Perth Words… exploring possibilities.

You can listen to my short story “The Two of Hearts” on Soundcloud.

The story was originally broadcast on RTÉ Radio, read by actress Catriona Ni Mhurchú.

Click on the picture to listen:

source: independent.ie

STUDIOCANAL and Werner Film Productions release the first images and a behind-the-scenes video today for Dance Academy. The much-anticipated film is an adaptation of the incredibly successful two-time Emmy nominated Australian television series of the same name.

Picking up eighteen months after the television series finale, the much-loved characters have moved on from the ups-and-downs of elite dance training at the National Academy of Dance and are living very different lives. Tara (Xenia Goodwin) was destined to become one of the top dancers of her generation but suffered a devastating injury that crippled her career. In her quest to defy the odds and make a comeback, Tara travels to New York to discover the true definition of a dream.

With all the familiar favourites from the original series and some new faces, including Nic Westaway and Miranda Otto as the Artistic Director of the National Ballet Company, Dance Academy

We are pleased to announce with YOUR generosity, we have been able to fully fund the training of Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre’s APU canine unit!

Trainer, Corlet; photo: HESC

A word to all of you from our friends at HESC:

Words cannot sufficiently express our gratitude towards Fight for Rhinos for being one of our most ardent and loyal supporters.

Fight for Rhinos generously committed to assisting with the successful care and training of our anti-poaching canines at HESC – both for the protection of our rhinos and the rangers.

I’m not accustomed to this level of praise from anyone but my husband. My professor isholding out my short story to the rest of the class, my√++ a loud red against the white paper. It’s screaming, “loved it” almost literally, because that’s what he’s written next to my grade.

“Look at the format. This is what you need to do. The heading there, in MLA. And it’s six pages, so now what? She just has to hand in four more and BOOM! she’s done with her portfolio.”

I can’t make eye contact with anyone, barely even my friends. I don’t know if I’m smilingor just red and blotchy. If I am smiling, there’s a good chance it looks arrogant and cockeyed because I can’t tell if I’m pleased or I want to vomit because I’m embarrassed. I thrive on positive encouragement. In fact, I can take nearly any criticism if…

‘How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
here will we sit and let the sounds of music
Creep in our ears; soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.’

(Shakespeare from The Merchant of Venice)

While The Akkadians slept the Moon shone down.

While The Hittites dreamed of an eternal empire the Moon set the tides a flowing.

While The Assyrians and The Phoenicians marched the Moon shone down.

While The Babylonians, The Persians and The Etruscans dreamed of eternal empires the Moon set the tides a flowing.

While The Greeks and The Romans rose and fell the Moon shone down.

While the empires of great Alexander and that of Chandragupta Mauraya rose and fell the Moon set the tides a flowing.

Look up! Look up!

It’s the same moon! The same moon!

And, looking up, we can’t help but feel the Moon looks down on…

Dear Nobel Prize Committee,

First, let me be clear that I’m not here to enter into the debate as to whether or not this year’s (current) recipient should have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Enough frantic typing has gone on about that one already. Besides, we know you make interesting choices sometimes, and we still think you’re great and that scoring a Nobel would be ace. Yes, there was that prospective Peace Prize for Barack Obama when he’d just scored the big job (I gather than was a bit like granting a new CEO options that only vest years hence if certain performance hurdles are met). And there was the Literature Prize for Churchill, best known word-wise for cracking oratory that didn’t really fit with the Peace Prize, zingers Dorothy Parker would have been proud to call her own and a five-volume bio about his ancestor that, had…