zoeclaire

May 2006

The Grapevine Group are a number of volunteers in Mackay and district, who raise funding and awareness for suicide intervention.

ACHIEVEMENTS: To date, we have sponsored 30 Mackay and district participants through the 'Living Works' suicide intervention programme presented by Lifeline Mackay - Whitsundays.

Our intention is to broaden our sponsorship to include police officers along with high school teachers and members of the Grapevine Group.

VISIT OUR WEBSITE www.grapevinegroup.org.au

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Little Britain embraces characters to whom the average Brit would label as the armpit of British society.

This racey paced show peeks into the lives of stereotypes such as the likes of felonious fowl-mouthed schoolgirl Vicky Pollard (yeh but no but yeh), Daffyd the devoted Welsh ‘homosexualist’ Bacardi-Coke sipper, and Emily Howard the unpersuasive transvestite with her strained artificial femininity.

Living in the town which should aptly have ‘grot’ somewhere in its name, lives Lou and his wheelchair-bound mate Andy who seemingly doesn’t require any physical assistance (but perhaps a trip to the markets for some knicker elastic), and a special mention to Majorie Dawes who operates a community Fat Fighters meeting whereby her constant stream of negative affirmations contributes to the general dysfunction of the British populace.

All in all Little Britain is obnoxious, politically incorrect and at times grossly inappropriate. If you find yourself giggling at this unpleasant comedy, expect a nasty taste in your mouth afterwards you wicked wicked person you.

Warm-up Quote

Social worker: All I want to know Vicky is where is your baby?
Vicky Pollard: Oh, I swapped it for a Westlife CD.
Social worker: Oh my God, how could you.
Vicky Pollard: I know, they're rubbish.

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Chinese New Year's Day in Year 2005 falls on February 9, 2005, and is the first day of the new year. The new year is known as the Year of the Rooster -Yay my year!!

There are three ways to name a Chinese year - by an animal (there are 12 animal names; so by this system, year names are re-cycled every 12 years), or by its former name.

The new year is the year of Yiyou. By this system, the Name of the Year is repeated and re-cycled every 60 years. It is Year 4702 by the Chinese calendar!

Find out what animal corresponds to your birth year. Take a look at the attributes and personality traits of your animal.

Chinese New Year, like most of the Chinese festivals, is an absoloutely fabulous experience. I miss Hong Kong so much!

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Dining 'al-desko' & the Hungry Keyboard

Lost your contact lens? Run out of paperclips?

These, plus the odd cockroach, eyelashes - real and fake, big chunks of skin, blood, rat droppings, fingernails, hair, a small diamond, and of course, food, have all been found in people's keyboards..

When was the last time you cleaned out your keyboard or office equipment? Think about it - the tight, dark crannys of your keyboard act like a vacuum - sucking in and trapping anything that falls into its dark crevices.

Dr Dowda, a Sydney-based occupational physician stated "Commonsense dictates that if you've got a piece of rotting meat or apple in your keyboard, you should clean it out. The machines are warm and act like incubators for bacteria."

And thats not all - even urine and faeces have been found on the keypads of ATM's. If you want to reduce the potential risk of catching things like Staphylococcus , roll your sleeve over your fingers before tapping on the grotty ATM keyboard, or better still, wear gloves at all times!!

How often do you munch your meals whilst sitting in your hotseat? Take a peek bewteen the keys - i'll bet you've had a hungry keyboard..

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'Perfume'
by Patrick Süskind

The journey into my current read - 'Perfume'by Patrick Süskind, has so far been strangely romantic. Patrick Süskind intoxicates the reader by hurling aroma after aroma into the pages of the book, to the point where every ink printed word seems to emit a real smell.

Patrick Suskind examines the obsession of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, the main character who posses the 'best nose in paris' yet who was born with no bodily scent of his own.

The course of his life is saturated with procuring the perfect scent that he believes will validate his existence, inevitably making him fully human.

"Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it" [p. 82].

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Finding Neverland

THE STORY: "Finding Neverland," a tale of magic and fantasy inspired by the life of James Barrie, the real-life author of the children's classic Peter Pan. Set in London in 1904, the film follows Barrie's creative journey to bring Peter Pan to life, from his first inspiration for the story up until the play's premiere at the Duke of York's Theatre - a night that will change not only Barrie's own life, but the lives of everyone close to him.

MY CRTITIQUE: A refreshing movie for the times - emotionally charged and romantic without being slushy......Johnny Depp once again was awesome...and those child actors... so charming!!

I especially loved the notion that 'Neverland' is the garden of the afterlife. The movie reduced the majority of the cinema to tears....I only wish I had watched it in my living room so I could really let it rip....!

Movies such as this are a must-see...anything that unites you to your emotions has you feeling more alive and reminds you that you are an emotional-being - something everybody needs in such a disconnected world..

HOWEVER I am prone to falling in love with any movie that makes me gush, and therefore to be fair I must say that I thought that the movie lacked enough creative depth - not enough sparkle and magic is entwined into Johnny Depps characters words or behaviours...to see more of the reality alternating with his imagination (such as the pirate scene at the cottage) could have made the movie more energetic and less plain.

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This remarkable type face was recently designed by Jeff Knowles of Research Studios

The 3D organic forms are vector-based and wiry, intricate and reflective of the creative process of design. I would love to see it up close & personal - check out Research Studios other projects.