Wallerawang Branch Library

End of An Era

2011-03-07T08:57:00.000+10:00

Its a sad day today!! Firstly it is the anniversary of my husband's death and our wedding anniversary. Also I have been asked by management at Lithgow City Council to no longer Twitter or Blog as Wallerawang Library as council has no social media policy.

Thank you for following Wallerawang Branch Library over the last few years. I am depressed and extremely disappointed at the decision.

Kindest Regards

Diana Simpkins

The Lithgow Flash

2011-02-16T14:18:00.000+10:00

"The Lithgow Flash Gift will be held on Saturday 26th February, 2011 at the Tony Luchetti Showground, Lithgow.

The Lithgow Flash Gift is a professional athletics carnival and will see athletes invited from all over Australia to compete for a total prize pool of in excess of $32,000. Races are to be conducted under a handicap system to give an even chance for all competitors of winning.

“The Lithgow Flash Gift” is named for Mrs Marjorie Jackson-Nelson, The Lithgow Flash, who during her athletic career won two Olympic gold medals (Helsinki 1952) and seven Commonwealth Games gold medals."

The Lithgow Flash Gift 2011 Athletics Carnival Program

Marjorie Jackson - Lithgow Flash

Library Lovers Day

2011-02-05T10:04:00.000+10:00

Library Lovers Day - 14th February 2011

"For centuries February 14 has been known as Valentine's Day, a time beloved of romantics. Now a new era has begun with Library Lovers everywhere claiming the day for the objects of their special affection - Australia's libraries.

People are devoted to their library and not just on one day of the year. Millions of library lovers across Australia must be right!

This promotional campaign is a combined advocacy event organised by the Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA). So now it's time for libraries across Australia to get on board. "

10 Greatest Love Stories

10 Uncoventional Romantic Movies

10 Top Love Songs (Australian Band, Savage Garden is in this selection)

10 Valentine's Day Dessert Receipes

"Water For Elephants" - Sara Gruen

2011-01-19T15:50:00.004+10:00

Water for Elephants

Review from Dymocks

"This is a great, glorious, big-hearted novel set in a travelling circus touring the backblocks of America during the Great Depression of the early 1930s. It's a story of love and hate,trains and circuses, dwarves and fat ladies, horses and elephants - or to be more specific, one elephant, Rosie, star of Benzini Bros Most Spectacular Show on Earth . . .

When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and suddenly adrift, jumps onto a passing train,he enters a world of freaks, swindlers and misfits in a second-rate circus struggling to survive during the Great Depression.

A veterinary student who almost earned his degree, Jacob is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. It is there that Jacob meets Marlena, the beautiful equestrienne who is married to August, a charismatic but violently unpredictable animal trainer. Jacob also meets Rosie, an elephant who seems unmanageable until he discovers an unusual way to reach her.

Water for Elephants is a story that has it all - warmth, humour, poignancy and passion. It has an energy and spirit like the feeling under a big top when the show is about to begin."

Movie Review Trailer

Movie Script Review

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe Festive Season

2010-12-24T16:07:00.001+10:00

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe Festive Season to all Wallerawang Residents and Hugs and Greetings to all my friends in Blogger and Twitter "Land" !!!

Summer Reading Club 2010

2010-12-21T13:29:00.010+10:00

Just had my first go at Prezi and adding information about our
Summer Reading Club 2010 activities held at our main branch
which is Lithgow Library Learning Centre.

Scare Up A Good Book - Summer Reading Club on Prezi

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows _ Part 1 (Movie)

2010-11-17T17:22:00.013+10:00

For the faithful..Dark Times are coming! Evil is brewing.
Death Eaters are coming!

(from AnimateIt.net)

Image by FlamingText.com

HARRY POTTER SPELLBOOK: DEATHLY HALLOWS
LIST OF SPELLS - HARRY POTTER
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOW BOOK QUIZ

Ten Tunnels 100th Anniversary Celebrations

2010-10-26T14:48:00.002+10:00

Ten Tunnels 100th Anniversary
16th - 17th Oct 2010

The weekend of the 16-17th October 2010 marked 100 years since the opening of the Ten Tunnel Rail Line. A fantastic feat of railway engineering which replaced the Zig Zag Rail system as the main link between Sydney and Central NSW.

The Ten Tunnel Deviation commenced operations on the 16th October 1910.

Today the tunnels are in generally good condition considering that they are 100 yrs old.

The wonderful sights at Zig Zag ceased in June 1957 when the electrification to Lithgow was completed. But it reopened in 1975 as the "Zig Zig Railway" to the delights of children and train enthusiasts who love the old steam trains.

Steam train rides were held from Katoomba through to Lithgow with a stop over at Wallerawang Railway Station. Heritage diesel locomotive train rides were all the go for the weekend as well with stops at Tarana and Bathurst for dinner.

I would like to thank Carrol Rogers from Meadow Flat who worked for me on that Saturday at Wallerawang Branch Library and took time out to take these wonderful pictures of the celebrations. To make it even more magical, it snowed on the Saturday!!

Roy Tanck's Flickr Widget requires Flash Player 9 or better.

Get this widget at roytanck.com

The steam train that came out to Wallerawang was the 3237 from Lachlan Valley Railway at Cowra, NSW.

What a Great #Followalibrary Day!

2010-10-16T19:15:00.000+10:00

More than 7000 tweets were made worldwide

While I was on holidays, it was #followalibrary day on Oct 1st. I promoted my wanglibrary twitter and also posed the question to a number of famous identities over the world.."What was their favourite library as a child?.." Her Majesty, Queen Noor of Jordon (Twitter account - QueenNoor)( replied to me that it was New York Library and John Birmingham, author (Twitter account - JohnBirmingham) and columnist replied Ipswich Library. I am thankful for those two wonderful people for taking time out in answering my question. I had sent a number of tweets to famous people as well as our own PM Julia Gillard but no luck there!!

The other benefit of this fantastic day on Twitter was to promote all libraries and meet amazing people in our profession on Twitter as well as anyone that loves libraries.

Apart from that I have been acknowledged by the organisers (Poulus Bliek, Wilma van den Brink, Lukas Koster, Edwin Mijnsbergen, Ad Aerts, Harriet de Man - #followalibrary crew/organisers) in their blog. So you can see I'm "tickled pink" with excitement at Wanglibrary being noticed worldwide.

I would like to thank all of the #followalibrary crew for organising such a momentous event which shows libraries do it best!! Even on Twitter!!

http://followalibrary.blogspot.com/

Oct 1st is #followalibrary day on Twitter

2010-09-25T19:18:00.002+10:00

On Oct 1st is #followalibrary Day on
Twitter!

Check out the main promotional blogsite

here!

Use the hashtag of #followalibrary

while on Twitter!

Tell us which libraries you love to follow

and why!

Or just tweet why libraries do it

best!!!

Above is a screen capture of wanglibrary's Tweet Cloud.

Tweet Cloud is a service that shows a cloud of

words that you use the most while on twitter.

Top 5 Science Fiction - Dymocks

2010-09-14T14:49:00.000+10:00

Top 5 Science Fiction Sellers - (as by Dymocks for Sun 12th Sept 10)

1. Black Prism Bk1 - Brent Weeks - Hachette Australia

2. Way of Kings Bk1 - Brandon Sanderson - Hachette Australia

3. King's Wrath Bk3 - Fiona McIntosh - HarperCollins

4. Unseen Academicals - Terry Pratchett - Random House

5.Bearers of The Black Staff Bk1 - Terry Brooks - Hachette Australia

History Week (History Council of NSW)

2010-09-08T13:41:00.002+10:00

History Week was introduced by the History Council of NSW to showcase the diverse, rich tapestry of history that is offered by organisations and individuals throughtout NSW.

Faces in the Street

Historic Lithgow Streetscapes

from the Lithgow Library's Photographic Collections.

Early Lithgow Bus Company which was called "Berry's Blue Bus Service".

Here are staff with a bus whose destination on the front states "Hassans Walls".

Photo ID: LRL 48105

Lithgow NSW May Day Procession 1927

Photo ID 74_6243

Lithgow Volunteer Fire Brigade cicra 1910

Photo ID LRL 48239

The Lithgow Library Learning Centre, in consultation with Dr Naomi Parry ( Follow Naomi on Twitter ) , historian and manager of Eskbank House, and Historian Joan Kent are developing a Local Dictionary of Biography which will be an online resource for the Lithgow Community.

If you would like to be a part of this project please contact Kay Shirt at the library and join us for a "how to" information session with Dr Parry, Joan Kent and Maureen Breckell in Lithgow Library Meeting Rooms on 21st Sep 2010 at 4pm (RSVPs preferred).

157 Main Street

Lithgow NSW 2790

Ph: 63529100 Fax: 63514962

Postal Address:

Po Box 19, Lithgow NSW 2790

Email: lithgow.library@lithgow.nsw.gov.au

I'm back at my favourite library, WALLERAWANG !!

2010-08-27T16:44:00.004+10:00

Hi everyone out across this beautiful planet called "Earth". I have been away for 10 weeks . Have become 'homeless'! Have learnt about the good in people and the very deplorable actions of others.

I would like to thank 3 wonderful amazing people that helped me recently who wouldn't know me from "a bar of soap" but felt compelled to help me, on the side of the highway on my way to work. I have forgotten their names due to the medication that I take for my health condition but they know who they are. If it wasn't for their generous spirit and goodwill, my first day back at work would have been dismal.

On the subject of "homelessness" at least I have had different people open up their hearts and their houses to accommodate my daughter and myself. But placing it into perspective at least I have a roof over my head compared to at least 20 million people in Pakistan that are suffering due to those enormous floods.

In the USA, there are libraries such as San Francisco Public Library that employ a full time social worker as well as the homeless themselves to help the 'homeless"

San Francisco Public Library "Homeless" Program

This picture is taken from VOA. news.com

photo by Rhonda Miller

Perhaps this could become a common site at our major city public libraries due to the every growing problem of affordable housing in NSW. There are over 10,000 people in NSW on a waiting list for public housing. Sometimes these government departments are so busy that merely leaving your contact number a number of times on their emergency shelter number is of no use as it has been over a month and nobody has ever called back.

Accolades then to the San Francisco Public Library for tackling the enormous problem of the homeless.

In Australia there are some basic attempts at helping at a basic level of providing books to those in need:-

The Benjamin Andrew Footpath Library currently operates in Sydney and Melbourne Australia with a regular supply of books to the homeless or disadvantaged.

Could we do more in Australian Public Libraries? Yes we could but like everything else, you need funding or sponsorship!

Speakers at #rugame2010 seminar at NSW State Library 23rd June

2010-06-28T09:05:00.003+10:00

Our first speaker on Wed 23rd June at the NSW State Library's seminar RU GAME: Games and Public Libraries, was Gary Hayes. He has worked on countless of projects overseas as well as here in Australia and developed numerous works, such as online Social Virtual worlds as well as Augmented and Alternate Reality productions. His presentation was incredible with the amount of information as to how the world was incorporating games into business and everyday life with various formats. Below is his slide presentation. Try some of the links in these slides. You will be amazed! Microsoft's Kinect will revolutionize gaming along with Augmented Reality Games (PSP article - Äugmented Reality is Next Big Thing in Gaming)

RU Game? Games & Public Libraries

View more presentations from Gary Hayes.

#rugame2010 - NSW State Library Online seminar in World of Warcraft

2010-06-25T22:44:00.001+10:00

It has been a packed 2 day "feast of information and fun" at the NSW State Library. On Wed 23rd June 2010 the first part of the seminar was held at the Metcalfe, hearing wonderful diverse speakers on the topic of gaming and games in public libraries.

The second part of the conference on Thursday 24th June was held in the largest MMOG ( massively multiplayer online game ) in the world which is "World of Warcraft". Over 68 million players estimated to play this game which is a conservative figure given by one of the speakers on the Wednesday seminar which was Huon Longman, a PhD student from Queensland University of Technology who spoke of the value of online relationships in World of Warcraft (WoW).

Here is my WoW toon

and my character's name

Wanglibris

Here is a screenshot

of participants at the online seminar

The above screenshot was taken by Liz Danforth

Occupation: Professional eclectic -- freelance writer, illustrator, librarian, and gaming advocate.

Location: Tucson Arizona USA

Orange Prize for Fiction 2010

2010-06-11T11:48:00.002+10:00

"The Orange prize for fiction, the UK's annual book award for fiction written exclusively by woman which this year celebrates its 15th anniversary" - The Guardian - UK

And the Winner is !!!

Barbara Kingsolver

for her novel

The Lacuna

Synopsis from the Orange Prize Website

"Born in the US and reared in a series of provincial households in Mexico, Harrison Shepherd is mostly a liability to his social-climbing mother, Salomé; his fortunes remaining insecure as Salomé finds her rich men-friends always on the losing side of the Mexican Revolution.

Harrison aims for invisibility, observing his world and recording everything in his notebooks with a peculiar selfless irony. Life is what he learns from servants putting him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs on the streets. Then, one day, he ends up mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist, Diego Riviera – which leads to a job in Riviera’s house, where Harrison makes himself useful to the muralist, his wife Frida Kahlo and the exiled Bolshevik leader, Lev Trotsky.

A violent upheaval sends him to the US. In Carolina, he remakes himself in America’s hopeful image and finds an extraordinary use for his talents of observation. But political winds continue to volley him between north and south, in a story that turns many times on the unspeakable breach – the lacuna – between truth and public presumption."

Barbara Kingsolver Wikipedia Biography

National Simultaneous Storytime - 11am Wed 26 May 2010

2010-05-24T06:41:00.003+10:00

From ALIA's website : - "National Simultaneous Storytime is a campaign organised by the Australian Library and Information Association, in which a picture book, written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously to children in a variety of venues around Australia.

This campaign promotes the value of books and encourages young people to read, share books and become involved in other fun and engaging literary based activities. The campaign is an integral part of promoting the value of reading and literacy within Australian society.

In 2009, over 120,000 children and adults across Australia took part in National Simultaneous Storytime, reading the book Pete the Sheep, written by Jackie French illustrated by Bruce Whatley."

Smudge Colouring in Sheets for "Little White Dogs Can't Jump"

Smudge Face Mask

Smudge Maze

Preview from HarperCollins website: - "Smudge and his family have got a problem to solve - Smudge′s legs are so short that he can′t jump into the car! One of the children in the family devises a series of ingenious ways of getting Smudge into the car, but none of them work.

Finally, it is Mum who solves the problem.

This is the book for all those who fell in love with The Ugliest Dog in the World and have been wondering what became of that irresistible creature. "

Ages 5+

Bruce Whatley Biography

Wallerawang Branch Library Story and Craft time every second Wednesday at 10:30am. National Simultaneous Storytime at 11am this week. Bring the littlies, have fun and morning tea! Contact Wallerawang Branch Library on 02 6355 1101.

Sydney's Writers Festival - 15th to 23rd May 2010

2010-05-10T10:06:00.002+10:00

Sydney's Writers Festival

15th to 23rd May 2010

The festival welcomes local as well as international writers and covers the latest contemporary fiction and nonfiction and also has the world's leading scientists, intellectuals and journalists participate in various programs.

Take a look at some of the intriguing celebrity program here !"

The catch cry of this year's festival is:-

Read. Rethink. Respond

An interesting children's event that is close to the Lithgow region will be " An Afternoon with Andy Griffiths", at Katoomba's Carrington Hotel on Sunday 16th May from 3.00 to 3.45pm.

Andy Griffiths is one of Australia's most leading and funniest children's author. He has sold over 4 million books worldwide.

Andy Griffiths - Children's Author and comedy writer

NSW Premier Literary Awards 2010 - People's Choice - Shortlist

2010-05-02T20:56:00.065+10:00

My tip for the People's Choice winner is Cate Kennedy's The World Beneath

88 Lines About Women by Steven Lang

Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

Ransom by David Malouf

Wanting by Richard Flanagan;

Summertime by J M Coetzee

People's Choice Award

Vote in the 2010 People's Choice Award!

"The judges have selected the above six titles as the best in new Australian fiction.
And now the people of New South Wales can have their say.

By casting a vote and signing up for the newsletter, you will have the chance to win some fantastic prizes. Voting is open between 7th April and midnight 10th May 2010." Vote here !

PS Guess what? Cate Kennedy did win the People's Choice Award for 2010!
Check out the winners here.

Moments in Time at Wallerawang

2010-05-01T21:02:00.004+10:00

The Sydney Morning Herald pg 6 Friday 1 August 1884 Wallerawang Coal Company

ANZAC DAY - 25th April

2010-04-25T11:20:00.018+10:00

ANZAC Day is a significant commemorative day in Australia and New Zealand's calendar year where ceremonies, marches, etc are held in honour of those soldiers who fought and those who also lost their lives at the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I and in addition the day now commemorates those who have served and died in all wars fought by both countries.

Aussie Educator has a wonderful page of various resources on Anzac Day. Please check their site here!

At Wallerawang, NSW during World War II.

Campfire concert - Troops [ ca 1940 ]

(Image thanks to State Library of Victoria)

Here is a wonderful song written by Adam Brand and Michael Carr with a series of photographs on YouTube. Adam Brand sings the song which is called "The Anzac".

"The Making of Our Nation" - National Trust Heritage - 9th to 24th April

2010-04-07T19:27:00.001+10:00

In its 30th year, 2010 National Trust Heritage Festival, is celebrating our rich built, cultural and natural heritage by being part of one of the longest running community festivals in New South Wales. "The Making of Our Nation", also marks the 200th anniversary of Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s 12 years as the 5th Governor of the Colony of New South Wales.

Ian Carroll OAM, President of the National Trust of Australia (NSW) comments that:-

"Governor Macquarie made an outstanding and extensive contribution to the growth of the State of New South Wales and his many legacies endure. He is widely recognised as being responsible for transforming the new colony from a penal settlement to a flourishing society. This was ultimately achieved through his visionary leadership and strength of character".

The Making of Our Nation - Lithgow’s Industrial Heritage

In the crossing of the Blue Mountains, coal was noted on the slopes of the ranges. The Great Western Railway reached the valley, opening up commercial exploitation of the resource. Soon after, the need for iron and steel in the developing nation saw the establishment of the Eskbank Iron Works. And so the rest is history, covering coal, shale oil, iron and steel, Lithgow Pottery and defense manufacturing history.

During the National Trust Heritage Festival, Lithgow Library will host an exhibition of photographs and a series of author walks and talks

Featured authors

Leonie Knapman - Shale Oil,- 8/4/2010

Mark Langdon—Railways 15/4/2010

Ian Rufus - Lithgow—Valley Pottery 22/4/2010

Ray Christison - Western Coalfields 22/4/2010

Tony Griffiths— Small Arms Factory 29/4/2010.

Exhibition Opening

And refreshments at Lithgow Library on Thursday 8th of April, from 4—5pm R.S.V.P. preferred for catering.

To be followed by our first author talk From 5-6 pm Leonie Knapman - Shale Oil History.

Admission is free

Ugame Ulearn! The User Experience

2010-04-01T21:00:00.002+10:00

I'm sitting quietly at home, using my laptop to view a great live conference/symposium at TU Delft in the Netherlands. At the core, the presentations are showing how to create better experiences for library and museum users. (Twitter hashtag for the conference is #ugul10)

Here is a Slideshare presentation from one of the presenters, Michael Edson, Director of Web and New Media Strategy at the Smithsonian Institution.

View more presentations from edsonm.

Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance (2004) by Alan N Shapiro

2010-03-28T20:13:00.008+10:00

Father Roderick Vonhögen interviews author Alan Neil Shapiro last week at Amsterdam Public Library.
His book "Star Trek: Technologies of Disappearance " was published in 2004 and is still a bestseller.

This interview is fascinating and intriguing taking in philosophy, humanity and looking into the culture and science of technologies using Star Trek as a pretext as Shapiro is a devoted fan and so am I !!

Listen!

Live Long and Prosper! Have an Unemotional and Logical Safe Easter, Wallerawang Residents and Universal blog readers!! (stardate 3372.7)

Senior Citizens Week - 21st to 29th March 2010

2010-03-21T14:15:00.001+10:00

Senior Citizens Week in NSW is being held for the 52nd time and this year's theme is "Live Life".

Our Fun, Informative and Exciting Program for the week at Lithgow Library Learning Centre is available here.

Here are a list of older authors still alive and thriving in the literary world.

Quotes on Age

"No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating." - Oscar Wilde
"Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man. " - Leon Trotsky
"With mirth and laughter let old wrinkles come. (Merchant Of Venice)" - William Shakespeare

The Hyperlinked Community Library by Michael Stephens

2010-03-11T19:44:00.002+10:00

The Hyperlinked Community Library

View more presentations from Michael Stephens.

"Change ! Learn, Play, Innovate !"

"The Transparent Library focuses on user- driven policy not driving users away !"

St Patricks Day

2010-03-10T17:58:00.008+10:00

(Free Gifts & Animations)

ST PATRICK'S DAY

St Patrick's Day is celebrated world wide on 17 March each year.

This excerpt is taken from Sydney's St Patrick's Day Organization Website.

"In Ireland St Patrick’s Day is a holiday but increasingly people from all around the world gather to celebrate all things Irish.

We are all familiar with the street parade, family picnic, green t-shirts, Irish dancing, music and pints of Guinness that signify St Patrick’s Day in Sydney – but what do we know of St Patrick himself?

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and is the person celebrated on Ireland’s national day.

Ok, so he wasn’t born Irish but he has become an integral part of the Irish heritage. His services across Ireland in the 5th century are said to have brought religion to the country. Legend also has it that St Patrick used a shamrock in his preaching to explain the Holy Trinity and that he was responsible for banishing all the snakes from Ireland."

Top 10 most collectible Irish Books

Top 10 favourite Irish Novels

Top 10 Irish Receipes

Irish Poetry

Notable Irish People

Here is some beautiful music from Ireland's most melodic heavenly singer, Enya and her song Orinoco ( Sail Away ) !!!

Quick Irish Lesson

Cén fáth ? Why ?

Cén áit ? Where ?
Una atá orm. I am called Una.
Gabh mo leithscéal ! Excuse me !
Tá go maith ! Alright !
Más é do thoil é ! Please !
Go raibh maith 'ad ! Thank you !
Tá fáilte romhat ! You are welcome !
Cén chaoí a bhfuil tú ? How are you ?
Oíche mhaith ! Good night !
Mar sin é ? Is that so?
Muise ! Indeed !

Irish Toast

May your glass be ever full.

May the roof over your head be always strong.

And may you be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows you're dead.

Oscar, Oscar !! 82nd Academy Awards

2010-03-07T08:53:00.008+10:00

The following is an excerpt from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science

"The Oscars reward the previous year’s greatest cinema achievements as determined by some of the world’s most accomplished motion picture artists and professionals. The Academy’s roughly 6,000 members vote for the Oscars using secret ballots, which are tabulated by the international auditing firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers. The auditors maintain absolute secrecy until the moment the show’s presenters open the envelopes and reveal the winners on live television.

And the Oscar Goes To...

Awards are presented for outstanding individual or collective efforts in up to 25 categories. Members select winners from as many as five nominees in each category, which are determined by members of the relevant Academy branch. (For instance, only film editors may nominate for the Achievement in Film Editing award.) The only exceptions are the Best Picture category, for which nominees are selected by the entire membership, and the Best Foreign Language films, which are nominated by a committee of members drawn from all branches."

The naming of the statue as Oscar as always been contested. See under "Naming" in this article from Wikipedia.

Five (Semi)-Big Snubs & Other 2009 Oscar Facts - by Erik Childress

Fremont Libraries's post - 13 Children's Books made into Academy Award Winning/Nominated Films.

Have a listen to a nominated song in the Best Original Song (for a Movie) in this year's Academy Awards 82nd presentation. It is "The Weary Kind" which is the theme for "Crazy Heart". It is sung by Ryan Bingham

First Day of Autumn (known in America as Fall)

2010-03-01T07:31:00.057+10:00

Top Ten Books With a Autumn/Fall Setting

   Top 10 Autumn Trees (selected by Don Burke )

         How many words can you make out of "autumn leaves"? ? ?

           "Autumn Leaves" song.

            "Top 11 songs about Autumn"

                   "Top 10 Movie Scenes To Put You In an Autumn Mood"

Did you have a autumn/fall wedding??

I married my beautiful husband, Graeme Edward Simpkins on March 7th 1987. This picture was taken at Cook Park, Orange NSW.

A Favourite Song that I dedicated to my husband is Forever Autumn by the Moody Blues.

Clink on the link above and enjoy a beautiful, sad song!

150 Years Celebration Wallerawang Public School NSW

2010-02-20T23:26:00.026+10:00

Program of 3 days Celebrations - Fri 19th - Sun 21st Mar 2010 - here !!

Tickets for the Sesqui-Centenary Celebration Bush Dance are on sale from Thursday 18th February.

When: Saturday 20th March from 6 pm til late

Where: Delta Hall, Main Street Wallerawang

Who: Anyone 18 years and over

What: Bush Dance with the 'Blowflyz'

Light refreshments, hors d'oeuvres and bar

Cost: $45 per person (only 300 tickets available)

Tickets can be purchased at Wallerawang Public School Office (cash, money order or Eftpos accepted) or out-of-town guests can phone the School Office between 9 am and 3 pm on 02 63551210 to arrange purchase

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T09:48:00.107+10:00

Free Clip Art

Happy Valentine's Day to Everyone and I hope you are enjoying your reading!

What are your Top 10 Fiction Love Stories?

"The English Patient", "Possession" and "The Notebook" are some of my favourite fiction love stories.

Here are also some great music on the theme of "Love".

"Theme from Love Story". - Andy Williams version - composed by Frances Lai
"Lovin' You"" - Minnie Riperton
"Silly Love Songs" - Paul McCartney and Wings
"Love Story" - Taylor Swift

Mosman Readers Blog (Mosman Library)& their Ning Network have a wonderful section for Valentine's Day - Library Lovers Day on their site which asks their borrowers to fill out an online form as to why do they love their library. Library Lovers Day is a combined advocacy event organised by ALIA and PLA.

( I added a blog post on Mosman Readers Blog - have a peek at it here!! )

I spent the afternoon with my youngest daughter, Sinead and we watched the movie "Valentine's Day" at the Edge, Katoomba NSW on Valentine's Day!!! It was quite good, using a similar format as the movie "Love Actually". We give it , 8.5 hearts out of 10 !!!!

Personal Library Tools for Librarians and Customers

2010-02-09T18:17:00.002+10:00

Again, I have chosen another SlideShare presentation

from Nicole C Engard.

The library tools chosen have great use for librarians and those customers/patrons who use the Internet frequently. I have used LibraryThing but I'm taken with Shelfari because of its visual shelf display, but you be the judge. Join up with one of these social network book loving sites and have fun!

Personal Library Tools for Librarians

View more presentations from Nicole C. Engard.

Still on the topic of Mashups!

2010-02-09T18:09:00.000+10:00

Just found a good slideshare explaining Mashups. The author is Nicole C Engard who is Director of Open Source Education at ByWater Solutions in Philadelphia USA.

Library Mashups

View more presentations from Nicole C. Engard.

Revisting Mashups

2010-02-03T18:24:00.089+10:00

The above screenshot is of a mashup which won an award for excellence in mashing. This was a competition held by the Australian government last year.

It was created by Eric Auld, David Lewis, Simon Wright.

"Know Where You Live data.australia.gov.au used datasets from
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census NSW Crime Data Powerhouse Museum Collection (flickr) State Records Office NSW (flickr) State Library of New South Wales Collection (flickr)/

Know Where You Live is the prototype of a data mashup that displays a range of Australian Government data based on your geographic location along with a Google satellite map and relevant photo from the Powerhouse Museum Collection, the State Records NSW or the State Library of New South Wales collection. The initial prototype was created in under 24 hours as part of the inaugural Govhack event in Canberra in October, 2009."

Visit the competition site and see the winners and explore their mashups! Mashup Australia Winners

On an older post blogging about the International Day of People With Disability, I produced a simple mashup using zeemaps which showed a map and events which were held in our area, Lithgow NSW. In the post about the Rydal Daffodil Show, I used my daughter's mashup of her picture of daffodils using Big Huge Labs pop art app. These mashups are simple and are already set up to use compared to actually using APIs (Application Programming Interface) or Web Development Tools. Google, Twitter, Flickr, etc offer these APIs so that people can develop their own mashups.

Reading from Keen View's blog, mashups are a broad term. This blog breaks it down into these 3 areas in describing them!

" Front end mashup tools: these tools help build web front ends like dashboards using widgets/gadgets and little to no programming (iGoogle, PageFlakes)

Back end mashup tools: these tools combine web-accessible data and services into more useful web services that can be called easily using a REST-ful interface (Kapow, Yahoo pipes)

Integrated mashup tools: these tools make it easy to build end-to-end web applications that link web widgets to data and services."

I have had a go and used a back end mashup tool called Yahoo pipes.

My pipe is a clone taken from Brooklyn Public Library's pipes and I have substituted their search term with my own which is Wanglibrary's Twitter. The pipe ran successfully but now I have a encountered a problem, when you you click on the above link.

warning error fetching http://summize.com/search.atom?q=wanglibrary (420 Unknown)

Help!!!!!!!!!

So, take a look at Public libraries and new technologies blog from NSW State Library and learn more about mashups.

Wallerawang - Charles Darwin - SlideShare Presentation

2010-01-29T10:22:00.042+10:00

Slideshows, Screencasting and Digital story telling

I have decided to go over a previous post from the Public Libraries & new technologies blog which reviews technologies that libraries are using to interact with online patrons. Here is a simple Powerpoint presentation uploaded onto SlideShare sharing information about Charles Darwin and the monument that commemorates his visit to the area.

Wallerawang

View more presentations from Wangwaffle.

Australia Day

2010-01-21T20:39:00.066+10:00

As Australia Day marches around again, next Tuesday 26th January, this iconic poem stands out in everyone's mind as to the beauty of the country that is Australia !

My Country By Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1968, written in 1904)  The love of field and coppice,Of green and shaded lanes.Of ordered woods and gardensIs running in your veins,Strong love of grey-blue distanceBrown streams and soft dim skiesI know but cannot share it,My love is otherwise.
I love a sunburnt country,A land of sweeping plains,Of ragged mountain ranges,Of droughts and flooding rains.I love her far horizons,I love her jewel-sea,Her beauty and her terror -The wide brown land for me!
A stark white ring-barked forestAll tragic to the moon,The sapphire-misted mountains,The hot gold hush of noon.Green tangle of the brushes,Where lithe lianas coil,And orchids deck the tree-topsAnd ferns the warm dark soil.
Core of my heart, my country!Her pitiless blue sky,When sick at heart, around us,We see the cattle die -But then the grey clouds gather,And we can bless againThe drumming of an army,The steady, soaking rain.
Core of my heart, my country!Land of the Rainbow Gold,For flood and fire and famine,She pays us back threefold -Over the thirsty paddocks,Watch, after many days,The filmy veil of greennessThat thickens as we gaze.  An opal-hearted country,A wilful, lavish land -All you who have not loved her,You will not understand -Though earth holds many splendours,Wherever I may die,I know to what brown countryMy homing thoughts will fly.

Australia Day belongs to Us All
It is a tribute to everything that is Australian and what
is great about being Australian.

We also respect the original land owners
of this great land - the Indigenous Aboriginal people and Torres
Strait Islanders.

We take pride and honour in sharing in their culture,
which enriches our nationhood and look forward
to improving Australia into the future
together!!

Ngadhu gawambanna ngindhugir Wiradjuri garai
     (I welcome you all to Wiradjuri land)
Wallerawang is situated in Wiradjuri country which is the largest
in NSW, Australia

iGoogle Homepages

2010-01-16T08:30:00.002+10:00

Great Googling

Type:Course
Date:Wednesday 3 February 2010
Time:10.00 AM to 12.00 PM
Venue:Meet in the Macquarie Street foyer
Cost:$15, bookings essential

Learn to set up your own igoogle page with newsfeeds, calendars and gadgets. Create your own gmail account and learn to use the advanced search features of google search. This course is for more advanced users.

This past week, NSW State Library Learning 2.1 course for public library staff covered Getting organised: customised homepages and Google tools .

Below, I have taken a screenshot of my iGoogle homepage. I have had lots of fun, customising my homepage. I also learnt for the first time how to take a screenshot of a web page (Homer Simpson would have said "DOH!" - My youngest 15yr old daughter Sinead commented - "Didnt you know that the PRTSC key was used for that purpose!""Silly Mum!!!!

But if you want the experts to teach you... pop into the NSW State Library for the course mentioned above this blog post.

The Bard of Ayreshire's Birthday - Robert Burns

2010-01-10T20:59:00.014+10:00

( Image from Creative Commons Flickr )

Steve Wagner's photostream

Scottish Bagpipes, Haggis,Whisky and Robert Burns!

Ah my Bonnie Lasses and Lads! It is that time again to celebrate the birthday of the "Bard of Scotland".

Robert Burns - 25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796

In Scotland and everywhere around the world where you find Scottish nationals, festivities abound celebrating their national poet. The "Burns"Night parties consist of three basic elements: the eating of the national dish which is haggis, drinking Scottish whisky and reciting Robert Burns poems (Auld Lang Syne being a favourite).These traditions were intiated by Robbie's friends after he passed away unexpectedly at 37.

His complete works can be viewed here: - Burns Country

Below is my all time favourite by this wonderful poet.

A Red, Red Rose

[Hear Red, Red Rose] 1794

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,

That's newly sprung in June:

O my Luve's like the melodie,

That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi' the sun;

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare-thee-weel, my only Luve!

And fare-thee-weel, a while!

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho' 'twere ten thousand mile!

A Glimpse at the Decade That Was!!

2009-12-31T23:34:00.006+10:00

Santa's Letter To Wallerawang

2009-12-22T21:35:00.009+10:00

Wang Customer Snapshot 2

2009-12-20T22:53:00.005+10:00

Leonie Stevens was born in Condobolin, NSW Australia, but spent her early childhood in Wollongong. She attained her qualifications as a nursing sister in 1958. She has two lovely sons but sadly lost her husband early in their marriage.

As a single parent myself due to similar circumstances, I admire her courage and fortitude in doing all she did for her family.Since moving to Wallerawang just a few years ago from Penrith, Leonie has been active with the Red Cross, CWA 's Wallerawang/Lidsdale branch and helping out at Portland nursing home.

She loves murder/mystery books from authors such as Agatha Christie, Sandra Brown and Mary Higgins Clark to name a few! She is spellbound by Hollywood Actor, George Clooney! Her favourite movies of all time are "Pretty Woman", "Titanic"and "Ghost" (Leonie adores the theme song from Ghost which is "Ünchained Melody"" by the Righteous Brothers.)

Here is a snapshot of Leonie (Lee) along with George Clooney! Using http://www.bighugelabs.com/ .

"We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race." - Cicero

Well done, Leonie!!!!

Social Media Counter & Definition of Social Media

2009-12-15T22:07:00.004+10:00

Below is a flash application taken from Gary Hayes's post called "Gary's Social Media Count" . Showing the exponential growth of the social web.

The Definition of Social Media - Brian Solis

"1 - social media describes the online tools that people use to share content, profiles, opinions, insights, experiences, perspectives and media itself, thus facilitating conversations and interaction online between groups of people. These tools include blogs, message boards, podcasts, micro blogs, lifestreams, bookmarks, networks, communities, wikis, and vlogs.

A few prominent examples of social media applications are Wikipedia (reference), MySpace and Facebook (social networking), Twitter and Jaikue (presence apps), YouTube (video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), Upcoming (Events), Digg and Reddit (news aggregation), Flickr and Zooomr (photo sharing), Blogtv, Justin.tv, and Ustream (livecasting), Stickham, YourTrumanShow (episodic online video), Izimi and Pownce (media sharing), del.icio.us (bookmarking) and World of Warcraft (online gaming).

2 - Social Media is the democratization of content and the understanding of the role people play in the process of not only reading and disseminating information, but also how they share and create content for others to participate. It is the shift from a broadcast mechanism to a many-to-many model, rooted in a conversational format between authors and people."

"The Lovely Bones" - Book & Movie

2009-12-06T21:17:00.021+10:00

(Angel Clipart from Webweaver's Free Clipart)

The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (Angus & Robertson Book Review)

A huge bestseller in America, this is a novel about life and death, forgiveness and vengeance, memory and forgetting. 14-year-old Susie Salmon, now dead, looks down on her family and friends from heaven.

The following is a review from http://www.curledup.com/luvbones.htm

"When a book has attracted as much attention as The Lovely Bones, there's a lot of pressure for it to live up to the hype. Fortunately, Alice Sebold's gripping tale of a young girl's death is equal to the task.

The book's narrator is 14-year-old murder victim Susie Salmon. Raped and killed by her neighbor, Susie ascends to heaven, where she observes how her death has affected those around her.

Her father, who suspects the killer's identity, goes crazy with grief over the loss of his first-born, and his inability to do anything about it. Her mother, who never wanted children, withdraws from her family and into an affair. Susie's sister, Lindsey, fears the kids at school will forever define her by Susie's death, and their little brother, Buckley, struggles to understand the meaning of death.

The book is strongest in its first half, when it is part mystery and part ghost story. Susie's dad knows that their strange neighbor Mr. Harvey killed Susie, but has no proof. His obsession causes his wife to drift away, but draws him closer to his surviving daughter, who becomes similarly preoccupied. Meanwhile, Susie lives in her version of heaven, with cool swingsets and a duplex that she shares with another little girl, named Holly.

In its second half, the book becomes pure ghost story - a less moralizing version of Our Town, as Susie watches her loved ones grow older and observes the turns their lives take. Though still absorbing, this section doesn't measure up to the creepy, unsettling beauty of the first half, with Susie replaying her own murder in her mind, trying to puzzle out why it happened.

Without sounding cold, it seems that the dead's interest in the living would wane after a time. After all, Susie would have all of heaven at her disposal -- how concerned could she really be about her sister's graduation from college and engagement? Still, there's poignancy in Susie's reluctance to let her family go, which Sebold's delicately beautiful writing makes the most of . "

SMH - Spectrum "Caught between heaven and earth" - review by Stephanie Bunbury

The film excludes "the inherent horror underlying its premise...The Lovely Bones is predicated on a monstrous act of violence but the PG-rated film does not show Susie being killed or for that matter, any of Mr Harvey's other victims. This was, of course, deliberate..."

Peter Jackson wanted a film that even his young 13 yr old daughter would be able to watch!

"Ultimately....a story full of optimisim. Curiously - and, in Jackson's view, very cleverly - Sebold's account of heaven includes no religious elements at all.....ultimately uplifiting, is that it tells us that it's OK to die says Jackson..."We all love hearing that. Goodness knows whether it's true or not, but I think we all like stories that confrim that there is something else that is going to happen to us."

"Even if we cant quite get our heads around what it might look like."

International Day of People with Disability

2009-11-29T20:39:00.008+10:00

The following information on IDPwD is taken from the Australian website.

"On 3 December every year International Day of People with Disability (IDPwD) is celebrated worldwide recognising the achievements and contributions of people with disability.

IDPwD brings together people with disability and the general community and aims to:
• showcase the skills, abilities, contributions and achievements of people with disability
• promote a positive image of people with disability
• involve people with disability and the broader community in activities to celebrate and raise awareness of IDPwD. "

"In 2009 IDPwD is supported by Ms Therese Rein (Our PM's wife) as Patron, and Mr Kurt Fearnley (who recently also completed the Kokoda Trail) as official Ambassador.
As champions for IDPwD, Therese and Kurt lend their voices to promoting and encouraging support for IDPwD and the National Disability Awards."

This is what is happening in our local area: - Click on markers for details

The following is a list of some of the world's greatest poets and authors with a form of disability.

John Milton : - Became blind at 43.

Lord Byron : - Had difficulty in walking because of a club foot.

Stephen Hawking : - Has Lou Gehrigs disease and of course is in a wheel chair and speaks through a PC.

Hans Christian Anderson : - Had dyslexia.

Isaac Asimov : - suspected autisim

Christy Brown : - cerebral palsy

Colin Dexter : - diabetes

Charles Dickens : - epilepsy

Sue Townsend : - blind

H G Wells : - diabetic

White Ribbon Day 25th Nov and the Orange Prize For Fiction 09

2009-11-21T12:33:00.046+10:00

In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly declared November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) and the White Ribbon has become the symbol for the day. So buy a white ribbon at your council or libraries and support this stand.

The issue of violence against women has come into public dicussion recently with pop star Rhianna and her boyfriend Chris Brown who had assaulted her.Women experiencing domestic violence are more likely to deal with the issues themselves rather than talk to family and friends and seek outside support, due to barriers such as fear, isolation, lack of support and shame.

So on the theme of women, I have chosen to bring up the Orange Prize for Fiction shortlist female writers. The eventual winner which was announced in London back on June 3rd 2009 was Marilynne Robinson who wrote "Home".

The Orange Prize for Fiction started in 1995 when publishers and journalist realised that there were few female prize winners in prestigious literary awards like the "Man Booker" Prize Awards and they set out to counteract that imbalance.

The shortlist of female authors for this year were:-

Scottsboro                                 Ellen Feldman
The Wilderness                       Samantha Harvey
The Invention of Everything Else     Samantha Hunt
Molly Fox's Birthday                        Deirdre Madden
Home                                      Marilynne Robinson - (winner)
Burnt Shadows                             Kamila Shamsie

I have placed the following book covers in a slide with music by Hoku and her song is called "Perfect Day"! Click on speaker icon on the slide to hear the music.

This song has a soft spot in my memories shared with my three daughters back in 2001. We had just seen the teen movie "Legally Blonde" at Coffs Harbour and had bought the CD which we played in our car and we all sang to the song as we drove up the Pacific Hwy with the windows down enjoying a beautiful perfect day! My beautiful husband, Graeme was alive then (passed away heart attack at 50 in 2007) and he was so supportive and wonderful and chose to work back at home while we were enjoying summer holidays on the north coast. I miss him immenseley!

"Perfect Days" are few and far between but when we experience one with our family, friends , loved ones or by ourselves, we cherish those moments forever in our hearts and memories.

Social Media, Marketing & Public Libraries - Australian Perspective

2009-11-15T08:14:00.017+10:00

"This keynote presentation by Darren Sharp, senior consultant at Collabforge (www.collabforge.com) was delivered to the Digital Marketing Seminar on social media for public libraries. Hosted by LibMark in Melbourne on 23rd October 2009."

The challenge for public libraries in Australia is to connect with their community via social media and the foremost hurdle for public libraries, is support by their local councils.

View more documents from Darren Sharp.

"New Moon" - Book & Movie

2009-11-14T09:13:00.025+10:00

New Moon - Stephenie Myer

Book review

New Moon - Movie Trailer

'New Moon' by Stephenie Myer

Reading Group Questions

From Anna Limber, for About.com

Please note if you havent read the story, the following questions below will give away some of the story.

A “new moon” is the lunar phase when the moon is not visible to us. Why do you think the book is titled New Moon?
Do you see any good that comes out of Edward leaving?
Did Bella lead Jacob on? Was it selfish of her to continue the friendship when she knew their feelings for one another were not the same?
Why do you think Bella is the one exception to the special abilities Edward, Aro, and Jane have? Why do Alice's and Jasper's abilities work on Bella?
Do you think Jacob's hatred of Edward and the Cullens as vampires is justified, considering they don't hunt or hurt people?
How would you vote on whether or not Bella should join the Cullens as a vampire? Why?
Why does Edward insist on being married before he'll change Bella into a vampire?
Why does Edward love Bella? What role does his fierce attraction to her scent play in his love for her? Do you think Edward's love for Bella would be different if she were a vampire since her blood would hold no attraction for him?
Rate New Moon on a scale of 1 to 5."

Planet Ark's National Recycling Week - 9th to 15th Nov 09

2009-11-05T17:27:00.059+10:00

(Free animated globe & stars from http://www.amarasoftware.com/flash-animations/flash-theme-animations.htm )

Check this excerpt out from Planet Ark's website on National Recycling Week

Recycle Right ... with National Recycling Week

Join in the activities for National Recycling Week!

NRW is held on 9 - 15 November 2009.
Big Aussie Swap

* Be part of the Big Aussie Swap! Check out our 'Swap Party Guide' video, featuring Melissa Doyle, co-host of Sunrise on Seven. Find a Big Aussie Swap Party near you.

Friday File Fling

* Join thousands of people flinging their files in the Friday File Fling! Download a step-by-step guide, posters and more. Register your workplace now.

Recycle Right Quiz

* Do the Recycle Right Quiz to test your recycling knowledge and go into the draw to win a Sustainability Pack.

National Recycling Week 2009 is made possible by our Sponsors Orange Power, ‘Cartridges for Planet Ark', Australia Post, The Aluminium Can Group and Supporter Tetra Pak.

On the Find An Event site, there are no councils from the Blue Mountains, Lithgow, Mudgee, Bathurst, Orange, Wellington and Dubbo areas, participating in this campaign. The nearest council to Wallerawang offering events, will be Penrith City Council.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Book & Movie

2009-11-04T17:13:00.050+10:00

Author, Audrey Niffenegger's book, 'The Time Traveler's Wife' (American spelling -Traveler while the English spelling -Traveller) was published in the US in Sept 2003. It tells the story of a Chicago Librarian, Henry DeTamble,who has a rare genetic disorder which causes him to travel unvoluntary through time arriving naked and struggling to find the basic necessities to survive. Clare Abshire is his wife and the love of his life and at the beginning of the book, she is 20 and meets Henry who is 28 at Newberry Library. At that point she has known him for most of her life but he has never laid eyes on her before at that moment in time.

Einstein would be in his element here!... As well as Herbert George Wells!!.....also Librarians ruleeeeeeeeee!!! They time travel!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On a negative note, when the book was released here, some library patrons commented that they didnt enjoy the novel that much, due to constant jump in the timeline of the story and perhaps too many sexual scenes.

The movie based on the book is being released in Australia this week and stars 'dreamy' Aussie actor Eric Bana as Henry with the beautiful talented Rachel McAdams from 'The Notebook' as his devoted loving wife. The movie concetrates more on the wife's issues with life without her husband and therefore hopefully enriches the story line which falters in the novel.

Some blogs have commented along the same lines about this movie, that it is like "The Notebook" meets "Back to the Future" minus Nicholas Sparks and the DeLorean".

The Men Who Stare At Goats - Book & Film

2009-11-02T20:41:00.018+10:00

Jon Ronson at the beginning of his book states his inexorable view that this book is a true story!! But then who wouldnt put pass what goes on within the secret enclaves of the mighty US Military!!

The Men Who Stare At Goats - by Jon Ronson

"Revealing hilarious - and at times worrying - insights into the inner workings of the US Army, this book looks at the general who believed he could walk through walls with the correct mental attitude, and soldiers who similarly believed that they could make a goat's heart stop simply by staring at it." (Review by Angus & Roberston)

Powell's Books website review of Ronson's novel - "Ronson's investigation into the government's peculiar past doings creeps into the present — and into Iraq — it will raise goose bumps"...... "One technique involves subjecting prisoners to 24 hours of Barney the Purple Dinosaur's song, 'I Love You"

The Men Who Stare at Goats - Movie

"A serendipitous marriage of talent in which all hearts seem to beat as one, "The Men Who Stare at Goats" takes Jon Ronson's book about "the apparent madness at the heart of U.S. military intelligence" and fashions a superbly written loony-tunes satire, played by a tony cast at the top of its game. Recalling many similar pics, from "Dr. Strangelove" to "Three Kings," and the screwy so-insane-it-could-be-true illogic of "Catch-22," this is upscale liberal movie-making with a populist touch, in Coen brothers style." - Variety Review

"Julie & Julia" (My Year of Cooking Dangerously) - Book & Movie

2009-10-25T09:44:00.014+10:00

Just like "Glee" the TV series, I am bursting into song as I have won a copy of Julie & Julia from Penguin on Twitter.

PenguinBooksAus You won a copy of Julie and Julia in our little comp yesterday, congrats! Can you send me your address so I can post your book :)

The question was asked on Twitter by PenguinBooksAus, what was your favourite passed on receipe? I replied it was my beautiful husband Graeme's receipe (He died over 2 years ago) and he loved cooking and the favourite for my daughters and myself was lemon pudding!!Yum ooooooohhhhh!!!!

Not feeling well myself (recovering from ruptured right Achilles tendon and now DVT and 3 blood clots), I still managed to catch a taxi to the movies with my wonderful 15 year old daughter,Sinead and watched the inspirational movie that is based on the book by Julie Powell.

"With the humor of Bridget Jones and the vitality of Augusten Burroughs, Julie Powell recounts how she conquered every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking and saved her soul." - Barnes & Noble review.

Nora Ephron wrote the screenplay, produced and directed the movie. She has been nominated for an Oscar 3 times for screenplays such as Silkwood (1984), When Harry Met Sally (1990) and Sleepless in Seattle (1994).

It is not everyone's 'cup of tea' but it proved a hit with my daughter and myself that this movie was based on two 'true stories' that showed two women who never gave up on their goals and passion. The New York Times review of the movie ended with this conclusion!

"... an imperfect meal can still have a lot of flavor, and the pleasures offered by this movie should not be disdained. Julia Child knew what to do with a broken sauce or a half-fallen soufflé: serve it anyway, with flair and without apology. What would Julia say? What she always said: Bon appétit!"

But my favourite quote in the movie came from Julia's husband Paul Child over dinner with their friends and he turned to his wife and said this beautiful gem: -

"You are the butter to my bread, & the breath to my life" !

This movie also showed how devoted and supportive the husbands were in the lives of these women.I also loved the stars ( mentioned below ) chosen for the roles. I do felt though that the Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were superb in their roles.

Meryl Streep ( Julia Child ) ; Stanley Tucci ( Paul Child ); Amy Adams ( Julie Powell ); Chris Messina ( Eric Powell )

Wish List of New Fiction Releases

2009-10-15T20:43:00.006+10:00

Following reviews by Angus & Robertson book store online web site.

Brightest Star In The Sky - Marian Keyes

The Five Greatest Warriors - Matthew Reilly

Juliet Naked - Nick Hornby

The Complaints - Ian Rankin

The Year Of The Flood - Margaret Atwood

Wolf Hall - Hilary Mantel

On the music side of things! Click on the speaker icon in the slide to listen to a catchy tune by Keith Urban called "Kiss a Girl". I'm not normally a country and western fan but this is a"heel clicking and wave that cowboy hat, good feeling dancin song" !!! Yee-hah!!!

"Bombing Raid "on the Moon

2009-10-09T09:09:00.004+10:00

What would the "neighbours" think!!

ET, head for cover!!!!!

Here we are, with all our current technology, great scientists and our answer is to"bomb" the moon to find out if water exists!! Well it is not our answer but that of NASA and the USA government's scientific reasoning.

Our viewing of this uncalled for "event", happens tonight Friday 9th Oct at 10.31pm AEDST. It is NASA's LCROSS mission ( Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite) which will blast the lunar surface and send debris a number of kilometres into space!!

The following is an animation video but you can view it live through NASA TV or it will probably be on all the TV Channel news bulletins.

Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" and Spike Jonze's Movie Spin!

2009-10-04T14:28:00.010+10:00

Here is a review from Dymocks:

"The story of Max, who is so naughty when he wears his wolf suit that he's sent to bed without any supper. In the night, a fantastic world of forests and seas appears in Max's bedroom, and he sails away to the land where the Wild Things are and becomes their king."

ISBN 9780099408390

We have the following copy of the book and a video available.

1. Where the wild things are / story and pictures by Maurice Sendak.
Sendak, Maurcie
London : Red Fox, 2000.

Location Collection Call Number Status/Desc
Lithgow junior picture books Y SEN

2. Where the wild things are [videorecording] : and 5 other stories from the Maurice Sendak library / Maurice Sendak.
Sendak, Maurice, 1928-
Homebush, N.S.W. : Video Distributors International, 1990.
1 videocassette (VHS) (ca. 32 min.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in.
Children's circle
Watchword video ; 1.

Location Collection Call Number Status/Desc
Lithgow videos junior fiction VJF SEN* n.66

Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are" is another great children's book that Hollywood has transformed onto the "Big Screen".The movie is titled "Wild Things" and in the video clip below, Sendak talks about director Spike Jonze's perspicacious interpretation of this wonderful children's picture book. Sendak is also one of the producers along with Tom Hanks.

To view the trailer for the movie which will be released in Australia 3rd Dec 2009, click "Wild Things" which will lead you to the link on YouTube as embedding of the code for this movie into blogs, has been disabled by request from distributors.

"Fishy Tails" from Lake Wallace, Wallerawang

2009-09-30T09:55:00.016+10:00

Australian Bass

(Image Wikapedia - using Psyopaint Beta 2)

Dear Residents

Next time you take a dip into our wonderful Lake Wallace and feel something nibbling your toes!

It could be a hungry!!Australian Bass fish!!! Ahhhh...humans!!!!

Just pulling your leg!!!

Thanks to Wallerawang Central Acclimatisation Society (CAS), 6,000 Australian bass fry were released into Lake Wallace at Wallerawang.

For those who would love to fish,and want to know more about the sport, go into your library at Wallerawang, Portland or Lithgow and borrow a book or check up on the subject on our 1Hr free Internet PCs.

Taken from the Lithgow Mercury web site on Wed 30th Sept 2009

http://www.lithgowmercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/new-stock-just-for-the-anglers/1635741.aspx

"New stock just for the anglers
ALEX HICKSON
29/09/2009 8:39:00 AM
Local Acclimatisation Societies from both Lithgow and Wallerawang were on hand to oversee a release of Australian bass in Lake Lyell and Lake Wallace.
The bass fry were delivered by Ben Doolan and Debra Ballagh from DPI NSW Fisheries.
The releases are just part of what is now an annual liberation of these Australian native fish in both of these local still-waters.
About 17,000 bass fry were stocked into Lyell and while only 6000 went into Wallace.
The Wallerawang Central Acclimatisation Society (CAS) is currently fundraising to cover the cost on another 6000 fry that are expected to be delivered within the next month.
These fish have been bought using DPI’s dollar for dollar scheme.
This is the second time the Wallerawang branch of CAS has purchased Australian bass fry for Wallace.
Previously in 2004 a single liberation of 6000 bass fry proved successful with juvenile bass being caught in each subsequent year.
Consequently it is hoped that after this second purchase DPI Fisheries will fund and continue the annual stocking of bass fry into Wallace as they do Lake Lyell.
What about the trout?
The DPI Fisheries will continue current stocking program of rainbow and brown trout into all local still-waters and rivers.
The inclusion of the Australian native bass into Lake Wallace is hoped to boost the Summer fishing opportunities at this location.
History and experience has shown this dam to be a much better Winter fishery, with Summer trout fishing being the domain of only the most ardent night time fly fisher.
The bass should flourish in the warm Summer water temperatures feeding enthusiastically on the abundance of available food sources in the dam.
Lake Wallace has long been recognised by both local and visiting anglers for its heavy conditioned, hard fighting (and hard to catch)trout.
Coexistence of the two species has proved to be quite sustainable in other dams (such as lake Lyell) and it is hoped that the bass will add another facet for the anglers options plus promote the continuation of visiting anglers to the region."

The Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James)

2009-09-16T07:57:00.027+10:00

Recently local Lithgow TAFE Librarian, Gwenda Vayro returned from the famous pilgrimage route in Spain called the Camino de Santiago or commonly known as the "Way of St James".

This route has been taken by pilgrims for well over a thousand years and it was only one of three journeys that resulted in an abolition of their sins according to their Christianity beliefs.The pilgrimage finally ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostella where the apostle Saint James is believed to be buried. [It must be noted that Gwenda didnt need atonement on that pilgrimage. She has a heart of gold ! I have never known a librarian like her who constantly rises above the job requirement in giving information and guidance and care, to her TAFE students and fellow staff members and she has time to help me during my period of convalescence at home. ]

Gwenda described the journey as intensely physically- having to complete anywhere between 30 to 50 km a day but it was also spiritually and emotionally uplifting. She met various people from around the world taking that journey. Shared life stories and had wholesome village meals with them. Literally tens of thousands of Christians pilgrims and non Christians make this journey by foot, bicycle, horse and donkey. There are a number of routes that begin in other countries but all eventually end at the famous Cathedral.

The following paragraph is taken from American Pilgrims website

"Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela reached its peak during the Middle Ages and it is safe to say that it constituted a major cultural aspect of that period of history in Europe. By the 12th century, the Camino had become a rather organized affair and what is widely regarded as the world's first travel guide, the Codex Calixtinus, from around 1140, provided the would-be pilgrim with the rudiments of what he or she would need to know while en route. Book V, the famous "Liber Peregrinationis" ("Guide of the Medieval Pilgrim") would have provided practical information, while Book II, the "Book of Miracles", would surely have provided encouragement while underway. In addition, a massive infrastructure developed to support pilgrimage and, not coincidentally, to gain commercially from it. Bridges were constructed across rivers to draw pilgrims to certain cities and they prospered. Pilgrim hospices were chartered by religious orders, kings and queens and they gained favor in heaven. All manner of commercial business were established to both take advantage of and to support pilgrims. Cultures mixed, languages merged and history was affected."

In recent years, a number of fiction and other literary books have been written on the journey, eg. Paulo Coelho wrote "The Pilgrimage"; Shirley MacLaine's "The Camino"; James Michener's "Iberia" (one chapter on the topic) and funny UK Humourist Tim Moore's "Spanish Steps", "Travels with My Donkey: One Man and His Ass on a Pilgrimage to Santiago".

Gwenda hopes to go back one day, to the Camino and complete the journey as she had to shorten her original trip due to health reasons.

Top Selling Books - Dymocks Australia

2009-09-14T07:41:00.008+10:00

The Top 5 Books in Fiction (13th Sept 09 )- Dymocks
Review for No 1 & No 5 are from Angus & Roberston

1. 206 Bones - Kathy Reichs
2. Spartan Gold - Clive Cussler
3. Alex Cross's Trial - James Patterson
4. Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson
5. Siren - Tara Moss

Live Well Challenge - Lithgow City Council

2009-09-05T12:05:00.008+10:00

"The Live Well Lithgow healthy lifestyle challenge is a 12-week program that commences from Monday 7 September and runs until 29 November. The challenge varies slightly from week to week, but ultimately it is all about eating healthier foods (getting 2 fruit and 5 vegies every day) and incorporating more activity into every day.

A program of events and activities has been developed for the Lithgow area over the 12 weeks including fresh produce markets, workshops, sports club open days, celebrity walks, supermarket tours and walking groups (cause I know that you all secretly love them)!!

By signing up for the challenge, you will receive a cool bag with ‘good’ goodies such as a pedometer, a participant diary and some bits and pieces. There will be prizes awarded at the end.

You can register for the challenge now, but the kits will be available from Saturday onwards at the Healthy Lifestyle EXPO. This will be held at the Civic Ballroom at the Showground today from 10am to 2pm and should be a great day!!

We have over 30 stalls, fitness displays and Justine from Master Chef as our celebrity chef. We would love to see lots and lots of people there, so bring your family and friends!!!"

Contact

Angela Mills

Coordinator - Live Life Well in Lithgow

Lithgow City Council

PO Box 19, Lithgow NSW 2790

Tel: 02 6354 9999

Email: angela.mills@lithgow.nsw.gov.au

Magical Beauty of Daffodils at Rydal NSW

2009-08-23T09:42:00.031+10:00

Pop Art Photos of an original photo of daffodils
by Sinead Simpkins
using bighugelabs.com software

It's that time again to visit the sleepy village of Rydal NSW. Thousands of daffodils have been planted in various parks and private gardens. Come and enjoy the celebrations this year on the 12th & 13th and 19th & 20th of September 2009.

Enjoy food and refreshments in the village and purchase a $10 entry (you will be given an entry ribbon and map) fee which covers all private gardens and events. Click on this link for a brochure of "Daffodils at Rydal". You will also come across some fantastic musical performers, groups,etc at various venues on the two weekends. Local Wallerawang resident Martin Doherty and his band Roisin will appear on Sat 19th Sept at Rydal, so come and unwind in this beautiful heritage village and enjoy the beauty and ambiance and have a great time! For further information
you can contact Lithgow Tourism or Lindsay Green on (02) 6359 3237.

The first thing that comes to mind when one mentions daffodils is William Wordsworth's lovely romantic poem "The Daffodils" or mostly known as "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud".

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils,
Beside the lake, beneath the trees
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: -
A poet could not but be gay
In such a jocund company:
I gazed -and gazed -but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought.

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills
And dances with the daffodils.

Also check Peter Cundall's tip on planting daffodils from Gardening Australia 7/5/2005.

Did you know that there are thousands of daffodil varieties? Check this site on how they are categorised !

What myths, legends, omens and meanings are connected with Daffodils?

Arthur Sullivan (Gilbert & Sullivan) wrote a music piece with words from Robert Herrick called "Fair Daffodils".

The Cancer Council of New South Wales has "Daffodil Day" (this year on Fri 28th Aug 2009) as its annually fundraising event. The daffodil is the international symbol for hope, for all cancer sufferers and this event raises money for research, support services and education.

National Science Week 15-23 Aug 09

2009-08-12T11:13:00.017+10:00

It is Australia's National Science Week 15 - 23 August 2009.
There are various activities nationally and a major "Star Hunt" competition for the budding astronomers in our communities!

ANSW is in its 12th year and features hundreds of events around Australia. Also four internationally renowned scientists are touring the country giving presentations. They are:-

Megan McArthur: NASA Astronaut

Tanya Ha: Environmentalist

Scott Sampson: Palaeontologist

Lawrence Krauss: Theoretical Physicist

The National Science Week is organised by the Federal Government Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research as well as CSIRO , ABC, Australian Science Teachers Association and Shac Communication.

It is a pity that the organisers havent used all the Web 2.0 apps. Perhaps a National Science Week Blog rather than MySpace or Facebook would have had more impact online, along with Twitter.

On a cool note, why don't you register a message on the following web site, Hello From Earth.
This has been organised by COSMOS magazine in conjunction with National Science Week.

Text messages collected on this site will be transmitted to the closest Earth-like planet that might have life: Gliese 581d.

At the end of Science Week, NASA will transmit the messages using Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla.

Fantastic Mr Fox arrives in Hollywood!

2009-08-08T10:31:00.013+10:00

Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr Fox", which has delighted children and adult readers for years, has been transformed onto the "big screen"! Hollywood has brought to life a number of Dahl's novels , such as Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Witches.

"Fantastic Mr Fox" is a stop motion animation film directed by Wes Anderson renowned for his quirky films such as the Darjeeling Limited and the Royal Tenenbaums. The movie has the wonderful voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman.

Borrow the book again from your local library and enjoy Roald Dahl before seeing this movie release later on in the year, in Australia.

Planet Ark's National Tree Day

2009-08-02T14:10:00.020+10:00

Today, Sunday 2nd August is National Tree day which is sponsored by Toyota Australia and Queensland Rail. It is a day for Australians to plant native tree and shrubs and also to teach our younger generation to become future caring conservationists of this beautiful land.

Below is an extract from the National Day Tree Web Site about "Tree Trivia".

Commonwealth of "Australia's floral emblem is the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycantha).

State & Territory emblems are:

Tasmania - Blue Gum (Eucalyptus Globulus)
New South Wales - Waratah (Telopea speciosissima)
South Australia - Sturt's Desert Pea (Swainsona formosa)
Australian Capital Territory - Royal Bluebell (Wahlenbergia gloriosa)
Northern Territory - Sturt's Desert Rose (Gossypium sturtianum)
Queensland - Cooktown Orchid (Dendrobium bigibbum)
Victoria - Pink Heath (Epacris impressa)
Western Australia - Red and Green Kangaroo Paw (Anigozanthos manglesii)

Other interesting tree trivia:

Since European settlement, Australia's forest cover has been reduced from 69 million hectares to 41 million hectares.
Trees first appeared on Earth long before the dinosaurs did - about 400 million years ago.
Trees are the largest of all living things - some species can grow 100 metres tall and weigh 600 tonnes.
Trees combat the greenhouse effect and slow the effects of global warming. They soak up carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen for us to breath.
Trees help prevent soil erosion and landslides.
Car owners can plant native trees to counter the greenhouse emissions of their vehicle travel. 17 native trees over their lifetime (around 30 years) can offset the carbon emissions produced by an average year of car use, or this same amount can be offset within one year by planting 200 native trees .
Native plant habitats support a host of insects and other creatures that provide free services on which we all depend. It is estimated that one-third of our food comes from plants that rely on native pollinators!
Trees improve water quality by acting as a filter to unwanted nutrients and pesticides.
Trees can prevent soil salination and provide soil enrichment through the action of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that are found in the tree roots.
Trees have many commercial uses that include timber building materials, paper products, furniture, medicines such as aspirin and quinine and fuel for cooking & heating.
Trees produce a great range of edible fruit and nuts including apples, bananas, mangos, avocados, macadamias and Brazil nuts.
Trees provide shelter as windbreaks which increases agricultural productivity and can provide shade for homes, keeping them cool in summer.
Many trees can outlive humans, and some can live more than 1000 years. Australia's oldest tree is the King Billy Pine, found in Tasmania and estimated to be over 1200 years old!
The Wollemi Pine which is only found in Wollemi National Park near Sydney, is a "living fossil" with a heritage of over 100 million years. There are only 40 trees in the wild and they have the lowest known genetic variability of any plant species.
Eucalyptus trees are Australia's most common tree species and can grow up to 50 metres. California, South America and India have all cultivated eucalyptus trees for paper, insect repellents, chest rubs and cough drops."

Lithgow & District Community Nursery
2A Coalbrook Street

LITHGOW, 2790

Open Mondays and Fridays 8:30 to 3:30, the nursery grows tubestock from locally collected seed. Plants are available for regeneration and home planting. Phone: (02) 6353 1126. Ring for appointment.

Contact - George Cornell (02) 6353 1126 or (02) 6351 3768, and Jan Petty (02) 6353 1126 (8 to 4 Wednesdays) or Eric Mahoney at Lithgow Landcare (02) 6361 3834.

Opening of Wallerawang Branch Library

2009-08-01T12:49:00.013+10:00

The refurbished Wallerawang Branch Library was officially opened by MP Bob Debus on Tuesday 28th July 2009, thanks to the Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program from the Federal Government,which completely refurbished the previous old branch library. The improvements will notably help the community enjoy a wonderful facility.

I would like to acknowledge and give appreciation to the following people and groups for their tireless efforts, time and input into the project - Danny Oldfield, Suzanne Lollback, Matthew Johnson, Maureen Breckell, Deb McGrath,Leanne Kearney, Ally Shelton, Gordon McKay, Cameron, Sue Neubeck, Sue Millmore , Robert Lindsay,Bruce Royall, Kay Shirt, Paul Trevalyn, Carol Rogers - all Lithgow Library Staff (Scotia,Noelene,Deborah,Carol,Sharon,Michelle),Wallerawang & Lithgow outdoor depot staff (especially Al & Jack) and council staff members.

Also thanks to the wonderful community of Wallerawang and those who attended the opening. Special mention to Judy, Louise, Leonie and Eunice.

Technology Tip for today! Click on sound icon on the slide below, to hear the music clip. As to not conflict with the previous post, point your mouse cursor to the sound icon on the Apollo 11 slide and turn it off.

Apollo 11 Tribute 40th Anniversary

2009-07-22T16:25:00.019+10:00

The Apollo 11 mission was successful on July 20 1969, when Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon. "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," he said, before stepping down onto the lunar surface.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent only short period on the moon setting up experiments.Michael Collins stayed aboard the orbiting command mission module. On leaving the moon they left, a number of items (106+) including an United States flag, and a plaque that reads: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the Moon—July 1969 A.D.—We came in peace for all mankind." Another item which I thought was very moving were the commemorative medals from the astronauts who died in the Apollo 1 mission and medals from the dead Soviet cosmonauts, Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin. (In fact, Valentin Bondarenko was the first man to die in the space race, but it wasn't until 1980 that the world found out that he perished in a fire, during an endurance experiment.)

Anyway, I have produced a small slide show, acknowledgment and gratitude to NASA image archives. I then have also added music (YouTube) from the wonderful Creedence Clearwater Revival and their hit "Bad Moon Rising" which was released on May 3rd 1969.

I remember, I was in Yr 6 at St Mary's Catholic Primary school, Orange NSW and the nuns sent us home early, to watch the landing on TV that afternoon. Ahhhhh.....memories!! Ahhhhh...40 yrs on!!

Slide Show Of Before and After Reno Pics!!

2009-07-20T22:27:00.001+10:00

Hold The Press!

2009-07-12T22:32:00.005+10:00

Harry Potter is Back!!!

2009-07-08T09:40:00.009+10:00

Harry Potter is back at the movies, opening in Australia on July 15th. The latest movie is based on J K Rowling,'s sixth novel Harry Potter and the Half -Blood Prince.

Perhaps the Half Blood Prince is the second finest book of the series leading then to the ultimate, superbly written, seventh novel in the series which is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Grab Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from your nearest library and gleefully entertain your brain cells to a fantastic imaginative world of good and evil following Harry, Ron and Hermione as they battle their way to defeat their arch enemy Voldemort.

On the 8th of August 2009, the Zig Zag Railway at Lithgow is having a Wizard Express. Join in the fun and immerse yourself and the kids into the wonderful world that is Harry Potter and on the same day at Mt Tomah Botanic Gardens, there will be the Wizard's School of magic. Contact Lithgow Tourism for further details.

Wang Library Customer Snapshot

2009-07-04T19:29:00.013+10:00

Customer Snapshot

Louise Archibald hails originally from Aberdeen in Scotland. She is an avid gardener, birdwatcher, bushwalking club member and enjoys classical and folk music.

She is also a keen environmentalist and here she is, next to an example of a weed in the Wallerawang district. It is the Cotoneaster - this species is the C.lacteus.

This woody shrub weed originated from China. It is a perennial , 2-4 metres tall, hardy, fast growing,fruit are numerous, in clusters of small berries (orange to red). Seeds are spread around by fruit-eating birds. Thickets under tall trees often displacing native plant species, ruining soil and allowing more weeds to infiltrate. In controlling woody weeds, grab a general gardening book from your nearest library and read the section on two methods, one being "Cut and paint" and the other "Stem injection". Or click on the following link from "Weeds of the Blue Mountains Bushland" on various control methods.

Miles Franklin Literary Award Goes To!

2009-06-18T19:47:00.008+10:00

Goes indeed to Tim Winton and his potent novel, "Breath"!
This is Tim's 4th Miles Franklin Literary Award.

Due to his dislike for large gatherings (I can understand that!!), he wasn't there to accept his award but a prerecorded acceptance speech was shown where he brought up the serious problems that could confront Australian publishers, authors and book stores, if the Australian Productivity Commission plans to allow the "parallel importation" (Lateline 18/6/09) of overseas books into the country.

Tim Winton reads from 'Breath' from Virginia Murdoch on Vimeo.

"The Host" by Stephenie Myer

2009-06-09T15:46:00.008+10:00

The Host

Stephenie Meyer's latest venture into the adult world, is a " claytons" science fiction novel. A science fiction novel for readers that normally dont like sci-fi.

"Claytons" normally is an Australian slang term for fake or subsitute, but this novel is efficacious! The main character, Melanie Stryder is part of the human resistance against "alien invaders" somewhat similar to "Stargate" where a human is inflitrated by an "alien host".

This parasite host is called Wanderer, who eventually begins to show empathy towards her human host. A tentative relationship emerges as they seek the two loves of Melanie; her young brother Jamie and the love of her life, Jared.

"The Host" is an imaginative thriller, soft sci-fi ,romantic "package" hooking the reader at the end, into a definite sequel.

Hey Hey It's a Public Holiday on Monday

2009-06-06T21:01:00.006+10:00

(Beautiful photographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth by Annie Leibovitz)

Most of Australia ( except for Western Australia) celebrate Queen Elizabeth II's birthday on the second Monday in June. It is also the opening weekend of Australia's snow season. This holiday is celebrated in several Commonwealth countries. Most of these countries also release a Birthday Honours List.

Queen Elizabeth II's actual birthday is April 21st 1926.

(ARG! Winter Sports Cartoons animated gif - http://www.artie.com/)

Community Meeting 18th June Wallerawang Bowling Club 7.30pm

2009-06-04T15:46:00.006+10:00

COMMUNITY MEETING

There will be another attempt to hold a community meeting at the Wallerawang Bowling Club at 7:30pm on Thursday 18th June. The purpose of this meeting is to attract new members to the

ANZAC DAY MARCH

COMMITTEE

There is a need for younger members to ensure the annual march can continue as at present.

Don't be afraid to volunteer for a most worthy cause.

Contact Danny Whitty, President of the Anzac Day March Committee

Ph 02 6355 1216

Kids Gaming For Wallerawang Branch Library?

2009-06-03T14:36:00.004+10:00

Wouldnt be wonderful to have a kids gaming centre up and running at Wallerawang Branch Library! Perhaps Nintendo Australia could help us out!!

Here is a YouTube video of a setup in a public library in the USA.

Google Wave

2009-06-02T16:15:00.008+10:00

Could it out perform Twitter??
Google Wave has been created by the guys (Sydney based) behind Google Maps.
The hype has it as the "new email evolution" as well as the next collaboration tool.
A new real time communication platform!! It will be out later this year.

iPhone Apps - "Brushes"

2009-05-27T11:20:00.005+10:00

Jorge Colombo is a talented artist on a new medium!!
The iPhone has a software apps called brushes.
Here is an article from geek.com on his talent.
http://www.geek.com/articles/apple/the-new-yorker-cover-done-on-the-iphone-20090526/

Also below is a YouTube video on another piece of work from Jorge.

Here is another example of iPhone Art
Speed Painting in iPhone Brushes app-Bus urbano,by Xoan Baltar
Music:Radihead-In Rainbows

Microsoft's Interactive Table Dubbed Surface

2009-05-12T16:38:00.007+10:00

If you have seen the movie "Minority Report" and remembered how Tom Cruise pulled up information on individuals on a clear screen in front of him and then recently seen "Quantum of Solace" one of the James Bond Films where "M" pulls up information on an interactive desk ...then Microsoft have now released "Surface" and interactive table with so many infinite killer applications.

Look at at this YouTube presentation !!!

St Johns Church - Wallerawang NSW Australia

2009-05-03T21:32:00.011+10:00

St Johns Church at Wallerawang was conceived by Mrs Georgina Abbot as a memorial to her parents, Mr & Mrs James Walker & her first husband Mr. Edmund Barton.

St Johns was designed by Blacket & Son, architects and was built by George Donald who was the first mayor of Lithgow NSW and was opened on 6th November 1881 as the "Wallerowang"estate private chapel.

It was used by the Presbyterian & Anglican Churches from the outset and given to both denominations on 18th November 1952.

The Church was in use until 2000 when it was closed due to the need for repair to the bell tower. Shortly after this closure, the decision was contemplated by both Churches to sell St Johns. The public, on hearing the news of the proposal to sell, called a special community meeting on 27th March 2002 and from this meeting, "The Friends of St Johns" was formed and opposed the proposal. Fortunately, the majority of the Presbyterian Parish of Bowenfels supported "The Friends" and St Johns was retained.

The Anglicans relinquished their fifty per cent share of St Johns in 2002, selling it to The Friends. The Friends became incorporated on 22 July 2003. When repairs were completed, St Johns was re-opened on 14th May 2006 after a six year hectic campaign.

"The Friends of St Johns" and Bowenfels Presbyterian Parish are now joint owners. St Johns is a heritage listed and is a Christian non denominational Church as by Charter passed in March 2007.

Contact: Danny Whitty (President of Friends of St Johns) on +61 02 6355 1216.

The Friends of St Johns annual meeting will be held on 7th May 2009 at 7:0pm in the CWA Hall, Wallerawang. Everyone is most welcome to attend and share the interest in our beautiful piece of heritage. How fortunate we are to have this priceless piece of architecture here in Wallerawang NSW Australia.

I would like to thank Annette Hamilton from "The Friends of St Johns" for providing the above information.

Press Release

2009-04-29T11:18:00.016+10:00

What a great "stimulus package" for Wallerawang Branch Library and its residents!! Thanks to the Federal Government and Lithgow City Council

for implementing this wonderful upgrade!!

Here is the press release from the Lithgow Mercury .

Wang library benefits from Federal stimulus

28/04/2009 8:21:00 AM

Lithgow Council is to upgrade the Wallerawang Branch Library with funding from the Commonwealth Government’s Regional and Local Community Infrastructure Program
“The Wallerawang branch library is a much loved and important facility in the Wallerawang community which has sadly been showing its age,” Mayor Neville Castle said.
“The $64,000 in recently approved Commonwealth funding has, I’m pleased to say, provided the opportunity for Council to give the library a major makeover,” he said.
The upgrade will include internal and external painting, new floor coverings and installation of air-conditioning.
Council has also engaged a specialist library fit out company to completely re-design the interior fittings including shelving and furnishings.
Council will also be using this opportunity to upgrade the adjoining section of the building that many will remember as a former doctor’s surgery and credit union.
This area will be developed for after school, vacation and other activities for young people.
“The effect will, I’m sure be one that the community will be very pleased with.
“Council hopes that the upgrade of the library will be a positive step forward for the Main Street of Wallerawang.
“Over time, Council wants to work with local business and property holders to undertake further improvements to the streetscape of Wallerawang,” he said.
Preliminary work will commence on May 11 and Council expects that all work will be completed before September.
During the work, the library will be relocated across the corridor to the old credit union and will remain open with the same opening hours as usual.
To enable this temporary re-location to occur, the library will however be closed for one week from Monday May 11 until Tuesday May 19 inclusive.

Rev up the "Grey Matter"!

2009-04-20T10:58:00.009+10:00

Not all of us are act like Homer Simpson and
have a "walnut size brain" !

Perhaps all of us, including Homer, could benefit from the following interactive gaming sites.

In the Australian NetGuide for May 2009, there are some great web sites reviewed.

Of special interest are the brain training sites, so there is no need to have the latest DS Nintendo console with the brain training game (although they are a lot of fun to play !!)

So click on the following "grey matter" challenges!

Prevention

Sharp Brains

Brainmetrix

For the kids, try the following sites!

Fun Brain

Neuroscience for Kids

Brain Boosters

Mr Bean at the library

2009-04-14T11:58:00.004+10:00

Back at work and after all that rain, we need some laughter
to brighten up our day.

This is my favourite Mr Bean episode taken from YouTube.
One can imagine the havoc he could level upon any library!

Have a Happy & Safe Easter!

2009-04-10T09:47:00.006+10:00

Today is Good Friday in Australia.

All of Lithgow City Council are closed and will reopen on Tuesday 14th April. I wish all Wallerawang Branch Library regulars and visitors a Happy & Safe Easter period.

First Tuesday Book Club ABC TV

2009-04-08T11:03:00.014+10:00

I adore Jennifer Byrne who is the host of the "First Tuesday" Book Club on Australia's ABC TV.

Her exuberance ,enthusaism and vitality, flow through into your lounge room while you are watching the show and she invigorates your senses into reading their chosen books for the show whether they be well written like "Revoluntionary Road" by Richard Yates or what regular guest Marieke Hardy verbalised in somewhat negative terms about "The Private Patient" by PD James! Jennifer Byrne still finds beauty in a simple paragraph which extolls the virtue of the author's craft even though the novel itself staggers to capture anyone's imagination.

What is Web 2.0?

2009-03-29T16:39:00.005+10:00

Here is a slideshare presentation on what are Web 2.0 tools and how it effects us all. It is by Jeff Dance and it has wonderful graphic slides that are not complicated to understand but leaves us with thought provoking ideas for the ordinary person and for business.

Surfing The New Web Wave

View more presentations from Jeff Dance.

Day of Rest

2009-03-29T15:51:00.000+10:00

I am relaxing at home today but I am all excited about starting Wallerawang Branch Library Blog and what information I can share with borrowers about Web 2.0 tools as well as bringing our library into the 21st Century!!

I found this fabulously entertaining YouTube video extolling the virtues of change in public libraries. It is quite funny and was produced by an Australian guy called Andrew

Slow Saturday morning

2009-03-28T10:08:00.000+10:00

This Sat morning has been rather slow at Wallerawang Branch Library because at nearby Portland there is the 125th anniversary of Portland Central School. The fun day of celebrations began at 10:00 am with a street parade, followed by numerous festive events with dancers, bands, unveiling of a plaque and tree planting at the school. This afternoon there is the "Great Cement Bag Race" culminating with"The Ball" tonight at the Portland Community Centre.

The picture above was taken by Susan Millmore (Portland Branch Library) who has kindly allowed me to use this wonderful iconic picture of Portland Cement Works which is directly opposite the Portland Branch Library .

View Larger Map

International yearly visitors from Germany

2009-03-27T21:34:00.006+10:00

Margaret and Horst Bluemel are yearly visitors from Germany who grace our region by taking up residence for two months at Wallerawang. They visit our library regularly while staying in town.
Margaret is a radio announcer in Cologne, Germany. The radio station is equivalent to our ABC National Radio.
It is not all holiday and rest for Margaret and her husband Horst (sound & film technician) as while they are here, Margaret conducts interviews for her show. This year she has interviewed author Helen Garner , and her latest novel "The Spare Room"( other work examples are The First Stone, True Stories, Monkey Grip,etc)down in Melbourne. At Sydney before the Mardi Gras parade, Margaret had the chance to interview politician Fred Nile. Previous years Margaret has interviewed author Thomas Keneally as well as David Malouf.

Lake Wallace

2009-03-27T13:48:00.000+10:00

Lake Wallace is one of three storage dams used by Delta Electricity, the others being Thompson's Creek Dam and Lake Lyell.

Lake Wallace was constructed in 1978 and is owned by Delta Electricity. It has a surface area of 125 hectares and an average depth of 3.4 metres. It is also used for recreational sailing as well as fishing ( mainly Brown & Rainbow Trout as well as Australian Bass).

Regulars

2009-03-27T13:36:00.000+10:00

Here is a snapshot of some of my customers on the PCs at Wallerawang

New Beginnings for the Old Girl

2009-03-26T15:28:00.001+10:00

Thanks to the Federal Government, old rural libraries like Wallerawang Branch Library can have a coat of paint, tinted windows, air conditioner and fresh carpets, etc!!