herstory - a contemporary tale...

i worked yesterday so was looking forward to a quiet sunday morning to just ease into a lazy day - me and the gang had the place to ourselves last night and so far today it's just been us, so how else would we spend it but quietly relaxing!!!!... but alas, 'quiet' is not to be had around st kilda apparently... i was 'rudely awoken' this morning around 7 am by fucking helicopters buzzing and hovering overhead - it's after 10 now and they're still there - the noise is deafening... i'm pissed off - so's shadow (he's not going outside) and allie is already deaf or she'd be 'freaking out' - noise pollution to the max!!!!

i'd had plans to read today - but it's soooooo hard to concentrate with such surround sound noise - so i did a bit of 'surfing' to discover it's the great australian run today and it's being televised - far out, the residents of port phillip have to deal with a lot of disruption over spring and summer - cycling, running, car racing, festivals - and as part and parcel of these 'activities' there are planes, jets and helicopters - so many road closures and re-routing of public transport, so much noise, so many tourists...

but i guess because of the cacophony i've immersed myself in cyberspace and discovered an interesting event just over the yarra - an 'herstoric' occasion...

the women's circus turned 18 this year... their aim is 'to inspire and empower through contemporary circus', with a "strong focus on creating a safe, supportive and stimulating environment in which participants can extend their skills, build confidence and have fun, and in presenting engaging, high quality public performances of social relevance."

"The Women’s Circus began as a project of Footscray Community Arts Centre in 1991. In 2003, the Women’s Circus became an incorporated, non-profit organisation and remained at Footscray until relocating to the Drill Hall in West Footscray in September 2006." you can read more here... or just have a wander around their website...

if you've got some time between now and december 6, you might like to check out "Herstory", their major production for 2009 at the Living Museum of the West, Pipemakers Park on the Maribyrnong River - which, according to an article on onlymelbourne.com.au "will take the audience on a wild ride from the Circus’ own birth to her coming of age" - sounds grouse!!!!

or maybe you've always wanted to run away and 'join the circus'??!!

oooh, it appears the noise has abated, so now i might just try and get into my read of the moment...

'the fire' by Katherine Neville... i just 'happened' upon this when i was doin' some shelving at work... it was released in 2008 - it's the sequel to a book i read over 20 years ago(!!!) - "the eight" - one of the most memorable novels i've read... part historical fiction, part medieval mystery, it's an action packed thriller, a tale full of suspense - it has two storylines set centuries apart, spanning from 1790 to 1972 - the fates of both major characters - Mireille, a novice nun at montglane abbey at the time of the french revolution, and Cat Velis, computer expert and 'dabbler' in mathematics and chess - are intertwined as they both try to unravel the mystery behind the montglane chess service, purported to have once belonged to charlemagne, a gift from the moors - a chess set that holds the key to a game of unlimited power... interested??? sorry, not giving anymore away except to say it's rivetting and well worth the read - and having only read a couple of chapters of 'the fire' so far - there's more suspense, cryptic riddles, secret societies (the carbonari) and 'players' such as shelley, byron and keats - a tapestry of historical references - it certainly holds the promise of a worthy sequel!!!!

and later on today i might watch "the puppy mill" - "a documentary that explores the domestication of dogs and how our demand for the ultimate family pet has led to increasingly inhumane treatment" - i received my copy only 3 days after ordering it online (see my last post 'how much is that doggie in the window') so my day is sorted - no doubt it will be a heart-wrenching film to watch and the tears will flow...