There is no shortage of people stating with confidence that climate change is real and that, unless we act quickly and decisively, the world is headed for a disaster from which we cannot recover. On the other hand, it is not at all hard to find those who resist that view, either sceptically (claiming that […]
When I started learning Esperanto in 1970, online courses did not exist. To learn a language, you either learnt face-to-face from a teacher or used a book (perhaps with an accompanying vinyl record for pronunciation). Because I had no idea where to find someone who could teach, or even speak, Esperanto, I learnt from a […]
Beyond individual ability, drawing holds benefits accessible by all who are willing to see anew Every week, a group of adults varying in age and background meets at the building “Kincumber Village School of Arts” on the central coast, north of Sydney. They gather to practise the skill of life drawing: to sketch the human […]
I discovered recently that “Esperanto-English-Esperanto Dictionary”, de John C Wells, is available on Google Play And it works on my iPad offline! 🙂 A lot more convenient than carting around the physical book.
I have just been re-reading an excellent book by Justin Paton (curator of contemporary art at the Art Gallery of NSW), “How to look at a painting”. Near the end of the book, he gives some very useful advice in ten points, which I would like to share with you. 1. Respect the thing. 2. […]
Today, as I was remembering my dear friend, the artist Robin Norling, who died in January this year, I rediscovered the text of a wall panel that he and Jocelyn Maughan had prepared for their gallery a few years ago. I liked it so much I decided to post an edited version of it here. […]
I found out about this book several years ago (and even then it was not new), but I first looked at a copy only a month ago. This review was written for those who wonder whether it is worth recommending, and for those who already know it but maybe interested in the opinion of others. […]
I’ve been re-reading a book, “What Makes Us Tick?” by Hugh Mackay (Hachette, 2010). Here are a few favourite quotes from chapter 4, “The desire to connect”: “The Russian literary critic, Viktor Shklovsky, wrote that ‘art exists that one might recover the sensations of life; it exists to make one feel things, to make the […]
My choir, Jubila Singers, sang a beautiful lullaby in Esperanto during a performance on 13 September, although I’m the only member who speaks Esperanto. It’s title is “Sweet Wind”. Download (Switch to the Esperanto version to read the lyrics.) Music by Joseph Barnby. Thanks to Alan Bishop for providing the score. Thanks to Christine Lindsay […]
The program for the World Esperanto Congress in Lille has been published but, unfortunately, the “Congress Theme” sessions lack details. So, I want to announce that “Congress Theme 2” (Monday, 11:15–13:45) will include two lectures by Franz-Georg Rössler – about architecture (towers) and music – and a lecture by me. Mine will be “Art-appreciation for […]
