Swags for the Homeless #Australia #homeless #gifts #geekgirl

Swag

 I was really impressed to see that finally some worthwhile effort, design, technology and thought had been put into something comfortable, portable and practicle for Homeless people.

With a compelling headline of cardboard box, cement … or dignified backpack. The Swag may yet take on .. and at least serve to create some temporary comfort zone.

The statistics for homeless people are staggering, and as we draw closer to the holiday season perhaps we can all spare buying those expensive and futile gifts and give to people who really need it.

I really love these swags.

World Aids Day – Take Action. No Discrimination. #dec1 #aids #geekgirl

world aids day

Take Action. No Discrimination
World AIDS Day takes place on 1 December 2010 and this year has the theme, Take Action. No Discrimination.
The global event was established by the World Health Organization in an effort to raise public awareness about HIV issues, including the need for support and understanding for people living with HIV.

www.worldaidsday.org.au

DMT: The Spirit Molecule documentary and talk – #Melbourne #psychedelics #dimethyltryptamine #geekgirl

The Spirit Molecule flyer

Undergrowth.org and Entheogenesis Australis –  present the 2010 Spirit Molecule documentary Australian tour, with screenings along the east coast in December followed by talks with the writer/director Mitch Schultz.

The Spirit Molecule documentary
(75 mins, 2010, written & directed by Mitch Schultz)
After over 40 years of dormancy, a new psychedelic revolution has emerged.

At the nexus of this next-generation mystical revival, lies a molecule  naturally produced abundantly throughout the plant and animal  kingdoms. Regarded as the world’s most potent psychoactive compound by  scientists and psychedelic explorers alike, dimethyltryptamine (or  DMT) is also naturally produced in the human brain.

In the early 1990s, Dr. Rick Strassman conducted the first government- sanctioned, human psychedelic research with DMT. Dr. Strassman’s  research serves as the narrative backbone for The Spirit Molecule. A  documentary described as a psychedelic Baraka meets What the Bleep do  We Know, the film presents an intriguing discourse on the science of  the soul, and will undoubtedly open Pandora’s Box. By challenging  current misconceptions about this class of compounds, The Spirit  Molecule unravels fascinating parallels in neurology, quantum physics  and human spirituality.

In stylized scenes reminiscent of Rod Sterling’s Twilight Zone  bookends, Joe Rogan (Fear Factor), alongside an impressive collection  of accomplished minds and a group of Strassman’s own brave psychonauts  shepherd the audience through the great unknowns of the DMT experience… revealing the molecule’s ubiquitous nature, its role in  our culture, evolution and life itself. Stunning visualizations and highly conceptual imagery intuitively weaves a visual landscape, and a  fascinating snapshot of our understanding of consciousness today.

Could Dimethyltryptamine, a simple molecule with a complex name, hold  the key to understanding reality, consciousness and our relationship  to both?

Many who have experienced DMT profess this, and much more…http://undergrowth.org/spiritmoleculetour

With an exclusive 20-minute short film, “Surfing” by Verb Studios (Tim  Parish), narrated by Rak Razam and soundscapes by Buttons Touching,  based on the book Aya: A Shamanic Odyssey

SCREENING: MELBOURNE
Wed December 1st, 9pm to 12pm
CINEMA NOVA P: (03) 9349 5201
380 Lygon Street Carlton VIC 3053

BUY TICKETS here for this event and other Australian screenings:   http://www.showclix.com/

Tickets are AUD $23/20 concession, and advance bookings are essential. http://undergrowth.org/spiritmoleculetour

TWLOHA – To Write Love on Her Arms – Sept 25th #Australia #love #geekgirl

http://www.twloha.com.au

On the 25th of September, 2010 there will be an Australia-wide To Write Love On Her Arms Day.

What is To Write Love On Her Arms? (TWLOHA for short)

TWLOHA is a movement dedicated to helping the fight against depression, addiction, self-harm and suicide. A non-profit, non-commercial and non-religious. TWLOHA is people helping people, nothing more and nothing less.

What do I have to do?
Quite simply; write the word LOVE on your arm. That is all we ask of you. If you’d like to take a photo of it and post it to our group, we’d love that. We’d love you to tell your friends and family why you’ve written it there, and we’d love you to help them write love on their arms as well.

If you’re in Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart or Launceston and wish to get more involved, then please seek out the TWLOHA representatives in your area.

Can I get more information?
Yes you can! Check out our website at http://www.twloha.com.au/, post a comment on the wall of this event or the TWLOHA Australia group, or email support@twloha.com.au

Wanna get involved, help us out, offer your services, or be in one of the groups on the ground? Let us know and we’ll help you out.

–

The vision is the possibility that your best days are ahead.

The vision is the possibility that we’re more loved than we’ll ever know.

The vision is hope, and hope is real.

You are not alone, and this is not the end of your story.

Remember; Love is the Movement.

The Shocking Film Night! Disability Culture is out of the box… #Melbourne #geekgirl

August 26 · 6:00pm – 8:30pm
Location Ground floor, Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane Melbourne
Australia
 
Wesabi presents two films to provoke the historical/hysterical version of people with a disability:
Disability Culture Rap: http://is.gd/e9tze
Braindamadj’d: http://braind.apartment11.tv/

Also a fabulous raffle of original artwork by Wesabi’s award-winning artists.
…
Gold coin donation. Food and drink available at small cost.

For more info or to RSVP, email wesabi.group@gmail.com or phone (03) 9639-6856

This is a fundraising and hair-raising event for Wesabi, a self-advocacy and peer support group for people with an Acquired Brain Injury. Brain Injury Awareness Week is Aug 16-22, 2010.

Bike Polo #Melbourne

The Bike Polo crew have been playing in Melbourne for just over 2 years, in vacant car parks and on disused basketball courts, even under freeways.  The crew play every Tuesday evening and Sunday afternoon, basically anywhere they can find an enclosed space that’s large and flat enough.

You could say they’re at the same place skate boarders were before there were skate parks, and when people were making equipment themselves.

The Bike Polo crew make their mallets out of old ski poles and plumbing pipe and use street hockey ball and traffic cones for goals.

They ride whatever bikes that they used to get around town, but the more we play, the more we realise we’re spending more time on the court, than on the street, hours and hours at a time, and late into the night, (if we can find a place with lights).  We lower our gear ratios and seats, put protective discs on our wheels and even cut our handlebars short on one side.

Groups like the one in Melbourne have started up in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and more recently, Castlemaine and Frankston have started up too. Sometimes we play against each other.

Rights Here, Right Now Women Countdown to AIDS 2010

Vienna, Austria will host the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), the largest international meeting on HIV and AIDS from July 18 – 23, 2010.

Theme of AIDS 2010

The AIDS 2010 conference theme, Rights Here, Right Now emphasises the central importance of protecting and promoting human rights as a prerequisite to a successful response to HIV. The right to dignity and self-determination for key affected populations, to equal access to health care and life-saving prevention and treatment programmes, and the right to interventions based on evidence rather than ideology, are all incorporated in this urgent demand for action.

Rights Here, Right Now emphasises that concrete human rights measures need to be in place to protect those most vulnerable to and affected by HIV, especially women and girls, people who use drugs, migrants, prisoners, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and transgender persons.

Rights Here, Right Now also emphasises the location of the conference in Vienna, chosen in part for its proximity to Eastern Europe and Central Asia – a region experiencing one of the fastest growing epidemics that is fuelled primarily by injecting drug use. It also underscores this critical moment in time for the global epidemic – with the 2010 deadline that world leaders set for providing universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support on the immediate horizon. Rights Here, Right Now is a call for leadership, accountability and action.

The AIDS 2010 programme will present new scientific knowledge and offer many opportunities for structured dialogue on the major issues facing the global response to HIV. A variety of session types – from abstract-driven presentations to symposia, bridging sessions and plenaries – will meet the needs of various participants. Other related activities, including the Global Village, satellite meetings, exhibitions and affiliated events, will contribute to an exceptional opportunity for professional development and networking.

The AIDS 2010 website

I really dig Fred Hollows

There was always something cool about the late and great Professor Fred Hollows. So I was delighted to see his 90 second television ad has been named the world’s best not for profit television advertisement at an awards ceremony held in The Netherlands.

The Fred Hollows Foundation’s award winning advertisement has been showing on Australian television since June this year.

It features archival footage of Fred Hollows, combined with stories of people from around the world who have had their sight restored by The Fred Hollows Foundation.

It also includes music by Australian band Jet, who provided their song Shine On as a soundtrack.

To view The Fred Hollows Foundation’s winning advertisement see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2opo45uPzk

Remember 3 out of 4 people who are blind don’t have to be.

For more information go to The Fred Hollows Foundation.

Good, Clean & Fair an afternoon with Carlo Petrini founder of Slow Food

Carlo Petrini, founder of the Slow Food movement, shares his revolutionary ideas about food with Sydney International Food Festival director Joanna Savill, followed by a short question and answer session.

In what is sure to be one of the highlights of this year’s festival, Petrini will deliver a manifesto for change based on the simple principles of good, clean and fair, which he explains as follows:

“Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.”

From humble beginnings as a protest against the opening of a McDonalds near the Spanish Steps in Rome, the Slow Food movement has blossomed internationally to include over 100,000 members – including an Australian branch.

Passionate, thought-provoking and challenging, prepare to rethink the politics of your refrigerator; after spending an afternoon with Carlo Petrini, you’ll soon find yourself saving the planet – one meal at a time.

Sunday October 18 @ 2pm

BOOK on (02) 9250 7777 or online at
http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/whatson/carlopetrini.aspx

Adult: $39
*Concession: $29
Children U16: $18
*Concession available to Australian pensioners and students

Sydney Opera House
Bennelong Point, Australia

Topic for Blog Action Day 2009 is…Climate Change.

BAD press release…

We’re thrilled to announce that after receiving more than 10,000 votes from past Blog Action Day participants, the issue overwhelmingly voted as the topic for Blog Action Day 2009 is…Climate Change!

You can now register for Blog Action Day 09 by going to: www.blogactionday.org

To be a part of this year’s event, all we ask is that you commit to writing one  post, in your own voice, on October 15, on the topic of climate change.

You can learn more about the issue of climate change and see sample topics you might write about — like the connections between climate and clean energy, food choices, green products, health, transportation, and the broader economy.