Managing director of Ebono Institute and major sponsor of The Generator, Geoff Ebbs, is running against Kevin Rudd in the seat of Griffith at the next Federal election. By the expression on their faces in this candid shot it looks like a pretty dull campaign. Read on
The personal story of a cancer victim who just keeps fighint
Incredible cancer mum, Sheree McLeod, and her team raised $28,524 in the Mother’s Day Classic last year.
An annual tradition, the Mother’s Day Classic fun run and walk provides the community with a great way to celebrate Mother’s Day and raise funds for breast cancer research. See you on 11 May 2014!
Mother’s Day Classic’s overall contribution to breast cancer research since the event began in 1998 is a staggering $19.8 million, making the event Australia’s largest funder of National Breast Cancer Foundation research. In that time, 5 year survival rates for women diagnosed with breast cancer has increased to 89%. But, with research, more can be done. For more information on where your money goes, see the 2013/14 Classic Investments.
You can register for the Brisbane event this May.
There are many ways to join in the fun and be part of Australia’s biggest charity fun run. Most people will participate in the 4.5km and 8km run or walk, starting and finishing at the Cultural Forecourt, the Parklands South Bank. If running and/or walking isn’t your thing you can still join in the fun of the day by volunteering to help out.
Alternatively, you can come along and support all walkers and runners and join in the entertainment and activity taking place around the course.
If running and walking isn’t your thing you can still join in the fun of the day by volunteering to help out.
If you wish to make a stand alone donation to the Mother’s Day Classic for breast cancer research, you can do so from our website and find out more about Sheree’s fundraising efforts in 2012 and 2013 at the Mother’s Day Classic website
It’s official. The Kenmore and district Chamber of Commerce is now the CCIQ Brisbane West Chamber of Commerce.
The release from CCIQ West reads “We are excited about re-launching the Chamber with our biggest breakfast to date. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk will be joining to us at Riverglenn to present his vision for Brisbane.
“This breakfast isn’t just for members, we would love to see family, friends and colleagues as we think this is a wonderful opportunity to ask the Lord Mayor about Brisbane’s economy and future.
“This event will be a sell out, so make sure you book online soon so you get a seat. Those arriving on the day without a receipt email from their online booking will be required to wait until all pre-booked patrons with receipts have been seated”
The silly duffers forgot to provide the details with the invitation but Westender has scraped them from CCIQ West’s website and provides them here for you.
Lord Mayor Graham QuirkDate: Thursday 2oth February 2014 Time: 7:00am to 8:30am
Venue:
Riverglenn
70 Kate Street
Indooropilly QLD 4068
The Kurilpa Hall is next to the West End library on Boundary St, south of Vulture
Come along this Sunday morning, 16 February 2014, to join in the fun with this wonderful local community project.
COMMUNITY ART WORK PROJECT
When: Sunday, 16 February at 9.00am Where: in front of the Kurilpa Hall at 174 Boundary Street, West End What: about 20 concrete pipes will be painted and then will become garden beds What to bring: favourite paintbrush (if you have one), water and sun protection
Space is limited, anyone interested in participating should register with The Gabba Ward Office on Phone 3403 2165 or email thegabba.ward@ecn.net.au
Some of the cast of 12 Years as a Slave at one of the many awards
Brilliant, unrelenting, brutal. 12 Years as a Slave is sweeping the film festival and award circuit as a major film event, a classic work of art that will resound historically and redefine the relationship between reality and film. But it is almost unwatchable.
It is Django Unchained without the humour, cartoon treatment of violence or happy ending. It is Wolf Creek, Saw and the worst snuff movie you can imagine without the convenience of fiction or the comforting tropes we are used to in Hollywood film.
It is the unadorned slice of reality from one of the worst episodes of humanity’s cruelty.
In an era where the brutality of the church, the Salvation Army and the state to the children in its care have us shaking our head at the bottomless depravity of humankind, you would think we might flick past something as remote as negro slavery in the United States with just a passing thought.
Christopher Pyne would certainly prefer it that way. “of course we should recognise the mistakes that have been made in the past. But … we don’t want to beat ourselves up every day.”
As producer, Brad Pitt, has mounted a project that unflinchingly beats us up over our absolute inhumanity to those over whom we claimed dominion. It barely even discusses theissues or allows another point of view, it is simply the unbelievable reality that a nation’s wealth was built on the blood of its indentured labourers who were tortured into submission and killed when they objected.
It is a history that is common across the colonial world and Christopher Pyne’s discomfort is shared by most decendants of the imperialists who inflicted such torture on the indigenous and enslaved peoples who did the hard work of building the empires that established the riches we now enjoy.
Steve McQueen as director does not allow us to consider such issues intellectually he simply holds our nose to the whipping post. We are spattered with the blood and broken flesh, sickened by the whimpering of the whipped as they are treated by their peers afterward, and broken hearted as the raped and battered women sob for their daughters dragged into prostitution and their sons to labour as “beasts of the field”.
Because of this, it is hard to imagine anyone queuing to watch this film. It is hard to recommend that you see it. It will disturb and confront you, it will make you sick to the stomach, you will not be able to think about anything else for days.
It is not often that an almost unwatchable film lines up for awards and critical acclaim but it is happening. This is not just the sentimental awkwardness that follows films that deal with difficult issues. This is because the film is almost perfect.
When Tarantino took his distinctive touch to the same topic with Django Unchained there was criticism of the brutality, the use of the word nigger, the depiction of dogs mauling human flesh. There are no such criticisms of 12 Years as a Slave.
It is so real, so brutal, so believable there is no room to question its veracity. You cannot argue with the film, you simply have to come to terms with the history.
As education minister Christopher Pyne claims he does not want relativism to obscure the truth. Brad Pitt and Steve McQueen have crafted the perfect antidote: the unadorned truth stops the argument once and for all, dead in it’s tracks.
“Here is the reality, deal with it.”
Watch this film and weep. Or, watch this film and be filled with a consuming anger and passion to fight to find the good within us all and unseat the cruel and oppressive from their thrones.
Museum of Brisbane’s new exhibition The many lives of Moreton Bay will open tomorrow, unearthing untold stories of the epic Bay and showcasing newly discovered artefacts.
The monumental exhibition will centre around Bribie, Moreton, North Stradbroke, Peel and St Helena Islands and will include insights into the region from traditional owners the Quandamooka people, a General Manager at Port of Brisbane, a lighthouse keeper family and a resort owner, to name a few.
Situated 45 kilometres from Brisbane, Moreton Bay was once a haven for its traditional owners and became a microcosm of colonialism within just a few years of European settlement in 1824.
In the decades that followed, the region housed a prison, leper colony, whaling station and benevolent asylum. Today, the Bay is a hub of tourism and recreation, an important centre of industry and place of conservation and environmental research.
The many lives of Moreton Bay will showcase the ever-changing region and its intriguing past through a contemporary mix of social history, visual arts and multimedia, including an interactive map, video interviews, archival footage and a gallery of paintings.
The exhibition will include the amazing find of an 1878 painting, generously donated to Museum of Brisbane by Trisha Anderson. Created by a convict on St Helena Island, the painting is currently changing many assumptions about the former prison. Works by acclaimed artists such as Ian Fairweather and Ralph Wilson will also be presented.
Museum of Brisbane Director Peter Denham said as Moreton Bay had undergone endless transformations it was important to draw out its many lives and weave them together to give a balanced history.
“Very few people know the extent of the rich and diverse history of the Bay – it is not just a holiday destination or wilderness retreat, but a place of great historical significance to Brisbane,” Mr Denham said.
“In The many lives of Moreton Bay we cover all bases; we delve into topics such as Indigenous history, conservation, mining, recreation and more; and of course we look at the lives of those who endured, survived and thrived there.
“It is an incredibly powerful exhibition and I hope that it encourages people to get out to the Bay and make their own discoveries.”
The many lives of Moreton Bay will run until 12 October 2014, visit the museum website for more information.
Museum of Brisbane is open daily from 10am to 5pm on Level 3 of Brisbane City Hall. Free entry
Lower speeds allows quicker car travel time in urban areas, research shows.
Locals across Australia are being asked to join Bicycle Network’s latest campaign to introduce lower speeds in neighbourhoods where bike riders, pedestrians and drivers share the roads.
Low Speed Locals is calling on Australian bike riders and other road users to write to their local council’s Chief Executive Officer and ask for slower speed limits, or, work on streets which would slow down traffic.
Bicycle Network Chief Executive Officer Craig Richards said the Low Speed Locals campaign aimed to improve the health of local communities by encouraging people to get active on streets where the traffic was slower.
Drivers need not worry about slower travel times as research shows they can make that drive to work or school quicker because traffic flow improves.**
Slower speeds, particularly in residential areas, encourage people (especially children) to ride or walk.
“Research also shows that a key reason why people stop riding locally is because they don’t feel safe on roads where traffic speeds are high,” Mr. Richards said.
“Slower speed limits and other speed reduction measures will turn hectic suburbs into vibrant and active communities where people can ride and live happy lives.”
Mr. Richards encouraged all Australians to get involved in the campaign to help reduce speed limits and get our communities active.
“With more than half of Australians not getting the 30 minutes of daily physical activity needed there are millions of people at risk of developing a chronic disease like cancer or heart disease.
“Lowering speed limits will go a long way towards encouraging more people to get active, make bike riding a habit and improve their physical and mental health.”
