New courses in new media – Perth or Online ( via Skype) courses small groups or 1 on 1 – using your laptop as a radio/TV studio using FREE software

Thanks to the Conservation Council of WA and it’s affiliates asking me to present a workshop recently on new media creation and networking.

After amazingly supportive feedback I’ve begun formalising half day and full day workshops for Perth newsmakers/NGOs. ( on site or at 1 of several broadband supported venues )

For indivuals or small groups  it’s possible not only to train on site, but also to do so ONLINE using Skype ( local or global )

Skype allows us to use our laptops as radio and TV studios to generate, record and webcast all types of media

here are some very useful links to free software/apps to create new media

 

Audacity (click this link to downlaod) free audio editing software for PC or Mac

Levelator free app to fix, clean up audio ( must be in either .wav or .aiff format )

 

PC free video editing software – VideoSpin 1.1

 

Screen capture for PC click here ( I use snapz pro on the MacBook)

Easy Screen Capture Video 1.0

 

If you or your group is interested, let me know by commenting here or emaling me at serve.tony@gmail.com

cheers
tony serve

Skype: perthtones Google Talk: serve.tony@gmail.com

Links to my TwitterWordPressFriendfeedYoutubeDigg

tony serve blogs New courses in new media – Perth or Online ( via Skype) courses small groups or 1 on 1 – using your laptop as a radio/TV studio using FREE software

Mental Health Minister to address noon rally, can’t say what staff cuts have & will be made – Alison Xamon MLC Media Release

Alison Xamon MLC

MEMBER FOR THE EAST METROPOLITAN REGION

P.O. BOX 104, MAYLANDS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6931
PHONE (08) 9275 7474 – FAX (08) 9275 7574

The W.A. Mental Health Minister has told Parliament he doesn’t know what cuts to staff and services have been made in his portfolio as those behind the cuts of at last 13%,Troy Buswell and Colin Barnett, talk shopping hours.
mp3 audio cut 3 lays out the spin and distraction being put out by the Premier & Treasurer and runs 20 secs

Greens MLC Alison Xamon last night asked the Minister what cuts to staff and resources had been made and what cuts are coming. The reply was to the effect that it would take “some time” to provide answers.
mp3 audio Alison on his reaction and runs 25 secs

Ms Xamon also moved an Urgency Motion, supported by the Opposition, calling on the Government to spell out its plans for the sector.
mp3 Audio Ms Xamon explaining that the Mental Health Minister has little Idea what his Premier and Treasurer have done and have planned – runs 23 secs

Organisers of the midday rally to overturn the dedly cuts say they’ve been approached by the Minister, asking if he can speak to them as they deliver a petition to the Lower House.
mp3 Audio Alison on people in the public and private sector being fed up with spin and lack of answers to urgent questions – runs 22 secs

It will be worthwhile sending reporters and cameras to the midday rally to see what happens, and to interview the Auditor General who’s due to issue a report on the prformance of the Mental Health Sector around 1pm.

mp3 audio  Alison lashing the rush to make cuts before the AG’s report is handed down, and the lack of consultation with stakeholders, staff, service providers and those who use mental health services – runs 13 secs

There will be people from public and private groups like, the HSU, WAAMH, MHC, COMIC, RUAH etc, as well as the Minister, Shadow Minister, Alison Xamon, Many of my dear 6PR listeners and Twitter friends will be there too because this is life or death for many west australians and the damage will be almost impossible to undo.

IF YOU CAN’T MAKE THE NOON RALLY

please call talkback radio TODAY ( 6PR 922 11 882 )   You can also email Colin Barnett at wa-government@dpc.wa.gov.au or  Treasurer Troy Buswell at Minister.Buswell@dpc.wa.gov.au or call the Premier’s office today on 9222 9475, Troy Buswell’s office is 9222 9111  ( contact details are from the public WA Government website )

Big Pharma’s huge profits from human suffering features in brilliant doco and awesome new novel, listen to Producer Kevin Miller and author Pamela Glasner

click the blue link for audio

Pamela Glasner & Kevin Miller talking with Tony Serve

Pamela Glasner author "Finding Emaus"

Kevin P Miller Producer of "Generation Rx "

Pamela’s Novel “Finding Emmaus” Out Oct 1 Pre-order now

Kevin Miller’s Documentary trailer – DVD available now

Australian anti terror campaign increasingly anti freedom – Senator Scott Ludlum Greens WA

Untangling the laws of terror Opinion Editorial | Spokesperson Scott Ludlam Wednesday 19th August 2009, 1:36pm in Peace & Security Terrorism Laws It’s rare to hear the phrase “war on terror” these days — it has been seemingly purged from the official lexicon as the superficial certainty of the Bush/Howard years gives way to darker and more ambiguous terrain.

“war on  freedom terror”

Image via Wikipedia

Australia is still a nation at war: one and a half thousand troops on the ground in Afghanistan, backing NATO’s installation of a brittle democracy in a violent failed state where the distinctions between friend and terrorist change by the day.

“war on  freedom terror”

But something is going on at home as well: a determined, coordinated expansion of the internal security estate that is permanently blurring the boundaries between institutions of defence, intelligence and policing.

“war on  freedom terror”

Some of the thinking is laid bare in the most recent defence white paper: a highly militarised Australia stepping up to meet the threats of nameless Asian aggressors, while an expanded web of domestic security agencies wage an unseen war against the enemy within.

“war on  freedom terror”

The forthcoming counter-terrorism white paper will no doubt provide a discrete glimpse into the workings of this secret war on terror that no longer has a name.

“war on  freedom terror”

But we have some flesh on the bones already.

We know that spy agency ASIO will have doubled in size over four years and has a half-billion dollar headquarters under construction next to the defence complex in Canberra.

“war on  freedom terror”

We know that Australians are, per capita, 23 times more likely to have their phone calls intercepted than United States citizens.

“war on  freedom terror”

We know that a tight feedback loop of mutual self interest binds Ministers, law enforcement agencies and favoured media outlets who somehow manage to have photographers and journalists in place as raids are occurring, or in a recent celebrated example have the story rolling off the presses before the doors have even been kicked in.

The most telling sign of the Rudd Government’s intentions are that every word of the Howard Government’s complex and unwieldy terror laws are still in place, nearly four years after they were forced through the Senate in one fevered afternoon.

“war on  freedom terror”

It has taken two years to get a look at the Governments’ proposed “reforms”, which arrived last week in the form of a 400 page discussion paper that looks very much as though it was rushed out the door in time to catch the aftershocks of the raids in Melbourne.

The debate since then has had a peculiarly unfocused character. The Australian editorialised that the Attorney General was softening the laws. The Fairfax media reported that the laws were being toughened up.

The Coalition accuses the Government of being “soft on terror” and “draconian” at the same time. In reality, the laws are being refined, tuned, the sharp edges knocked off and the subtle underpinnings embedded more deeply in the legal architecture that guides the work of the intelligence and law enforcement communities.

The Australian Federal Police will be able to declare an emergency and then enter premises without a warrant and conduct searches essentially free of judicial oversight. Terror offences will quietly expand to encompass racial violence and “psychological harm”.

The provisions in the Crimes Act that were used to detain Dr Mohammed Haneef for 11 days while the Government frantically worked out whether to prosecute or deport him will remain, although suspects will only be allowed to be held and interrogated without charge for an eight day week. The Government has said that this is about “achieving the right balance between strong laws that protect our safety whilst preserving the democratic rights that protect our freedoms.”

“war on  freedom terror“

It is here that the argument rests most uneasily. If these “strong laws” really were protecting our safety, they would be hard to argue with.

“war on  freedom terror“

The Australian Greens is a party founded on nonviolence. We condemn acts and threats of politically motivated violence without reservation.

“war on  freedom terror“

Image via Wikipedia

The question is whether the continued ratcheting up of the security state actually makes us safer, or whether we should be looking elsewhere for the kind of “security” that seems so fragile in this complicated age.

“war on  freedom terror“

Because they operate behind a firewall of operational secrecy, the Australian public has very little idea to what degree the rapidly proliferating acronym soup of intelligence, defence and law enforcement agencies are actually making us safer.

“war on  freedom terror“

When mistakes do spill into the public domain — as they did with Dr Haneef, Izhar Ul-Haque or Jack Thomas, they shake public confidence not just in the agencies concerned but in the whole assumption that larger and better resourced secret police are the key to a secure Australia.

“war on  your rights terror“

No doubt these agencies are staffed with talented and motivated individuals, some of them doing dangerous work to pre-empt violent crimes, their only reward the absence of some half-formed horror.

“war on  your rights terror“

But this is no reason for centuries of hard-fought legal protections drawn up to protect each of us from abuse of state power to be so casually eroded.

“war on  your rights terror“

The long-awaited reviewer of the terror laws looks like it will be a well qualified part-timer supported by two staffers in the PM’s office. I wish them well — they will barely have time to come to grips with the tangled legacy of Prime Minister Howard’s war on terror before the next tranche from Prime Minister Rudd hits the table.

Who or what we’re at war with now is an open question.

your rights and freedom are at stake support the GREENS in lobbying for a balance between fear and freedom

First published in Crikey.

How to clean up sound recording for better quality voice audio – a great and simple App free from the Conversations Network

Tips for better results from your voice recordings

It’s not easy to get decent sound quality in a recording, especially if you have a low-end microphone or there is noise affecting the audability of the voice(s)

You can dramatically improve sound quality for dodgy voice recordings with a free app called LEVELATOR.

It works for Windows Mac and Linux and you simply drag your sound file onto the Icon and the new “cleaned” audio is saved. click here for the free download

What is The Levelator™?

Do you believe in magic? You will after using The Levelator to enhance your podcast. And you’ll be amazed that it’s free, now even for commercial use.

So what is The Levelator? It’s software that runs on Windows, OS X (universal binary), or Linux (Ubuntu) that adjusts the audio levels within your podcast or other audio file for variations from one speaker to the next, for example. It’s not a compressor, normalizer or limiter although it contains all three. It’s much more than those tools, and it’s much simpler to use. The UI is dirt-simple: Drag-and-drop any WAV or AIFF file onto The Leveler’s application window, and a few moments later you’ll find a new version which just sounds better.

Police taser sets Aboriginal man on fire – ABC News Article link.

See today’s story and Op-ed below

A 36-year-old man has burst into flames after being shot by a police Taser in Western Australia.

Police say they were trying to arrest the Aboriginal man for petrol sniffing at the Goldfields Aboriginal community of Warburton yesterday when he turned violent.

To view on a PC/Mac please use this link

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/21/2631566.htm

To view on a mobile please use this link

http://m.abc.net.au/browse?page=11144&articleid=2631566&cat=Justin
from @perthtones’ iPhone

Image via Wikipedia

Op-ed – tony serve

• Police and Justice authorities in remote parts of Western Australia have a tough job dealing with violence and substance abuse in Aboriginal and mixed communities – no doubt about it.

• The tragedy is that Aboriginal people too often die because authorities like police and  justice staff are clearly not trained and equipped to deal with the issues in a humane and effective way.

• In the case above, which follows the “cooking” death of an elder in a prison van during a desert journey, it’s clear that the officer involved couldn’t put 2 and 2 together. That is;  petrol + spark = fire.

• Systemic racism has a long history here, and that plays a part, but it really is about the comfortable white folk in Perth not being moved to provide even BASIC health resources to deal with substance abuse and violence.

• Authorities can’t even provide proper health care to all here in the city – so imagine, just imagine, what it’s like in the remote desert communities where quick fix politicians visit in the wake of endless tragedies, and leave with empty promises still drying on their lips.

• A half-baked call for input on the next ten years of mental health policy is a start, but efforts to reach out and listen to traumatised Aboriginal communities are notably absent.

• If I were a Yamatji man instead of a white boy born on their land, I would have been dead 16 years ago – life expectancy for Aboriginal males is 37!

• Meanwhile 68% of juvenile prisoners in our jails are Aboriginal yet they make up less than 10% of the population.

• Let me draw a long bow now as the Uranium industry meets tomorrow in Fremantle to plan new mines and even nuclear power stations on land owned by Aborigines.

• Is the lack of political will to deliver even the most basic health services linked to the powerful mining lobby’s ongoing efforts to override the wishes and needs of traditional land owners in their quest for profit.

• See here for the most recent example of miners running roughshod over taditional landowners

• There’s no point in blaming the coppers, the miners or the state and federal Governments – it’s about our cosy apathy and on the “turning away.”

Shame on us all.  :/

Related articles by Zemanta

• Facing a Crisis, Aborigines Stage Interventions of Their Own (nytimes.com)

Nearly 9 in 10 Aussies stressed out: Lifeline ABC News Article link.

It’s time we spoke up about mental health as  a PRIORITY.

The old idea that depression affects 1 in 5 is CLEARLY under-estimating the epidemic of mental illness.

We in the media are banned from covering  suicides despite the toll being greater than road trauma, and air-time being given to dangerous quacks like “DR Death” Nietschke.

see the ABC item below for a WAKE UP call

Nearly 9 in 10 Aussies stressed out: Lifeline

Monday, July 13, 2009

Almost nine in 10 Australians are stressed and many say work is to blame, according to a national poll commissioned by Lifeline Australia.

The annual survey released today reveals 41 per cent of Australians are experiencing unhealthy levels of stress, and a whopping 87 per cent of the nation is experiencing some degree of stress.

To view on a PC/Mac please use this link

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/13/2624400.htm

To view on a mobile please use this link

http://m.abc.net.au/browse?page=11144&articleid=2624400&cat=Justin
from @perthtones’ iPhone

Related articles by Zemanta

• The Politics of Personality Disorder (themoderatevoice.com)
• Rising unemployment linked to more murders (ctv.ca)
• The Battle Against Military Suicides: One Is Too Many (abcnews.go.com)

Pamela Glasner talks about her new book Finding Emmaus, Empaths, Big Pharma and bi-polar

Click this link to listen to Pamela Glasner talking about her brilliant new book “Finding Emmaus”

Pamela Glasner

Pamela Glasner is an author, most recently having completing book one of an historically-accurate, dark fantasy series based concurrently in the 17th and 21st centuries – adult fiction, definitely not for children.

Click here for more on Pamela and her excellent work

First pics from Damien Cripps Band live on 6PR – australian rock

(

Thanks to Damien, Michael, Chris (and Jenna) for bringing live music to 6PR’s global audience – more to follow

Click here for Damien Cripps Band blog & links to audio & video

Click here to follow Damien on twitter

for Amy, Nora and all who’ll be in Chicago this weekend in the Overnight Walk for suicide prevention – see theovernight.org and support these people please

http://www.theovernight.org/

Gerry & The Pacemakers – You’ll Never Walk Alone

click here for an interview with Amy Kiel on surviving clinical depression and living with chronic pain – Amy is amazing.

Please follow Amy on twitter @abeeliever and fellow walker Nora @noralmt as they walk to remember those who died and reduce the death toll from PREVENTABLE/TREATABLE mental illness.

Amy Kiel @Abeeliever

A major way we can all help is to reduce the deadly stigma surrounding mental illness – you can do that by supporting brave people like Amy who take huge risks to speak up about their experence.

Amy & Tony talking about thriving after surviving major clinical depression

Image via CrunchBase

Here’s two people talking.

Amy Kiel @Abeeliever

Amy and Tony

22 min 22 sec  download,share,digg us,

we’re you yours !    =D

I’ll post details and links soon, including info on how anyone can record & produce quality interviews with anyone anywhere on things close to their heart.

If anyone has input on providing some visuals, slideshow,etc…we’ll youtube it.

We spoke live, Skype to phone, and the only editing I did was cutting a few seconds where we lost the link and adding a few little things for you.

To life…and the cool fools in the twitterverse =D @perthtones

My Twitter is @perthtones follow me for links to amazing folk and info

© 2009 Amy Kiel & Tony Serve    This audio is free to copy and share as long as it’s not for commercial advantage.

Brain Training, Plasticity and You – how have you changed your life by changing the way your brain works

In the last 8 years I’ve recovered from PTSD ( Clinical Depression and Anxiety ) to the stage where my health is actually better than before I became ill.

  

The three main areas that have kept me alive and then allowed me to thrive again are based on Brain Plasticity, the ability to “rewire” your own  brain. ( see the website for Norman Doidge’s inspiring book on the subject in the right sidebar of this blog )

Prescribed drugs may help some, but without proper diagnosis using fMRI it’s guesswork, and my Doctor guessed wrong – the SSRI’s made me suicidal.

The therapies/treatments that have allowed me to build new ways of thinking are neurofeedback, cognitive behaviour therapy and meditation/hypnotherapy.( see my guided imagery page – also in the right sidebar )

Since going public with my illness 8 years ago and on  talkback radio here in Perth recently I have been swamped by people struggling with depression, panic and many other challenges. Almost without exception they have received little help and only grief from the “system” of health professionals who often just hand out potentially deadly pills, even giving SSRI’s to infants!  Just last week a mate who was close to the end of his tether was told by his family doctor to “get over it” – I wonder if someone with a broken leg is told to “run away”

When I return to fill in at 6PR there are always calls from my fellow travellers battling the “black dog” and the common theme is that very few doctors, hospitals or health systems have any idea what to do in the short medium, or long term.

Anyway it’s become clear that the most reliable and effective help available comes through fellow sufferers or their devoted families and carers.

So let’s do something about that.

I am keen to work with anyone who has stories and info on recovery and resilience. I will post text audio and video here and you can make a big difference if you are able to pass on details of your journey and links to any useful sources of help or inspiration.

Clinical work on brain plasticity ( the ability to forge new neuronal pathways in the brain ) by amazing people all over the world has provided us with the means to share effective treatments for illnesses and genetic disorders such as;

depression, panic, anxiety, schizophrenia, epilepsy, autism, tourettes, closed head injury, head trauma, genetically related disability, stroke, paralysis, alzheimers, dementure, addiction, OCD, bipolar, bulemia, anorexia, fibromyalgia, body dysmorphia and more.

So please join in and contribute, especially if your story or info can help sufferers and reduce the deadly stigma that comes with brain related illness.

Please comment by clicking the button below, and you’re welcome to submit text pics, audio or video.

You’re welcome to send comments or materials by email to serve.tony@gmail.com

You can also call and leave your spoken thoughts or info on my recording service +61 8  9467 2264 – you have several minutes to speak and I’ll post the audio here for you.

Anyone can contribute, so don’t feel your input isn’t valuable because you’re ill or feel small inside, we need to hear from you and welcome questions or solutions equally.

I hope to hear from you soon… and you’re welcome to join me on my last 4 nights at 6PR midnight to dawn – that’s 882 6PR in Perth, globally at 6pr.com.au    

local time is daylight saving and it’s midnight to 0600 sat & sun, then midnight til 0500 mon & tue.

 Perth time is GMT/UTC PLUS 9 hours

Early Sunday morning I’ll have 2 teenage guests in the studio who have worked out effective ways to overcome eating disorders and depression. Join me, Travis and Alicia and about 30 thousand listeners and see if we can make a difference.

6PR Late Night Links – websites & videos on 6pr.com.au

Midnight to dawn radio lsteners in Perth ( 882 am )and  those listening online around the world                 ( at 6pr.com.au ) might find these links useful over the next 3 weeks as I fill in at the Farifax radio station.

I’ll add to the links and welcome your input – simply click on the comments link after the tags at the bottom of a story. I have yet to set up email in the studio but you can text me your number anywhere in the world and I’ll call back, SMS/text your name , country,area and phone number to +61 403 339 290

Hours related to this material are midnight to 0530 local time, 1500GMT/UTC to 2030 GMT/UTC weeknights from Dec 22 to Jan 11.

The call in number is +61 8 922 11 882  and in a pale imitation of the great NPR network ” all things are considered,” so join in and talk about anything at all, because as long as we’re respectful we can tackle anything.

Special shout outs to Paul in Alicante Spain, Gina in Phoenix, Byron in Oregon, my friends in Israel and Palestine and anyone who’s been listening but has yet to make a call.

 

Listen in in over the next night or two for a chat with Robin Chapple from FARA a global network of people concerned about the destruction of ancient rock art that preadtes the Pyramids – click here for info on the shameful neglect and corporate vandalism of the Spirit Rocks on West Australia’s Burrup Peninsula.

Now some food for our brains

fMRI – functional magnetic resonance imaging has revealed amazing brain facts

One of the greats of brain science explains the principles and amazing applications of brain plasticity – covering ageing issues, strole, mood disorders and a lot more. This video runs an hour and twenty minutes, so grab a cuppa and prepare to be inspired

 

This  Discovery Channel video is an amazing story about how our new understanding of how the brain can rebuild itself.

Meet a little girl whose illness meant half her brain had to be removed.

 

INFO on the book that has amazed, informed and inspired me more than any other in decades   *  This link will take you to info on the book ”  The BRAIN That CHANGES ITSELF “

 

Watch here as Alvaro Fernandez describes some new brain science that promises breakthroughs in treating a range of illnesses and injuries that had ’til now thought to have been something we just had to live with or die from.

Report on disability affecting Perth people from Culturally & Linguistically Diverse backgrounds – by Systemic Advocate Zeliha Iscel from West Australia’s Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre on her weekly programme “Ethnic Ability”

Click the audio link below for a report and interviews from West Australian advocate Zeliha Iscel from EDAC.org.au

zeliha-iscel-on-ethnic-ability

more audio from a remarkable 2 years of broadcasting and advocacy

http://www.edac.org.au/radio6eba.html

Zel is now also working with Australia’s national Ethnic Disability group – more on that and a new dedicated blog to follow.

” I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. ” Helen Keller

Please leave a comment – a tip for those new to blog reading

Please don’t be put off by the words “no comment” at the end of a post  - that just means none have been posted yet.

Just click that link ( “no comment” or “comment” ) and type your thoughts, including websites, blogs or other info & resources you think appropriate or useful.

This blog will be richer for your input, and you don’t have to be of like mind to contribute as all respectful views are valuable.

and finally, it’s almost exam time for my students at the University of Notre Dame in Fremantle and I look like being back at ND next year, so any input of ideas and resources for students studying radio and broadcast journalism would be welcome.

cheers    tony

abc radio story on the abilities of “disabled” people

Thanks to all the 6PR listeners ( 6pr.com.au ) who’ve visited after sharing the night with me – you are an awesome group of people.

Those advocating for people with a disability may be interested in a great piece from the abc’s “the world today” programme today http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2008/s2413311.htm

It echoes the amazing work done by Perth’s own Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre (EDAC)

in providing training and opportuinities to make short films ( some of which have garnered awards! )

see http://www.edac.org.au/vicinityfc.html

Also, I was lucky enough to work with EDAC Systemic Advocate ( and friend) Zeliha Iscel, who has just taken up a new post with the National Advocacy group, on a programme to teach radio presentation skills to disabled people from an Culturally or Ethnically Diverse background.

see http://www.edac.org.au/pdf/Empowerment08.pdf

By the way, having dealt with PTSD/Depression these p[ast 8 years and being the son of a refugee, I am actually in the same cohort as those I’ve been teaching and advocating for – if not me then who?

And let’s remember that mental health issues are part of the disability spectrum, so that includes the many new australians left traumatised by their life experience before coming downunder, and they need our help.

Please  feel free to leave a comment or share stories info and contacts to aid the growing advocacy push for some of the most disadvantaged people in our community.

I welcome all input and links/subscriptions and look forward to making a difference in the post-Bush era.

 

cheers

tony

talkback radio – a story on Australia’s ABC

Listener and friend Eric Carwardine was good enough to share this article on talkback radio, enjoy

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2410940.htm#transcript

Record “phone” interviews outside the studio

I’ve been using Skype and Call Recorder on my Macbook for quite a while now to record phone interviews for radio and the web.

The interview in the sidebar with Lyn Mahboub was recorded that way and broadcast on 882 6PR.

Professionals, amateurs, students and geeks can all do the same whether on a Mac or a PC.

PC users can use the free Pamela software on the Skype website which also ha s alot of cool features.

I’ll post more on this later including some howto info in text and when time permits I’ll use snapz pro to record a tute. There are some videos out there, so please share if you’ve found some good ones.

I’m filling in for Chris Ilsley on air at 882-6PR hosting talkback ( 6pr.com.au for streaming audio ) from midnight tonight thursday ’til 0500 friday Perth time ( UTC + 9hrs )

You can call from anywhere in the world on +61 8 922 11 882 and as there’s no producer overnight I’ll answer it myself.  For those outside australia or on expensive mobile plans I am able to take your number and call you back – so please join in or just listen.

The overnight listeners here in Perth are an amazing group and all the other stations are on pre-recorded material, so we’re the only live game in town

I just fill in these days and will be back on deck there just before christmas for a bit of a stretch, keeping the good folk company.

Nothing’s taboo as long as you’re respectful – so join in.

By the way, my friend and former student Iain Fraser has been good enough to subscribe to his old buddy’s blog – great to be back in contact mate

And thanks to friend and colleague Zeliha Iscel from the radio programme ” Ethnic Ability” who sparked my interest in blogging with some questions 3 days ago. We’ll be working together on a blog to advocate for our peers and I’ll post details here as we build it.  check out ethnic ability audio at;

http://edac.org.au/radio6eba.html

I’m also very keen to link up with other bloggers advocating for a better approach to treating depression, panic and anxiety – hassle me anytime.  ( for a free 20 minute guided imagery track visit; http://serve.tony.googlepages.com/guidedimagery   )

cya tomorrow & goodnight

What do Muay Thai kickboxing, the Australian P.M. and Photojournalist Chris Gillham have in common? They all feature in my test posts of audio, video and still pics below :)

I was asked to check out blogging services by my friends at West Australia’s Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre and found wordpress was the best in all objective reviews.

I have only been working the blog since monday, but I’m mightily impressed with it.  Look forward to a variety of posts and media, polls and some amazing opportunities to collaberate with others on very cool and much needed “people” stuff.

This Quicktime movie is a slideshow of some iPhone pics from ringside at a great Muay Thai Tournament I co-compered with Chris Korner for promoter Phon Martdee.

I just used iPhoto and the Ken Burns effect in slideshow, the music is guitar mixed with loops in Garage Band

done

The audio below is from my fill-in shift on Perth’s radio 882-6PR in drive-time with soon-to-be Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the delightful newslady is Nicole Bailey.  ( I’m filling in late nights over summer, on from midnight perth time thursday/fri am 6pr.com.au for streaming )

Australian PM Kevin Rudd reads headlines on 6PR pre-election

The Pics are by photographer, journalist, webmaster and long-suffering friend Chris Gillham ( click the link in the sidebar to see more of his amazing pics and other work on his excellent site )

© scribeworks

Iguazu Falls ©scribeworks

Social networking & social justice

You don’t have to be a geek to be inspired by new science.

Recently Australia’s ABC screened “Kevin Bacon Cures Cancer” – an inspiring look at how the urban myth of 6 degrees of separation has evolved into the exciting new field of “Network” science.

The math and human aspects of the story/science are intriguing and promise much for the future, especially in curing diseases like cancer and protecting or enhancing other networks such as the web, power grids and there’s even an application for the US as it tries to penetrate or destroy terrorist organisations.

Don’t worry if you missed the telecast – here’s the link

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/documentaries/interactive/futuremakers/ep4/

Speaking of networks, I’m calling for collaberators on a series of projects to produce resources for community and other NGO groups such as  radio and TV Public Service announcements to reduce the stigma of mental illness and raise awareness for a range of humans whose voices are often ignored.

I’m also keen to publish audio & video on a range of medical and mental health conditions especially for people outside big urban areas who often miss out on support and self help programmes in the big city.

Perth people can access excellent help from the NGO connectgroups ( for whom I conduct free media and web workshops ) and they need help developing resources for people outside the urban hub.
visit connectgroups at; http://www.connectgroups.org.au/

I’m also working with Zel ISCEL and the team at the Ethnic Disability Advocacy Centre  ( EDAC ) on some valuable education programmes and her excellent radio programme ” Ethnic Ability. ”

visit http://www.edac.org.au/ and click on the “radio” button for archived programmes.

Finally for now – anyone who works with recording speech may be delighted with a a free programme called “Levelator” which really makes a huge difference to the quality of recorded interviews and monologues.

visit   http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator

and for iPhone geeks like me – you can now record broadcast quality aiff files and transfer to your Mac or PC with the iPhone app and syncing app available free at

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/italk