge Blob that threatens to consume your life, I want to say "we are sorry, we lied, we told a porky". The real truth lies within the community you live, the communities you will move and the world you are yet to discover. 

CIRCA - Camille Saint-Saëns “Carnival of the Animals”

A story on the Circus, I believe, should always start with a short history lesson.  I actually thought I was going to be telling you about the Roman Empire, and how those great edifices to entertainment, violence and mass slaughter, the Roman Circuses, were the precursor to the modern circus. Those great open air entertainment facilities, were actually great race tracks, big enough for chariot races, sea battles and then the battles of Gladiators. The areas were not circular either, but instead two linear race tracks with a curved enclosure at each end. So lesson learnt, the modern racetrack owes its design to the ancient roman empire and for the modern Circus we have to look to more recent history.

The modern circus began in England after the end of the Seven Years War (thats the one where Britain had a barney with France and Spain, then Prussia, Austria  and Russia got involved, anyway it left Europe in a bit of a mess, laid the foundation for future conflicts, but that is another story.  Our story is about Philip Astley ho created what we now know as Circus in 1768. He established a performance arena he called a circle or as it would become known as “circus”.   Ashley had served in the Seven Years War in the 15th Light Dragons Regiment where he showed great talent with horses, and following the war he chose to imitate the trick riders that were performing across Europe. With trick riders as the start he then started to add other elements he took from theatre, clowns, jugglers, tumbling, and rope tricks.  His “circus’ was built on the talents of his artists their strength, agility and ability to connect with an audience.   

Transhumanism and its impact on children and learning

Technology is for some of us is an extension of who we are and essentially built into our very being, for others its unfathomable and alien, confusing and irrelevant. I'm listening to the new Guru in my life Jason Silva and his thoughts on technology and humans.  I work in early childhood and see that technology and children are made for each other in way that has never happened before.  The designers of new technology have studied how we engage with tools for so long that now we are at a stage where the machinery we are using is more attuned to how we engage, its intuitive, learning and reactive. We want and need to touch, talk, look and participate, its so powerful. 

Original Worx - Ben Ceccato Band Live Album Volume 1

I dropped into the post office other day and there waiting for me was a small CD Box, hmm I knew what this was. It was all rush rush to get home and pop this into the CD machine and what for the 1's and 0's compressed and burnt onto the disc to be translated into music to fill my world with and also have a peak into the songwriter and musicians mind and heart.

Murrumbidgee MarraMarra

Recently I walked into the Griffith Regional Art Gallery to view the Murrumbidgee Marramarra Exhibition, and as I stepped into the exhibition space I was overwhelmed with what I saw. 

At this point can I acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the Gallery stands and the community I am part of and indeed I have spent my whole life on.  The land of the Wiradjuri Nation. I acknowledge Elders, significantly in this exhibition, those who have already passed on ahead, and those who have taken on this critical role today, they have left an imprint of cultural heritage within the artists who have participated and the community across this region. 

This exhibition of Aboriginal Artists from the Western region of the Riverina is exquisite. Works from Wayne Krause, Ros Lockhart, Sarah Weymouth, William Ingram, Rodney Simpson, Veronica Collins, Cory McKenzie, Alan McKenzie, Sos Hawkins, and Tyneika Powell to name but a few, will seriously bowl you over in their beauty, complexity and shear size. 

What does story telling tell us about ourselves and who we are.

In my presentation, on Technology in EC, that I recently delivered to the leadership teams in GoodStart Early Childhood Services at CSU Wagga, I used this short film by Jason Silva to open and focus our thoughts. 

The Power of Story is the early childhood story and I think the story of humanity.

What's it like growing up in Regional Australia?

We are a lucky people, whether you are recent arrival or your have lived here all your life, there are many reasons to say this is a good place to grow up and also to raise a family.

The creation Murrumbidgee Irrigation Scheme in the early 1900's included the establishment Leeton in 1912 and Griffith in 2016. Narrandera which was already well established has continued to grow, though often as a poorer second or third cousin.

Both Leeton and Griffith share a unique bond with our national capital, all three cities were designed by American Walter Burley Griffin and his partner Marion.  All feature the linked circular roads and linked avenues.  It's interesting looking at these designed today, because they reflect the strong geometric patterns found in the Wiradjuri People culture and story telling.