Pandora's | The Pocket Road

Category: Pandora’s

The shape of the funnel – fame, integrity and new media

Cartoon by Gabriel Robinson at Ebag Pictures We have sacked the journos but we still need PR professionals and with traditional advertising following traditional media down the drain, we need more and more of them because the media (orthodox and social alike) remains the key stepping stone to achieving fame and getting through that funnel is still key and still bloody hard whether the gate-keeper is democratic and techy or old-fashioned and beholden to a media mogul.

Protected: Taiwan Camp 2015

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Protected: Taiwan Camp 2014

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Protected: Taiwan Camp 2013

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When was the last time you gave your Beloved an unexpected gift AND you had nothing to feel guilty about?

Australian Love Poems 2013 is a diverse and lovingly compiled anthology with established names like Les Murray, Judith Beveridge, Cate Kennedy, Robert Gray… and Paul Kelly (for once without musical accompaniment), and less known ones.

Melina Marchetta’s “Froi of The Exiles” Book Review

What I most like of “Froi of the Exiles” is how cleverly it is written: under the adventures' layer that keeps you glued to the page sits a kaleidoscope of stories that talk - with compassion - about refugees, war crimes, rape and brutality and the lasting effect that violence has on people. The genre is fantasy but the themes come straight from current affairs. Despite the horror of war and what war brings into people’s lives, the book is laced with the most magical of all potions: hope.

Protected: Taiwan Camp 2012

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Dave’s Wave Music Compilation

This music compilation carries Dave’s name because I pinched his surfing videos soundtracks and mixed them. Gotye contributes the first three tracks. He deservedly cleaned out this year’s ARIA awards and he just makes for a great start to my list. I owe the Cee Lo Green song to my friend Annamaria, who showed me his beautifully choreographed video; the rest is what I could find scouring the programs of a couple of US music festivals. Jovanotti features twice (both songs are from his latest album “Ora”); he is a great Italian singer songwriter and he sits - in this mix - very pretty.

Of 100-Good-Wishes Quilts, Blankets and Broomstick Horses

When I read of Ordinary Miracles & the Crazy 9’s call for 100 squares of fabric and 100 good wishes for the daughter that Nancy and her husband are in the process of adopting from China, I was immediately keen to participate. Nancy’s mum will stitch the fabric into a quilt and the wishes will be recorded and kept; isn’t that a wonderful idea for welcoming a child into one’s family?

Christmas Cards

My wonderful Christmas cards are now for sale. Order some before they are all gone!