via Grow Food Not Lawns
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
messing with movie maker - and messing with my head
It seems the theme of #ALIA2012 - discovery - has a long tail. After some 6 years or so subscribed to YouTube I finally got around to uploading my own video - will wonders never cease? I don't particularly like YouTube because it eats a lot of band-with and often takes minutes to load the simplest and shortest of videos... so I'm trying something a little different here (not using YouTube) to see if it will work (of course in the midst of tearing my hair out exploring this option, I'm also having loads of fun with Windows Live Movie Maker - another unexpected discovery!)
This video is from my ride to Brisbane earlier today and features images near Bangalow NSW, the soundtrack is "Jet Lag" by Simple Plan.
This video is from my ride to Brisbane earlier today and features images near Bangalow NSW, the soundtrack is "Jet Lag" by Simple Plan.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Adventures in gratitude ....
As 2012 draws to a close it seems an opportune moment to thank a few people for their contributions to my learning - as a Librarian and as a person.
- Pam, whose ready ear and clever wisdom have kept me sane throughout the madness of this past year, everyone should have a friend like this who understands them implicitly and is ever ready to embark on yet another mad hatter scheme (she also has a wonderful line in perfect cards for every occasion).
- Ellen, whose steady advice and inspiration in all things Librarian has led to a friendship which I value enormously, collaborating with Ellen on any number of projects has always been the absolute highlight of my career and I look forward to many more collaborations to come.
- Vassiliki, always quick to offer help and a shoulder when needed, her deeply held love of reading is an example, and a challenge, to all. There is no greater afternoon well spent than one discussing all manner of genres and authors with her.
- the Ref-Ex crew for continuing to work on this project and see it grow bigger and better all the time, taking the responsibility for enhancing the reference skills of public library staff across NSW is a huge thing and I have truly valued working with each and every one of you.
- the NSW Reference and Information Services Group (RISG) for all the hard work that goes into the annual seminars, the blogs, the wiki and the regular meetings; listening to and informing NSW public library staff of developments and innovations in all things to do with providing reference and information services is a big thing (you're also a really nice bunch of people).
- the NSW Readers Advisory group, well girls what can I say? Working on the twitter reading groups since 2011 has been amazing, first with #readit2011 and now with #nyr12 (love2read2012). We have come leaps and bounds since we all got together in 2005 and I am so looking forward to continuing the twitter reading group phenomenon next year and beyond with #rwpchat (read watch play). Together we have developed new social media skills and as a collaborative group have really shown the value of team involvement. Congratulations on a successful year of blogging and tweeting about all things reading and here's to another year of exploring and immersing ourselves in the different ways in which people read and explore reading.
- the ALIA Biennial social media team - wow, what a learning curve. It has been an absolute pleasure collaborating on this project and working towards a successful conference presence using a multitude of social media tools. I have learnt a lot from each of you and have come away so much richer from this experience. Thank you, it was a blast.!
2012 has certainly been a big year and I am truly grateful for each and every person who has contributed to it - my family, my friends, my work colleagues, and my professional colleagues - I am definitely the richer for it. I hope each and every one of you has a great 2013. Thank you.
- Pam, whose ready ear and clever wisdom have kept me sane throughout the madness of this past year, everyone should have a friend like this who understands them implicitly and is ever ready to embark on yet another mad hatter scheme (she also has a wonderful line in perfect cards for every occasion).
- Ellen, whose steady advice and inspiration in all things Librarian has led to a friendship which I value enormously, collaborating with Ellen on any number of projects has always been the absolute highlight of my career and I look forward to many more collaborations to come.
- Vassiliki, always quick to offer help and a shoulder when needed, her deeply held love of reading is an example, and a challenge, to all. There is no greater afternoon well spent than one discussing all manner of genres and authors with her.
- the Ref-Ex crew for continuing to work on this project and see it grow bigger and better all the time, taking the responsibility for enhancing the reference skills of public library staff across NSW is a huge thing and I have truly valued working with each and every one of you.
- the NSW Reference and Information Services Group (RISG) for all the hard work that goes into the annual seminars, the blogs, the wiki and the regular meetings; listening to and informing NSW public library staff of developments and innovations in all things to do with providing reference and information services is a big thing (you're also a really nice bunch of people).
- the NSW Readers Advisory group, well girls what can I say? Working on the twitter reading groups since 2011 has been amazing, first with #readit2011 and now with #nyr12 (love2read2012). We have come leaps and bounds since we all got together in 2005 and I am so looking forward to continuing the twitter reading group phenomenon next year and beyond with #rwpchat (read watch play). Together we have developed new social media skills and as a collaborative group have really shown the value of team involvement. Congratulations on a successful year of blogging and tweeting about all things reading and here's to another year of exploring and immersing ourselves in the different ways in which people read and explore reading.
- the ALIA Biennial social media team - wow, what a learning curve. It has been an absolute pleasure collaborating on this project and working towards a successful conference presence using a multitude of social media tools. I have learnt a lot from each of you and have come away so much richer from this experience. Thank you, it was a blast.!
2012 has certainly been a big year and I am truly grateful for each and every person who has contributed to it - my family, my friends, my work colleagues, and my professional colleagues - I am definitely the richer for it. I hope each and every one of you has a great 2013. Thank you.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The Blinding Knife - Brent Weeks (a GoodReads review)
The Blinding Knife by Brent WeeksMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Brilliant. Brent Weeks' Night Angel trilogy re-inspired my love of Fantasy fiction but The Black Prism reignited my love of epic world fantasy (and reminded me of my childhood excitement when I first read LOTR). The Blinding Knife continues the love affair with a world I want to know more about and characters I need to see more of. Everything about this world is fresh and new and exciting, the characters (and their journeys) are intriguing and flawed and beautiful and good and monstrous.
I waited patiently for this book after finishing The Black Prism and now I'll have to wait patiently for the next book, but I know the wait will be worth it. Just as Brent Weeks is an author to keep an eye on.
View all my reviews
Saturday, July 28, 2012
What is reading?
For 2012 the National Year of Reading twitter reading group set up a blog - love2read2012 - to act as a point of reference and maintain the conversation. One of the pages on that blog discussed what is reading. In 2013 the team is continuing the twitter reading group (which began with the #readit2011 campaign), spreading globally and expanding on the idea of what reading is. The new blog is called ReadWatchPlay and was launched at the Imagine the Future Public Libraries NSW conference held just this past week at Shoal Bay. Below is a copy of the page on that blog which discusses what is reading within this context (it is a bit of a rewrite of the original love2read post). Enjoy. What do you think reading is? What does 'reading' mean for/to you?
We value all kinds of reading experiences which provide enjoyment, knowledge, understanding, and relaxation. Be it a book, a movie, a game, or a piece of music – reading reaches out to the world and hugs them close.
The concept of ‘reading’ encompasses a broad spectrum of activities – reading, watching, and playing.
Reading has made me who I am. To read is to learn and grow, to experience, to empathise, to understand, to marvel, to wonder, to laugh, and to cry. To live other lives in other places and times, to deepen a connection with place. Reading is immensely important to me. It shapes my personality and identity as do all experiences. I am a fuller, more rounded person because I read. I am able to imagine and empathise with others. I learn things that help me in my daily life and I experience joy, sorrow and relaxation when I read.
I’m reading when I check my email, I’m reading while I download songs, I’m reading when I sort my bills from the ones I must pay now to the ones that can wait a little longer. The act of reading is an everyday function. The act of taking time out to read the story behind the recipe, the description of the engine space, the context of the game, all are integral actions which inform and enhance my experience. Reading isn’t just about escaping into a world of fiction – it’s also about providing context to our environment – both real and imagined and thus enriching our lives.
Reading can be
- fun, sad, traumatic, confusing, fast, slow, episodic, continual
- collaborative
- participatory
- exclusive
- inclusive
And all reading is reading – no matter the format. We should not be textist about format, or length of work, or the context of the reading. Reading something for young children filled with pictures and sounds is just as valued as reading a university thesis. Reading a biography is just as valued as playing a game exploring the period of the Crusades. Reading an adventure story for young adults written by a well-renowned Australian author is just as valued as watching a BBC television series featuring the antics and explorations of a mystery-solving sleuth or a galaxy-travelling adventurer. Reading a book in a digital format on my computer, tablet, or phone, or indeed listening to one through my iPod, Mp3, car stereo, or home stereo, is just as valued as holding that paper-bound version in my hands and inhaling the sweet smell of print and glue. Watching the movie is just as valued as reading the book. Playing the game is just as valued as reading the graphic novel or comic on which it is based, and vice-versa.
Indeed reading is many things, …
- devouring a book cover to cover, and then starting at the beginning again
- poring through each recipe, and the stories in between
- exploring the repair manual so you can fix your car
- flicking through pages, just reading a few words
- watching the faces in the crowd as an author/storyteller engages the audience in their story
- discovering the story in the game so you understand the game
- reading in games to achieve objectives
- watching the episodic movie breaks between one game level and the next to experience the story
- information to get stuff done
- information for fun
- in any format, at any time
- facts and figures
- lifesaving or death defying
- therapeutic
- relaxing
- searching flickr images
- tweets
- blogs
- signs
- watching a movie
- watching a television series
- listening to music
- playing music
- listening to a story
- writing your own story
Reading is an experience – what has your experience been, what is your experience now?
Kingdom of the Wicked
I had my own little squee! moment this morning when I realised that I got to read Skulduggery Pleasant: Kingdom of the Wicked before the UK/Ireland release date of August 30 because Derek Landy is touring Australia from August 8th. Okay, the squee! moment was actually for stumbling across KOTW yesterday when I'd not even realised it was out yet ... oh, and reading it in one afternoon. (So nothing else got done, I'm sure my family as learned to cope with my particular reading binges by now.)
I have thoroughly enjoyed the Skulduggery Pleasant series since my daughter introduce me to it some 3 years ago. I devoured the first few books and have ensured that as each new title comes along it is quickly added to our book shelves. (My daughter was more than pleased to discover this morning that she could now read the latest instalment.) Indeed Skulduggery Pleasant not only rates as one of my favourite Young Adult series, Derek Landy rates as one of my favourite writers. His blog, Derek Landy Blogs Under Duress, is quirky and engaging, there is no mistaking his wit and satire - the same wit and satire which permeates the Skulduggery series. A highlight to any day is reading his latest post and admiring his certain charm with words - as a lover of words myself I am most certainly lost.
Perhaps I should mention that my other favourite YA series include (in no particular order):
- Leviathan / Scott Westerfeld
- The Ranger's Apprentice / John Flanagan
- Brotherband / John Flanagan
- The Saga of Darren Shan (aka: Cirque du Freak) / Darren Shan
- The Demonata / Darren Shan
- The Saga of Larten Crepsley / Darren Shan
- Conspiracy 365 / Gabrielle Lord
- The Steampunk Chronicles / Kady Cross
- The Wardstone Chronicles (aka: The Spook's Apprentice (book 1); aka: The Last Apprentice in the US) / Joseph Delaney
- Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr
Mmmm, I detect a certain theme to my YA reading here....
Thursday, July 26, 2012
How do conferences use social media?
One of my pet hates is when conference organisers set up social media sites - specifically Facebook and Twitter - for a conference and then don't follow through on the commitment during the conference. A library conference a few years ago did this, had 'Follow us on Facebook' and 'Follow us on Twitter' plastered all over the conference home page but when it came to the conference itself, absolute silence. As someone who couldn't attend that conference I was more than just a tad annoyed as I expected the conference organisers to take that commitment seriously and maintain the ongoing flow of communication. Not so.
Back in February this year I attended VALA in Melbourne and was struck by how well the social media, specifically the tweeting, was managed by conference organisers. Not only were organisers observed to be actively tweeting during sessions (from the conference identity) but responses to questions were prompt and agenda updates provided regularly. They showed how it could be done.
Just the other week I followed the ALIA Biennial 2012 conference from afar and was again impressed by the way conference organisers ensured that the conversations flourished on Twitter and Facebook throughout the conference. Not only was there direct engagement but they also made obvious use of scheduling tools like Hootsuite to manage programming details, share session papers, and so on.
This week I'm following another library conference and so far I've been quite disappointed by the lack of engagement from conference organisers on Twitter and Facebook. There appear to be a few photos going up on Facebook today (one lopsided) but next to no action on Twitter itself since yesterday and then only a handful of comments came through (indeed most of the tweeting seems to have occurred primarily pre-conference). The bulk of the tweeting is coming from participants at the conference and even that is reasonably sporadic, obviously the proportion of tweeters is significantly lower at this conference than at either VALA or ALIA2012. Which is a shame as I'd really like to know what's going on and if I can't discover that from the tweet stream than the whole thing becomes of little use to me and all I come away with is a sense of dissatisfaction and feeling that it could all be done so much better.
The moral of the story? If you are going to promote social media streams at a conference then you must also accept the responsibility for ensuring that you maintain an ongoing outgoing and engaging dialogue with others via those streams. If that means utilising a roster so that various staff can share the load, then do that. If that means using other tools like Hootsuite to schedule tweets and/or posts than do that. Don't expect the social media stream to maintain itself, that's your job.
sigh, rant over...
Back in February this year I attended VALA in Melbourne and was struck by how well the social media, specifically the tweeting, was managed by conference organisers. Not only were organisers observed to be actively tweeting during sessions (from the conference identity) but responses to questions were prompt and agenda updates provided regularly. They showed how it could be done.
Just the other week I followed the ALIA Biennial 2012 conference from afar and was again impressed by the way conference organisers ensured that the conversations flourished on Twitter and Facebook throughout the conference. Not only was there direct engagement but they also made obvious use of scheduling tools like Hootsuite to manage programming details, share session papers, and so on.
This week I'm following another library conference and so far I've been quite disappointed by the lack of engagement from conference organisers on Twitter and Facebook. There appear to be a few photos going up on Facebook today (one lopsided) but next to no action on Twitter itself since yesterday and then only a handful of comments came through (indeed most of the tweeting seems to have occurred primarily pre-conference). The bulk of the tweeting is coming from participants at the conference and even that is reasonably sporadic, obviously the proportion of tweeters is significantly lower at this conference than at either VALA or ALIA2012. Which is a shame as I'd really like to know what's going on and if I can't discover that from the tweet stream than the whole thing becomes of little use to me and all I come away with is a sense of dissatisfaction and feeling that it could all be done so much better.
The moral of the story? If you are going to promote social media streams at a conference then you must also accept the responsibility for ensuring that you maintain an ongoing outgoing and engaging dialogue with others via those streams. If that means utilising a roster so that various staff can share the load, then do that. If that means using other tools like Hootsuite to schedule tweets and/or posts than do that. Don't expect the social media stream to maintain itself, that's your job.
sigh, rant over...
Short stories
I am so glad I have.
CatyJ
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