Culture.gov.au

This is the header of culture.gov.au, the Australian culture and recreation portal.    What's it for?

The Culture and Recreation Portal provides access to online services and information in the fields of culture and recreation, from all levels of government and the non-government sector. It is an initiative of the Australian Government Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts.

Categorised links in a bunch of different categories, a search engine and more.  Worth a look.  There's also a free monthly e-newsletter to which you can subscribe.

Updates: Black Google and Twilight film

Thanks to a couple of commenters - here's some additional info.

There are apparently a number of versions of black google around, and Cleanblack is one that allows you to play a little with colours.

Twilight film release date: with the Harry Potter film pushed by the distributors from a November 2008 release to a July 2009 release (to be a 'tentpole summer film' or some such - but the fans are squealing as you may well imagine), the distributors of Twilight have jumped into this convenient 'hole' and have moved the US release date for the Twilight film from December to 21 November 2008.  At the moment the Australian release date appears to be the same as it has been thus far, 9 January 2009: but perhaps the HP change will have a knock-on effect here too.  The Internet Movie Database (imdb) page is usually a reliable source of release date info (although it hasn't yet caught up with the Twilight change, it will).  Twilight's imdb page is here, with worldwide release dates.

"The Coolest of the Cool"

Commercial websites will often offer freebies to attract visitors and thus custom.  Borders.com, for instance, has a bunch of essays, such as bestselling author Sherrilyn Kenyon's essay on paranormal fiction, The Coolest of the Cool.

I understand why readers can't get enough of this genre with characters who defy death and conquer beasts and whatever else might stand in the way of their happy ending. What's not to love? They party all night, sleep all day, and aren't subject to the laws of humans. These characters are the baddest of the bad and the coolest of the cool.

Links to more free material here.

Book Week 2008 - CBCA winners

Just announced today, the winners of the Children's Book Council of Australia Awards in 2008 are here if you'd like a printable version including publishers AND LOTS OF CAPITAL LETTERS.

And here, below.  (With fewer capital letters.)

Older Readers Book of the Year 2008

NOTE: Some of these books may be for mature readers

Winner: Sonya Hartnett, The Ghost's Child
Honour: John Heffernan, Marty's Shadow
Honour: David Metzenthen, Black Water

Younger Readers Book of the Year 2008

Winner: Carole Wilkinson, Dragon Moon
Honour: Sherryl Clarke (author) and Elissa Christian (ill.) Sixth Grade Style Queen (Not!)
Honour: Odo Hirsch, Amelia Dee and the Peacock Lamp

Early Childhood Book of the Year 2008

Winner: Aaron Blabey, Pearl Barley and Charlie Parsley
Honour: Mike Dumbleton (author) and Craig Smith (ill.) Cat
Honour: Margaret Wild (author) and Lucy James (ill.) Lucy Goosey

Picture Book of the Year 2008
NOTE: Some of these books may be for mature readers

Winner: Matt Ottley, Requiem for a Beast
Honour: Anne Spudvilas (ill. ) and Li Cunxin (text), The Peasant Prince
Honour: Colin Thompson and 13 other illustrators, Dust

Eve Pownall Book of the Year 2008
NOTE: Some of these books may be for mature readers

Winner: Frances Watts (author) and David Legge (ill.) Parsley Rabbit's Book About Books
Honour: Kaz Cooke, Girl Stuff: your full-on guide to the teen years
Honour: Macinnis, Peter, Kokoda Track: 101 Days

The full shortlist is here, and the 2008 Notable Books list here.

And what's an awards list without a variant opinion: I'm boggled that Armin Greder's The Island wasn't recognised.  It's a brilliant book.  It was shortlisted, but deserved more recognition.  Ah well.  I'm not on the judging panel.

Recording Olympics to show at school

What are the copyright requirements/implications?  Read the answer from the Australian Copyright Council here.

Home cooked vs. takeaway: the dollars and sense of it

Another good article from the Sydney Morning Herald, this time from Good Living: a comparison of a week of takeaway food vs a week of home cooking.  Home and Away, by Kate Duthie.

What is a netbook? And will they rule the world?

If you've seen the little Asus Eee pup computer that was out just before Christmas last year in Australia, then you've seen a netbook.  Smaller than a standard laptop, with more limited functions, and thus cheaper, they are finding a ready market which will likely include schools.  David Flynn had an informative article, Mighty Mouse: will netbooks rule the world? on them in the Sydney Morning Herald recently.