Queer Fruits Film Festival #queer #geekgirl

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**Early Bird Entries Close: March 31**
[www.queerfruitsfilmfestival.org]()

The international Queer Fruits Film Festival wants your fabulous film. Whether it’s innovative or entertaining, intelligent or celebratory, a short or feature film send it to them now! To be eligible to enter QFFF, the film must be either by or about GLBTIQ persons, themes, or issues, that are relevant, recognisable, or of interest to the GLBTIQ community. Films from queer filmmakers and films with queer themes.

Emerging or Established queer filmmakers are equally welcome to enter.

MUFF 12: Melbourne Underground Film Festival #muff #geekgirl

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**Entries Close: June 15**
[www.muff.com.au]()

Your favourite trouble making Independent Australian Film Festival is back to cause fresh headlines and make waves in 2011. MUFF has survived criticism, condemnation, censorship, public outrage, Police Raids, stalkers and yet is still miraculously standing (a little wobbly granted) and back for more trouble in ’11. You know you love it!

Japanese manufactures ‘net’ for space junk #spacetravel #geekgirl

Japan’s JAXA space agency, is apparently working with a fishing net manufacturer to make a steel wire net for collecting space junk floating in orbit around the earth. The net will be several kilometers wide and after a “catch” of junk is made, it will be electrified by an attached control box, causing the whole mess to fall back to earth and be burned up upon re-entry. JAXA is still some years away from making anything solid from the project, but needless to say, the roughly 320,000 pieces of junk exceeding 1cm in diameter and in orbit at the moment is causing some risks to space travelers and someone needs to clear it. Clean-tech takes on a new dimension. (Source: http://on.msnbc.com/gnjjKX )

Ada Initiative launches to promote women in open technology and culture #opensource #adainitiative

Open source activists Valerie Aurora and Mary Gardiner announce the launch of the Ada Initiative (http://adainitiative.org/), a not-for-profit organization to promote women’s participation in open technology and culture.

Open technology and culture, including open source software, open content, and related communities, suffer from a dearth of women at all levels.  ”Open technology and culture are shaping our future and must reflect all people.  Involving more women in the creation of our
future is a critical step in building a healthy Internet world,” says Mitchell Baker, chair of the Mozilla Foundation.  The Ada Initiative will concentrate on focused, direct action programs, including recruitment and training for women, education for community members, and working with corporations and projects to improve their outreach to women.

The Ada Initiative’s first sponsor is Linux Australia (http://linux.org.au/), which promotes the development of free and open source software. Sponsorship funds will allow the Ada Initiative to retain expert staff to focus on major projects which are beyond the capacity of purely volunteer organizations.  The Ada Initiative is currently seeking additional partner organizations and sponsors.

About the Ada Initiative

The Ada Initiative is a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing participation of women in open technology and culture, which includes open source software, Wikipedia and other open data, and open social media.  Co-founders Mary Gardiner and Valerie Aurora each have 10 years of experience in open source software, open social media, and women in computing activism.  The Ada Initiative is advised by a team of experts from open technology and culture fields including open source software, open government, Wikipedia, hacker culture, social media, remix and fan culture, and online activism.

Pets Haven Benefit Gig: #partyanimals #fundraiser #Melbourne #geekgirl

pets-haven

FEB 25th, 2011
PETS HAVEN BENEFIT GIG
NOISE BAR BRUNSWICK, MELBOURNE
DOORS OPEN 8PM
$10 ENTRY
18+

FEATURING :
CHINATOWN ANGELS
CYCLONE DIABLO
THE COMMITTAL
THE GREY FILE

ROCK N ROLL CAKE STALL AND RAFFLE DRAW ON THE NIGHT!!
RAFFLE TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE NIGHT $2.00 PER TICKET OR
3 FOR $5.00

DRAW #1
1st Prize Beserk Clothing pack
2nd Prize Delice Soap pack
3rd Prize Kittycat Black Rockabilly Jewelery

DRAW #2
1st Prize (male) metal merch pack (Soundworks touring)
1st Prize (female) metal merch pack (soundworks touring)
2nd Prize metal music pack (CDs, cassettes, merch etc)

DRAW #3
1st Prize Tattoo voucher courtesy of Down to Earth Tattoos
2nd Prize voucher for Mr. Nice Guy vegan cupcakes
3rd Prize DVD prize pack (over 25 titles)

For information on pets haven http://www.petshaven.com.au/

Digitise The Dawn: help the NLA digitise the first Australian newspaper to be run by women. #feminism #geekgirl

Digitise the Dawn

Donna Benjamin has started a campaign to raise funds to give the National Library of Australia so that they will Digitise the
first Australian newspaper to be run by women.

Louisa Lawson founded The Dawn: A Journal for Australian Women in 1888 and ran it for 17 years.  She was a pivotal figure in winning women the right to vote in Australia, and her publication played a key role in the struggle for women’s suffrage.

Donna discovered The Dawn is not yet online whilst doing research for her talk she gave at this year’s Haecksen miniconf. She contacted the library to find out if / when they might intend to add it to the Trove collection at http://trove.nla.gov.au

A brief email exchange with the Director of the digitisation project spurred her to try and raise the relatively small amount needed to see this happen.

After initially setting up a chipin, she has now set up a website with a direct paypal donate button – but will also accept direct deposits, cheques and money orders.

Even more than your money – Donna would appreciate all of us  helping to spread the word. Louisa Lawson is one of our founding feminists – and The Dawn trumpeted the charge.
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Digitise The Dawn
Raising funds to digitise Louisa Lawson’s Journal for Australian Women
http://digitisethedawn.org
http://twitter.com/digitisethedawn

Out the Window: capture Los Angeles in two minutes #freewaves #riders #LA #geekgirl

OUT THE WINDOW
http://www.freewavesopencall.org/

What do you know about Los Angeles?   Want to share your knowledge on TV?

Submission deadline  March 1, 2011
Freewaves is seeking two-minute artists-activists-storytellers’  videos about places in Los Angeles (home, street, hood) to show to I million riders per day on all 2,200 Metro buses in L.A. County in June  and September-October, 2011. On Transit TV we will show animations,  documentaries, narratives and experimental videos about, by and in Los  Angeles.

Entry Form

Victory for PETA against Lipton tea #animalrights #hooray #geekgirl

More than 40,000 people worldwide took action against the makers of Lipton tea and after representatives from PETA and affiliates in India and Europe flew to London to meet with Unilever–the world’s largest tea maker including the Lipton and PG tips brands–the company has agreed to end all non-required animal testing for their teas and tea-based beverages worldwide.

http://www2.peta.org/site/R?i=vUebjww9v4d26IN3Ad5O2A..

With this victory, the suffering of animals for Lipton and PG tips teas ends. The company behind Lipton tea cut holes into rats’ intestines and fed them tea ingredients through a tube in their throats; infected piglets with E. coli toxin and cut their intestines apart while they were still alive; killed mice by suffocating them and breaking their necks; cut off rabbits’ heads; and conducted other cruel tests that involved tormenting and killing animals simply to study the health effects of its tea products and ingredients. Not one of the experiments that the company conducted was legally required for beverage makers, and regulators have stated that animal tests are not required to prove a health claim about a food or beverage product.

Thanks to all who called, e-mailed, and boycotted Lipton tea products!

Please take a moment to thank Lipton for its prompt and compassionate decision by e-mailing the company using its contact form.

http://www2.peta.org/site/R?i=0Q8eZ7FIqvXTmlZ0Y3zJBw..

Want to be in the Queer Animal Liberation NSW float in Mardi Gras Parade?

Mardi Gras – March 5.

THIS EVENT IS FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE IN THE FLOAT, NOT JUST WATCHING IT!

Queer Animal Liberation NSW’s application into the Mardi Gras Parade 2011 has been accepted. Theme is ‘We as queers agree, set the chickens free’. The aim is to highlight the plight of battery hens. Float entry will be upbeat and fun, but with a serious message.

Queer Animal Liberation NSW (QALNSW) was formed last year by queer journalist Katrina Fox as… a loose coalition of queer animal rights advocates. Queer is used in this context as a very broad umbrella term to cover all sexuality, sex and/or gender diverse identities, including but not limited to gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, trans, intersex, transsexual, transgendered, androgynous, and without sex and/or gender identity.

Animal Liberation NSW has kindly agreed to be our financial supporter and sponsor, providing assistance, venue and admin/organising support to co-ordinate costume-making, float building etc.

Queer animal libbers and their straight allies are invited to take part in QALNSW’s float. Please note there is a $12 participation fee to be paid in advance to cover costs.

If you want to take part, please EMAIL LYNDA STONER at lynda@animal-lib.org.au as she is co-ordinating the list for us. You can state you are attending here on FB but please ALSO email Lynda to make sure you are on the list and to receive important info and updates. Places are limited so get in quick.

Saturday, March 5 · 5:00pm – 11:00pm