I also did some updating of the Friends of Huong Phuong Orphanage site. A significant amount of money has already been raised and many milestones have already been reached – enough money to buy the outdoor and indoor play equipment has been raised and almost half of the women listed are now being supported through the scholarship program. The association has decided to keep the momentum up and is now considering things like developing a medical centre. Things have turned out remarkably well so far and I’m excited to see what comes next.

About this time every year groups tend to hold their Annual General Meetings. At Computing Assistance Support & Education we’re no exception, so like every year, here’s the invitation:

Engaging in Democracy with Web 2.0 Initiatives

Guest Speaker – Pia Waugh
3.00pm Wednesday 26 October, 2011 – Pia Waugh started work as an Adviser to Senator Kate Lundy in April 2009. Prior to this she was a consultant at Waugh Partners in Sydney, Australia. She has also worked as a Research Coordinator for the Australian Service for Knowledge on Open Source Software (ASK-OSS), the Open Source strategist for a large systems integrator and still works to develop the Australian FOSS industry and improve Government policies towards Free and Open Source Software.

Weston Creek Community Hub
Main Meeting Room (across from ACTCOSS)
6 Gritten Street
Weston Creek ACT, 2611

Good ol Pia. She’s worth listening to and always steps up to present when we need someone interesting.

Work has given me a paid day off as volunteer leave in order to prepare and participate which I thought was good of them. At first they weren’t too sure about it as it appears that nobody in living memory has applied for it. But after a few emails things were sorted out, so off I go! It should be an interesting afternoon so feel free to come along.

Today I don’t have to worry about any of that on account of it being a public holiday here in the ACT. Solon, Smug and myself organised an early morning tee-off for 18 holes at Magpies gold course today. It would appear that practice really does help. Some youtube training and some carefully considered shots meant that this time around I didn’t suck quite as bad. I wouldn’t call golf my favourite sport but I’ll give it a bit more time, at least until I have the basic skills. Always worth sticking with something – I played through a season of Euro Handball and was probably worse at that.

I’ve also used the time off this weekend to continue to plan for Dad’s 59th. I cooked last year and it came together really quite well. This year I’ve put a bit more thought into what the menu will be and at this stage we’re looking at veg&chicken rosemary skewers with sauces for entree, stuffed chicken rolls with white wine sauce and couscous for mains and a cheesecake for dessert. I did a trial run of the chicken stuffing last night, cooled rice with cheese, sage, garlic in mustard oil, salt and pepper. It came together well. I’ll have to make another attempt sooner rather than later, but I think the idea is a solid one and the tastebuds concur. I wanted to take some photos of the process but I also wanted not to get raw chicken all over my phone. Maybe next time I’ll co-opt some help!

The party was a classic with what seemed to be more Canberrans than Sydneysiders. Sometimes things come together in space and time just how you’d like them to. “Everyone is on the same level.” described Owen who then ate a pickle dipped in gin. A large collection of (clean) jam jars were on hand to fill drinks with and the drinks were plentiful. A lot of old and familiar faces made an appearance, long lasting relationships were reaffirmed, a tree was climbed and at some stage my phone/wallet managed to end up down a storm water drain. As the night wore on, options ended up quite limited and the floor was used as a bed. The next morning Robbie’s insistence that council equipment could rightly be moved for good reasons saw the recovery of my wallet and iPhone.

Obviously at some stage I managed to find a beanie.

Low on energy and battery power, without a map and with a significant hangover to manage, we took to the streets of the big smoke on a prayer and a chance. We did actually make it out alive despite the detour through Port Botany and the airport. The outcome was a significant celebration we were pleased to be a part of, even if we didn’t use the hotel we booked and forgot to bring the rather expensive bottle of Moet to the party. I have it from reliable sources that said bottle will remained unopened until our return.

Head over to tracecollection.com to see some eco-inspired dresses that can be traced to their origins!

People we probably know have done a video and Rafe sang the song. Sums this week’s event in Canberra pretty well!

The hotel being a few minutes from the venue was a huge plus and allowed us to get there with ample time to spare. Blake’s support had some chop but maybe expected a bit too much from the crowd. The fact that you hang out with Kanye West occasionally doesn’t change the fact that you’re the support act and the crowd is going to talk if it wants to. Notice how the full house was absolutely silent for the quiet moments in Lindesfarne? Didn’t hear James Blake needing to ask us to be quiet. The performance was high quality, though, and he was an entirely appropriate lead in.

We’d set up shop just above the audio engineers as is good to do, sometimes. The whole setup was fairly minimalist which wasn’t surprising; all of the magic happens on stage. And when the bass hit at the end of I Never Learned To Share it ripped through the place like nothing else. In an amusing moment we saw all the engineers look up to the roof at the same time, it was shaking that much. Fortunately they didn’t turn it down and the roof didn’t fall down. The set included a good selection from his self titled album and EPs, Lindesfarne coming together just as I hoped to hear (see reference to silent moments above) and the guys managed to space out the satisfying hooks with some tasteful almost drum n bass style. It happened to be the last show on his solo tour which, I guess, ensured an emotional performance from the lot of them. The crowd was fine, packed to capacity (it looked like, anyway) and everyone left satisfied.

I’ve said before this was a lucky catch and I’m glad we made it. I think  it’s unlikely we’ll be able to see him again at the same place for the same price. It’ll be great to see what comes next. Frez mentioned he’s hearing Blake inspired sounds filtering through Triple J over the past few months. That’ll probably continue for a while. Refreshing!

Visitors here and friends know that I’ve spent a some time attempting to support local community here in Australia. Focusing on Canberra was driven by the idea of ‘get your own house in order first’. With homeless and poor, those in need, in significant numbers in my home city the direction of my civic duty is clear enough. Spending the time that I have in the community service sector has taught me a few things about spotting projects that have hope and those that, while well intentioned, are likely not to make it. Some people have a conscious or sub-conscious drive, focus, that can be clear to see. It’s less about commitment and more simply about being configured in a certain way. Sometimes, rarely it seems, a particular configuration of idiosyncrasies of an individual  match with a collective need and social ability is created. Financial, political and social structures, so intertwined, can be massaged at the same time and in a certain way, given the context, to produce a progressive outcome. In this case the status quo is being challenged by a small group of dedicated people in Australia. The view is to improve the living conditions for a group of orphans living with cerebral palsy, deafness, blindness and psychiatric problems in Vietnam. At the same time they will provide scholarships for education to the women that provide the care to the orphans. A remote association driven by immediate and local needs isn’t a new way of operating and in the past impressive outcomes have been the result. The ideas from this group seem clear enough to me, the level of detail and research that has gone into forming the project is sensible and at many levels impressive. Most importantly the goals are achievable!

That’s why I am proud to announce the launch of Friends of Huong Phuong Orphanage Inc’s website: http://hporphanage.asn.au.

11,000 Lanterns Floating Over Poland – Watch more Funny Videos

Another fact that exciting news has emerged that James Blake is on tour and performing in Australia. Thanks to James’s eagle eye while leafing through BMA we have tickets to the July 30 show at The Metro. This kid has emerged fast and he was an act I had on my list of “would love to see, but am unlikely to anytime soon” performers. He’s done some remarkable work and while Lisa informs me that he’s now well known in the UK, I’d still say this is a bit of an underground sound. Get in while you still can because you’d be silly to miss it!