Christmas for booklovers

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/33862482 w=400&h=300]And many happy returns to you, friend.

Defining beauty

I am so excited to bring you this little movie today. If it's the only thing you watch in the busy lead-up to Christmas, you won't regret it. It is challenging, funny at times, inspiring, heartwarming, heartbreaking, and incredibly important. But what's the movie about?It's a movie about a beauty pageant.

A beauty pageant for men.

Men who are HIV positive.

No, I'm not kidding. Take a look at Walk the Talk: Talk the Walk below, a short documentary covering the inaugural "Mr HIV Positive Living" beauty pageant in Gaborone, Botswana.

I promise, you will be so very glad you watched this. You'll be thinking about it for days later, and telling your friends about it at parties. [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/15311998 w=525&h=295]

WALK THE TALK: Living Positive With HIV from THINKBOX on Vimeo.

I interviewed one of the producers of this video last year*, a Botswanan PhD student at the University of Sydney, Kabo Matlho, who now spends his days researching answers and improvements to HIV/AIDS resistance at the Westmead Millennium Institute just west of Sydney, Australia.

After the footage was recorded, Kabo spent three years travelling back and forth between Botswana and  Australia for this video, checking facts and providing cultural advice and interpretation services. I loved my time talking with Kabo. He is one of the nicest people you could meet, deeply committed to his research and to the message of this video.

“AIDS affects everyone, regardless of gender, social class or culture," Kabo told me. "Australia has developed excellent management of HIV and the rate of infection. It is inspiring to see HIV-positive people in Australia step up and take charge of their own destiny, fight for their own lives. Our documentary represents the beginnings of something that I hope will be similar in Botswana. It is a small step, but it is a step forward.”

Talk the Walk: Walk the Talk won the Juror’s First Prize and the People’s Choice Award at the Association for Consumer Research Conference film festival in the USA in 2010. Well deserved, I think.

*Interview was conducted for the Westmead Medical Research Foundation

Favourite things - just lovely

Can you believe this is the last weekend before Christmas? I don't know where the year went, I really don't. Remember when time used to stretch out forever? When the summer holidays were so long you could barely remember the beginning when you got to the end? Today, I sneeze and I miss a month. I'm looking forward to this weekend, my parents are coming to visit. But before I dash off, I want to leave you with five favourite things to take you into the Christmas weekend-eve. No theme today, just five lovely finds. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, too. See you on Monday!

1. Cowboy rollerskates How badly do I want a pair of these? Let me count the ways. Found here via Honestly WTF. (Also loving the piggy-back ride in the background)

2. Surprise gifts in the mail If I was rich, I would TOTALLY be signing myself and my friends up to receive amazing little surprise gifts in the mail, from Not Another Bill. Found via Rosalilium

3. The iRetrophone... ...which cleverly combines my love of all things old-fashioned and cunningly made, with my bona fide iPhone addiction. Found here

4. Summer light photography I adore the gorgeous, hazy summer light captured in this beautiful fashion shoot by Spell and the Gypsy. Found via The Flowerchild Dwelling

5. Handmade garlands I had planned to make Christmas versions of some of these, but I ran out of time (and energy). Still, I've bookmarked this page so that I can come back to it. Perhaps Em's next birthday party will be swathed in colour.

Entire worlds emerge from the shadows

Shadow puppets are fascinating, don't you think? We know that what we are looking at - that dog, that crocodile, that rabbit - are not real. And yet, we watch them hop and bite and run, and they appear like truth.

Entire worlds emerge from the shadows in this video. Watching it, I found I was holding my breath. I didn't even mind that it turned out to be an ad. I was just thankful that the company invested in such mysterious creativity.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L14dAurRVic]

Have you come across Plato's allegory of the cave? In The Republic, he posits that if people lived their entire lives inside a cave, and if the goings-on of life outside were reflected on the cave wall much as shadow puppets, then the people inside the cave would think the shadow puppets were reality. Not having seen anything else, they would attach all their meaning to the shadows. They would be wrong, of course, but you and I only know that because we live outside the cave and have seen the truth.

But what if, Plato challenged, and this is something I explored in my book Airmail, too... what if the outside world that we perceive to be reality is in itself but a reflection, or a shadow, of an even brighter reality that we don't yet know exists? What if our whole perceived reality is just a much bigger cave, and we have been prisoners of our own lack of curiosity?

I guess the point is that there is so much more to this world than that which we can see, touch or even perceive. Like Plato's cave-dwellers, imagine what we might see if we stop watching shadows, and venture outside.

Fairy tale

"This is the most popular story in western civilisation. We love to hear this story. Every time it's retold, somebody makes a million dollars. You're welcome to do it." Kurt Vonnegut [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBIogLNFkV8]

Where the wild things are

Earlier this week I blogged about the strange and lovely search terms that people use to find their way to my little corner of the Internet. One of the search terms was "power of music and imagination." It truly warmed my heart that someone found me through such a phrase. I'm guessing that what came up was a post I wrote about Peter and the Wolf some time ago. But today, I'm going to give that person another option.

Watch the story unfold in this beautifully produced music video by Aussie (Melbourne) group The Paper Kites. Where do you think these wild children are going? And what are they up to? I won't ruin the surprise for you, you'll have to watch it to the end (that won't be difficult).

I just love the dream-like landscape of this video, woven in with acoustic strings and gentle harmonies. Something about it all fires the imagination. I am going to buy their their EP, Woodlands, and try playing it while I write.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0IDiVQxZYg]

It's always a little bit embarrassing when it takes someone from the other side of the world to alert me to talent in my own back yard. But, not for the first time, that's exactly what happened here.

Rachel Jones of Black Eiffel consistently uncovers wonderful things and, if you haven't visited Black Eiffel yet, I highly recommend you do. Pronto. It was Rachel who introduced me to The Paper Kites, via her blog. I'd heard of them, but never actually listened to them. Thank you, Rachel, I really must pay more attention. And in the meantime, I'm glad I have your blog!

(ps. All photos are from The Paper Kites on Facebook)

Favourite things: crafty people

Honestly, the talent and creativity of some people never cease to amaze me. I look at what they do and think, "How did you even come up with that?" Let alone make it so wonderfully. 1. Clever cardboard creations How brilliant is this typewriter, made out of used packing boxes by Stacie Stone? Take a look at her fabulously-named Etsy shop, Little Teeth Marks.

2. PJs for penguins Following an oil spill off the coast of New Zealand, people from all over the world knitted sweaters for penguins affected by the spill, to stop them from ingesting the oil when they preened themselves. Operated by yarn store Skeinz, you can follow this adorable campaign on their blog, The Yarn Kitchen.

3. Styled literary heroes Ever read a book and formed a perfect image of the character in your head? John Januzzi styles contemporary editorials of literature's heroes and heroines on his blog Textbook. What would Alice in Wonderland wear if she were alive today? How about Jay Gatsby? Eliza Dolittle? Pictured above is how Miss Havisham of Great Expectations might dress today.

4. Recycled paper Artist Jennifer Collier creates amazing sculptures of household objects from recycled paper. The content on the paper itself often provides the inspiration for what Jennifer decides to create, and she says her work is about "giving new life to things that would otherwise go unloved or be thrown away."

5. Book surgery I know I've gone heavy on the "art made out of paper and cardboard" this week but, seriously, it's not my fault people are so talented! I couldn't resist just this one more. Artist Brian Dettmer has been nicknamed "the book surgeon" because of the incredible sculptures he creates out of old books.

Fancy a year in New York?

I was lucky enough to spend more than a year in New York, and I loved every second. This video brings back so many warm and wonderful memories. [vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/31159101 w=525&h=295]

A Year in New York from Andrew Clancy on Vimeo.

Next, I think I'd like to live a year in Paris.

If you could experience a year anywhere in the world, where would it be?

288,000 jellybeans

If only I had seen "In your arms" by Kina Grannis before today, I would have included it in my food glorious food post on Friday. Such a sweet melody, and this adorable video was made using more than 288,000 jellybeans. Yum! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOu0DuxFAT0]

Favourite things: food glorious food

Have a wonderful weekend! Eat, drink and be merry, my friends. 1. Edible spray paint After discovering this, I wish I was hosting a dinner party for Christmas. Because I would simultaneously impress and FREAK EVERYBODY OUT by painting all the food with this edible spray paint. Oh yes, I would.

2. Food of the rainbow Can you imagine how berserk little kids would go for these rainbow coloured meals? Take a look at the rest of the Food of the Rainbow series by Henry Hargreaves. Personally, I'm all for the looking but don't know if I could stomach the eating. Well, maybe the spaghetti...

3. Sophie Koh's supermarket boogie [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjHgQKycu0g] You know when you're half way through the grocery shopping, and a really good song comes on, and you have to fight the desire to bust a move? Me too. I love this quirky music video, as more and more shoppers cave to the temptation.

4. Paddle pop (culture) There are all kinds of jokes I could make about this Marilyn Monroe paddle pop, but this is a PG blog so I'll simply say: how incredible is this ice-cream design? Take a look at some other creepy but cool pop culture paddle pops here. Or pop (sic) on over to Moscow for a taste test. So clever!

5. Cherry season starts now Cherry picking season officially starts in the Adelaide Hills tomorrow. I'm thinking picnic. I'm thinking home-made lemonade. I'm thinking baskets overflowing with fresh, ripe cherries. I'm thinking I'll bake a cherry pie. Photo from here.