Tall Story

Web Child - Web Child | Goodbye, Dolly

2012-02-06T19:26:00.000-08:00

Web Child - Web Child Goodbye, Dolly

A fitting end for a childhood friend?

Winded

2011-12-12T04:01:00.000-08:00

exercises in children's fiction

I climb up the wooden ladder, gripping the timber with my fingers and avoiding the bendy nails which hold the planks to the tree and threaten to tear holes in the palm of my hands.

True, it is a bit too wet to be playing outside but Keith and Catherine are over and I need to show them our Flying Fox. Out of all my friends only Penny King has one and hers is very saggy and slow.

Keith and Catherine are a bit unsure about it, but I’m sure they’ll have a go once they see how it’s pretty much the same as flying.

I am at the top now, standing high amongst the blossoms of the peppermint gum, the wet grass far below. I reach for the handlebar (as we called it). Both hands tighten around the length of broom handle, slimy from the rain. Looking across the yard, I smile at them all – Mum, my brother, Keith, Catherine and their mother Helen. With a big “Yahoo!” I take the leap of faith and swing out, the rope gliding through the pulley.

But Wait! No! Yikes! My hands have slipped. I can’t hold on and with a CRACK I’m falling, falling, flat on my back on the damp muddy earth.

No. Nothing. I can’t breathe. Everyone rushes over to join me, I see them in the corners of my eyes. I hear them talking jibberish, nothing’s making sense. I…can’t…breathe.

I stumble to my feet. There is a big hurt in my chest, I can’t make the air go in. Mum pulls me in towards her, I push her away. It’s like suffocation and it seems like minutes pass before I can get my breath back, although I guess it’s only seconds. It’s the first time I’ve been winded.

Has Pippa Middleton used up her 15 minutes?

2011-11-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

In all honesty, it doesn't get much better than having 45 million or so people admiring one's buttocks, does it?

But has fame already peaked for Pippa Middleton? Is it all down hill from here?

I choked on my toast at a cafe this morning when I saw the headline in this week's Woman's Day. Dumped Pippa Breaks Down.

Poor Pippa. From the dizzying heights of global admiration in April this year as she outshone her sister at the Royal Wedding, to teary eyed snaps of a broken lover captured by a heartless photographer. Boyfriend Alex Loudon has apparently called it off.

On the flip side, half of the population (but not the half that reads the Woman's Day) could interpret the break up as cause for celebration - even if only in imaginations. A look around found articles and posts like one on news.com.au titled 'Pippa Middleton is back on the market, boys!'

I don't know how Pippa dealt with the former glory, to be honest. Maybe 'glory' is too strong a word.

I just checked out pippasass.com, an online tribute to...well, it's pretty obvious. It wasn't glorious, it wasn't even cheeky - just a bit creepy. Did this attention make Pippa feel preyed upon, I wonder? Was she perhaps embarassed, or even humiliated being talked about the way she was?

Pippa has something of a reputation as an attention seeker, but so far the attention has been centred on her appearance, social circle or party planning work. How about a bit of substance, Pippa? Show us what you are made of; extend yourself, teach us something, give us something else to remember you by.

dockets and disposability

2011-11-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

Things stop working, and we get used to it.

DVD players are a classic example (well, 'classic' may be a premature use of this adjective). But can I ask you - who doesn't have a broken DVD player at home some where? Tracey came over for tea this morning (as my coffee machine is still broken - I take full responsibility for that one though). She has four broken DVD players currently. My eyes widened, but I reckon I could equal that, let's see -

A Tevion from Aldi that just refuses to read disks anymore (no longer under warranty and not really worth fixing I imagine)
A Soniq portable from JB Hi Fi that lasted about 3 months before it began to play dead
A combined video/dvd passed down from my grandmother that will not, sadly, become a family heirloom
and a Sony gifted from my brother when he moved in with his fiance and they consolidated electrical items (thanks Luke and Viv)

Sadly when our house was struck by lightening last year we lost the Sony through no fault of its own. Home and contents insurance got us another one which, touch wood with rubber soled shoes, is still going strong.

I found the warranty booklet and receipt for the Soniq yesterday (while looking for a docket for an Aldi microscope which doesn't work, along with one for a new Aldi kettle that freakishly turns itself off and on as it pleases).

The yet-another-disposable-piece-of-electronic-crap is a relatively new category of merchandise that has emerged in the past 30 years or so along with the notion of inbuilt obsolescence.

I'd grown accustomed to cheap, short term thrills and no longer expected quality and longevity. The 'hassle' of returning something outweighed the disappointment. Wealthy or not, none of us should be expected to throw our money away on dodgy goods and false promises.

How many times does a broken DVD player make it back to the manufacturer? My guess is not nearly enough. The docket I found showed the Soniq was still under warranty, so I phoned the help number. I strained into the earpiece and was pretty sure the guy was telling me to take it back to the retailer, so I called JB HiFi to check they were thinking along the same lines. JB HiFi gave me a full credit and I chipped in another $20 and bought an LG instead. I didn't ask Pat from JB HiFi how many Soniq portables had come back for burial - but they no longer stock that model, so that's a telling clue.

Graham, a friend of a friend, is always fastidious about keeping dockets, and will return an item whenever it fails. I think he bought a vacuum cleaner once with a three year warranty, and had it replaced when its motor blew two years on, then had that one replaced two years on when it similarly failed, and so on. And I think now, well why the hell not?

My daughter, for whom the Soniq was a Christmas present last year, once again has her own little portable piece of movie magic. A better outcome than just being told repeatedly 'sorry mate, it's broken'. But I'm definitely keeping the docket.

Post Halloween Sugar High??

2011-11-05T03:29:00.000-07:00

Lollies are great on special occasions. The problem is, almost every weekend seems to be a special occasion!

http://www.webchild.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4113:lolly-overload&catid=19:stories&Itemid=185

2011-10-21T22:58:00.000-07:00

How to...

Order the Perfect Babycino

It would appear to be a simple drink to make but according to parent and once-upon-a-time barista Heidi McElnea, five key features determine whether this drink is a success or a total mess.

http://www.webchild.com.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4070:order-the-perfect-babycino&catid=938:how-to&Itemid=337

Bumper sticker vignette

2011-10-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Stopped at lights today, I had plenty of time to study the rear end of the car in front. The car itself was a late model Mercedes SUV, but it was the sticker in the rear window that snagged my attention.
It was one of those ubiquitous "my family" series, which spells out in stick figure how many offspring the car owner has produced, whether they own a pony or two, even down a couple of guinea pigs (I've wondered how often these need to be updated? Is it best practice to cut off the picture of Fluffy after you've buried him?).
This particular example was a bit different. There was a cat, a girl (ie skirt and pigtails), a woman with a briefcase and in the spot where one might expect a 'father figure', a note read Position Vacant.
I'm not sure whether it was a one off - or whether there are others like it. But I marveled at the boldness of the driver, and this modern vignette.

http://www.tallstory.com.au/

Book Review - Idolising Children

2011-09-26T03:07:00.000-07:00

Idolising Children

Daniel Donahoo

New South

$29.95

Review by Heidi McElnea

Stoneman's Bookrooms in Castlemaine, Central Victoria, hosted on Saturday the launch of Daniel Donahoo's Idolising Children.

Father of two Donahoo has also gained experience working in various roles within the Early Childhood sector. In his book, Donahoo deconstructs many popular ideas about childhood and assesses the usefulness of these to our understanding of, and interaction with, children. Parents but also policy makers, media representatives, social workers and community members are welcomed into this discussion.

While some readers may bristle at the implications of Donahoo's suggestions, by avoiding a sensationalised delivery, he curbs any cause for offence. With an amicable and encouraging tone, Donahoo offers reassurance to anxious parents caught up in the pressures of raising children.

Donahoo perceives that present day childhood in Australia is idolised as a sort of 'blink and you miss it, never to be repeated' opportunity within one's life. It is characterised by its otherness, where innocence and perfection are aspired to: in other words, it is also doomed to failure. As a result, children are seen as vulnerable and in need of protection and are in many instances prevented from taking appropriate risks, or making their own decisions.

Donahoo presents a case for helping children equip themselves with skills to navigate through life's pitfalls and not to be hindered from learning valuable lessons which help develop a more capable and adjusted adult.

Rather than support a position on censorship strategies, Donahoo also brings into focus the need for children to become active interpreters of the media around them. The media is also drawn into the spotlight for the role it plays in perpetuating, if not designing, the idolisation of childhood. For childhood viewed in this golden light is a desirable and marketable notion. This image also serves to feed the fear frenzy surrounding parenting in an age of an over abundance of parenting manuals, and a culture quick to blame parents for perceived inadequacies. Parents are charged with either doing too little or too much, Donahoo perceives. Perhaps by purchasing more for your children, advertisers add, some of this anxiety can be dissipated.

Idolising Children is a vessel in which the author floats ideas, rather than launches strategies with specific detail. Donahoo's aim is to slow us in our tracks, press us to consider issues which we may routinely dismiss due to their confrontational nature, and continue along our course, our co-ordinates perhaps slightly adjusted.

While Donahoo's references to popular culture keep his discussion grounded in our contemporary mainstream, he invites us to take a break from the rhetoric which can disable our freedom in thinking. A holiday we could all use.
http://www.tallstory.com.au/

Profile - Nicole Hopkinson

2011-09-20T05:19:00.000-07:00

Personal profile of an entrepreneur (by Tall Story)

Modest and coy in the profile she posts for an online course with the Sydney Writers’ Centre, Nicole Hopkinson leaves many questions unanswered. We peek beneath her veil of secrecy.

It’s after midnight and the lights go on in Hopkinson’s one bedroom apartment. The elegant 38 year old awakes. Across the road from Melbourne’s shadowy Parliament House, her flat is a hive of activity.

Despite having had two books published and having ‘dabbled… in magazines’, Hopkinson does not yet consider herself ‘a real writer’, a status she hopes one day may change. Currently she works full time in a ‘totally unrelated field’. Again there is no further elaboration.

What lies behind this veil of secrecy? A career with ASIO? A terrorist plot? Is she preparing for the graveyard shift in a laneway sex shop?

Back at Hopkinson’s flat, inspiration has hit and it’s time to get writing. Working through the night with only Melbourne’s architectural dignitary for company, Hopkinson’s fingers clatter across the keys.

“My working life is complicated,” she finally reveals. “I am juggling a number of seemingly unrelated things.”

Part of Hopkinson’s working life is as a specialist writer on online shopping. She has a website (www.theglobalshopper.com.au) and has published The Global Shopper and The Global Shopper 2.

A huge online shopper, Hopkinson’s friends always sought her advice and encouraged her to put it into a book. She pitched the idea to a Melbourne based publisher, and

The Global Shopper was born in 2006. In 2007 the rights were sold to an American publisher for a US version. A follow up Australian version appeared in 2008.

While Hopkinson enjoys shopping around the world, she wouldn’t trade her Melbourne home.

“I love living right in the city. I don't drive so I am a big walker. I love the energy and being surrounded by trams and lots of great cafes.”

Born and bred in Melbourne, Hopkinson feels fortunate to still live close to her family, with whom she also enjoys a professional working relationship.

Since 1992 Hopkinson has worked full-time in a specialist liquor licensing practice with her father.

“We act for a range of hospitality businesses in obtaining liquor licences in Victoria. I do write in this job, but it’s very dry, legal stuff,” she says.

With her sister Samantha and best friend Cameron, Hopkinson developed a paper goods/stationery company, www.bluebirdpapergoods.com.au. Recently the trio visited New York for the New York Stationery Fair.

The trip allowed Hopkinson to indulge another one of her secret passions: historic architecture. New York architecture is right up there in Hopkinson’s list, along with the grand old buildings in her CBD neighbourhood.

In September 2008, Good Weekend magazine interviewed Hopkinson for the segment ‘Favourite things’. On her list was a photograph of ‘Winfield’, the old Woolworth Mansion in Long Island, which is now falling into ruin.

“You wouldn’t believe how much feedback I got, emails coming from everywhere; the house sparked so much interest in people.”

“I would love to write more about my passions,” Hopkinson admits. “That feedback gave me the hope that there just might be a market for it.”

For now, there will be day jobs. In between, in the wee small hours, there will be scribing. Hopkinson’s only witnesses to this are the stately old buildings she loves.