A Golden Ticket to meet Tim Burton at ACMI #Melbourne

**Deadline: Friday May 21**
[www.acmi.net.au](http://www.acmi.net.au/burton_tour_guide.htm)

Direct from New York’s **Museum of Modern Art**, the exhibition ‘Tim Burton’ is presented as part of Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2010 from June 24 at ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image). The exhibition explores the full scale of Burton’s career, as director, concept artist illustrator and photographer, through hundreds of artworks that spectacularly illuminate the creative vision behind films such as **Beetlejuice**, **Batman**, **Edward Scissorhands**, **Charlie and the Chocolate Factory**, and **Alice in Wonderland**.

The Australian Centre for the Moving Images – Tim Burton Tour Guide - opportunity is open to under 18′s across Australia. Applications must come in the form of 3 minute videos.

Successful applicants will meet Tim Burton, be inducted by ACMI staff, hear from curators about how he created his art and films, and then take the public on a tour of the exhibition on at least one occasion.

ACMI Screen Events Manager, Helen Simondson, says that applicants should be inventive but also remember that if successful they will have to hold a tour of the exhibition. We want young people to get creative and display enthusiasm and confidence, but we also want them to remember that the best tour guides are informative, interesting and able to speak well on their subject, said Helen. We need to see that you have the skills to be a fantastic tour guide, Knowledge of Tim Burton’s art and films is essential and so, to help budding tour guides, ACMI has supplied a fact sheet of resources on its website.

The application form is available online and must be submitted complete with a link to the YouTube location of the 3 minute application video. It is important both applicants and their parent or guardian read the Application Guidelines before applying. Key in these is that applicants and their guardians must be available to meet Tim Burton in the week commencing Monday June 22 and conduct at least one tour. Each tour will be designed by ACMI staff in consultation with the successful applicant. Successful applicants will take part in a voluntary capacity.

Don’t forget Women of Letters – curated by Marieke Hardy & Michaela McGuire – March 28th – Melbourne

Bella Union in Trades Hall, Melbourne, Sunday March 28th, 2.30pm

Also raising money for Victorian animal rescue shelter Edgar’s Mission

The first of what will be a monthly event, Sunday will bring together five of Melbourne’s snappiest writers, musicians, politicians and comedians, in celebration of the beautiful lost art of letter-writing.

Angie Hart, Black Text publisher Caro Cooper, the Green Guide’s Lorelei Vashti, Myf Warhurst and Judith Lucy will each read a letter they penned to “The Night I’d Rather Forget.”

Musical interludes by local djs (including The Town Bikes’ Gabby) will keep you amused, and attendees are encouraged to pen short notes to the Women of Letters themselves, which will then be used by Michaela McGuire as points of discussion in a free-wheeling panel chat.

Tickets $10, available at the door.

Happy Ada Lovelace Day Gurls #adalovelace #polynomial #geekgirl

Ada Lovelace the Legend

Ada Lovelace was born Ada Byron in 1815. Though she never met him, Ada was the daughter of the poet Lord Byron.

In 1833 (when she was only 17), Ada met Charles Babbage, the inventor of the Difference Engine. They became lifelong friends, and later, scientific collaborators.

In 1835, Ada married William King, who subsequently inherited a noble title, whereupon Ada became “Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace.”

Babbage enlisted the Countess’s help in translating the memoir of an Italian mathematician, (Bernoulli) and in the process Ada produced copious notes of Babbage’s Difference Engine. It is for these documents, simply titled “Notes,” that she remains famous today (although probably less so than she deserves). Although she is credited as the “founder of scientific computing,” I would also argue that Ada was the first technical writer.

Ada Lovelace died of cancer in 1852.

Cited: Dunechaser

Australian Geek Rockers – Heartbreak Club – are International Songwriting finalists

‘Fail with style’ at Youth Week Sydney/Newcastle/Melbourne’s (yep, spread over three cities!) hardest working independent geek rock outfit Heartbreak Club (HBC) have just been announced as finalists in the Rock category of the International Songwriting Competition, judged by Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, Robert Smith (The Cure) and more!

(Other finalists include Aussies such as Eskimo Joe, The Living End, and Children Collide). In a tenuous segue, HBC will also test new material from their upcoming album “Our Horse Is Dead” on all ages crowds for Youth Week, notably the Sounds Loud Festival at Moonee Ponds w/ Bluejuice, Calling All Cars, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Behind Crimson Eyes, Hungry Kids of Hungary at more!

To record the album, HBC reunited with US Producer Ed Rose (worked with Soundwave favourites Motion City Soundtrack and The Get Up Kids) who was joined by Australian engineer Matt Voigt (The Killers, Midnight Oil, The Living End) at the helm. The album will be released in May 2010 coinciding with the single ‘Truth or Consequences’. Abandoning somewhat the ‘teen angst parody’ of their EP’s, the band promises the new album to be ‘unapologetically melodic; adopting a brutally honest, confessional, darker, grittier and grungier tone’, with the band noting their 90′s influences of Weezer’, Regurgitator, Blink 182 and Nirvana. They are, however, still geeks. “We’re definitely taking a step to the left of field with the album”, says singer Teddy Hernandez. “Whilst happy with our previous two releases, many people did not realise the music was a satire”. Still maintaining a socially satirical edge, the new album is a critique of “male narcissism, shallow sexuality, obsession,” and, wait for it… “impotence”.

Editor’s note: faints> how geeky!

U P C O M I N G S H O W S :

Friday March 26 @ Manly Youth Centre, Manly NSW w/ Town Hall Steps, Static Silhouettes, Aplonea, and Standing Silence

Sunday April 11 @ SOUNDS LOUD FESTIVAL, Moonee Ponds VIC , w/ Bluejuice, Calling All Cars, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Behind Crimson Eyes etc.

Saturday Aprill 17 @ QUEANFEST, Quenabeyan NSW w/ Super Best Friends, Steady the Fall, + 10 more! Saturday April 17 @ The Phoenix (18+), Canberra ACT w/ Rubix Cuba and Steady the Fall

I M P O R T A N T I N F O : Recorded new album in with Ed Rose (Motion City Soundtrack, The Get Up Kids) and engineer Matt Voigt (The Killers, The Living End, Midnight Oil) at Sing Sing Studios, Melbourne. Released in May 2010 First single ‘Are You Leaving Me?’ on Triple J’s ‘short.fast.loud’, Nova (nights) and Triple M accompanied by 9-weeks of national and regional touring. Recorded EP ‘O Tempora! O Mores!’ with US producer Ed Rose (Motion City Soundtrack, The Get Up Kids) and engineer Anthony The (The Vines, Youth Group); Heartbreak Club released ‘O Tempora! O Mores!’ nationally on Oct 25 2009 (Goodman & Hart / Amphead)

LINK to music: www.myspace.com/heartbreakclub – New tracks available if requested Www.heartbreakclub.org

My Celebrity Look-alikes #geekgirl

Ada Lovelace Day, March 24 #geekgirl

Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging (videologging, podcasting, comic drawing etc.!) to draw attention to the achievements of women in technology and science.

Women’s contributions often go unacknowledged, their innovations seldom mentioned, their faces rarely recognised. We want you to tell the world about these unsung heroines, whatever they do. It doesn’t matter how new or old your blog is, what gender you are, what language you blog in, or what you normally blog about – everyone is invited. Just sign the pledge at Finding Ada and publish your blog post any time on Wednesday 24th March 2010.

Who was Ada Lovelace?

Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace (10 December 1815 – 27 November 1852), born Augusta Ada Byron, was an English writer chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage‘s early mechanical general-purpose computer, the analytical engine. Her notes on the engine include what is recognized as the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine; as such she is often regarded as the world’s first computer programmer.

Find Your Tribe (and 9 other things I wish I’d known in high school) by Rebecca Sparrow #geekgirl #gurls

FIND YOUR TRIBE

High school handed best-selling author, Rebecca Sparrow, some of her most crushing moments:
• No-one invited her to her Year 12 formal
• Despite playing netball since she was nine, she wasn’t even selected for the C-Grade netball team
• She was kicked out of ‘Advanced Maths’ and made to do ‘Maths in Society’
• And – as if all that wasn’t bad enough – thanks to her permed hair she spent her teenage years looking like a cross between Jon Bon Jovi and Tootsie

And yet, Rebecca is one of those rare people who claims to have loved (nearly) every minute of her high school days. The question is – HOW?

In Find Your Tribe, Rebecca outlines the 10 key lessons she believes make the difference to not just surviving, but enjoying, those years, including – finding your tribe (your true friends), trusting your intuition, learning to be resilient, having a positive body image, coping with the pressure of school work, the importance of giving back to the community, the dangers of binge drinking and the delicate issue of young love … making this irresistible and invaluable reading for every teenage girl.

In 2003, Rebecca was asked to write a letter to a friend’s daughter before she started high school – to share some advice on what she thought her friend’s daughter needed to know to survive those joyful but often brutal years. This letter was the seed for her latest book, Find Your Tribe (and 9 other things I wish I’d known in high school), a witty, warm and wise roadmap for girls navigating their high school years.

Following the success of her first book, The Girl Most Likely, Rebecca started receiving emails from hundreds of high school girls around the country seeking advice about how to survive their teenage years. As a result, she provides motivational talks to countless numbers of high school girls on the topics covered in Find Your Tribe and she has twice spoken at the National Young Leaders Convention.

Highly engaging, relevant and inspiring, with a few memorable photos here and there of the author, Find Your Tribe is the little black book for every teenage girl … and a must read for every parent too.

Published by UQP / 1 March 2010 / RRP: $14.95 / Non-fiction paperback
ISBN: 978 0 7022 3772 0

Women of Letters – Melbourne’s news literary event curated by Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire #geekgirl

Women of Letters, Melbourne’s newest literary event, is an afternoon that celebrates a diverse range of strong female talent whilst simultaneously raising funds for Victorian animal rescue shelter, Edgar’s Mission. Women of Letters will be held at Bella Union in Trades Hall on Sunday, March 28, 2010 beginning at 2.30 pm.

Curated by Age writers Marieke Hardy and Michaela McGuire, this monthly occasion will bring together five of Melbourne’s best and brightest writers, musicians, politicians and comedians in celebration of the beautiful lost art of letter-writing. 

The afternoon will bring the traditionally private endeavour of letter writing into the public arena, seeing each woman address the topic with their unique blend of insight, humour, lewdness and warmth.

The inaugural March Women of Letters will see musician Angie Hart, Black Text publisher Caro Cooper, the Green Guide’s Lorelei Vashti, television’s Myf Warhurst and respected comedian Judith Lucy each reading a letter they have penned to “The Night I’d Rather Forget.”
 
A rotating roster of the city’s finest musicians and DJ’s will provide a musical interlude, during which time the audience are encouraged to indulge in some letter writing for themselves.

Stamps and envelopes will be provided, and in the spirit of participation attendees are further encouraged to pen short notes to Women of Letters themselves. Michaela McGuire will then use these points of discussion as the basis of a free-wheeling panel chat to conclude the afternoon.

Tickets are just $10 and available at the door – Sunday March 28 at 2.30 pm at Bella Union, Trades Hall, corner of Victoria & Lygon Streets, Carlton South, Melbourne.

Edgars Mission

Robert Forster at PolyEster Books #Melbourne

Robert Forster  will be in Melbourne for a gig but here’s your opportunity to see him up close and personal at PolyEster Books; between 1-2pm on Wednesday 10th March, 2010. Robert will be signing copies of his new book The Ten Rules of Rock and Roll.

Best known as the founder member of the Go-Betweens with Grant McLennan, Robert has released 5 solo albums and reguarly writes for The Monthly and other publications. This promises to be a stimulating lunch hour at PolyEster Books.

Polyester Books
330 Brunswick St
Fitzroy VIC 3065
Tel 03 94195223
http://www.polyester.com.au/

#DJ Spooky Live Performance, March 5th, #Melbourne

Experimenta, Open Channel, Shed 4, Stable and RBMA Radio present:

DJ SPOOKY, THE NAURU ELEGIES

As part of the Nauru Elegies, DJ Spooky will give an exclusive live performance in Melbourne’s iconic Docklands warehouse, Shed 4. Composed by Paul D. Miller (aka. DJ Spooky), the performance reflects colonial and postcolonial issues facing the digital economy of the 21st century translated by DJ Spooky and a string quartet.

Tickets on sale now, $25, $20 concession + booking fee:
http://www.moshtix.com.au/event.aspx?id=34591&ref=Shed4

Friday 5 March, 8pm
Shed 4, North Wharf Road, Docklands, Melbourne

http://www.djspooky.com/