Magnetic Spirits E-News
May 29, 2007-05-29
(a reprint of my email newsletter for those of you who aren't on the list)
Hello, all of you. I haven´t been in touch by email for a while -
part of that is because I have been moving, resettling, re-
prioritizing. I have a home again after many months of being on the
road. It feels good .. even though I really miss that incredible
feeling when the wheels lift off the runway and I´m up and away. And
my apartment still looks like a warehouse.
The other reason why some of you haven´t heard from me is because I
am changing my internet strategy - new developments on the internet
and the evils of spam are causing me to look at new ways of getting
information out. Blogs, podcasts, online communities like Facebook
and Myspace are changing the ways we communicate. It´s all very
exciting ... and it means that some of you who are in touch with the
new digital universe are hearing from me a lot (those who already
read my blog and are on my Facebook site). Bear with me, these are
transitional times .. one of these days all these things will be
integrated.
I am continuing to send out newsletters via email because I know a
lot of you are still using email as your main internet communications
method. I invite you all to visit, my blog, listen to my podcast
and become part of my Facebook community. Just email me if you´re
not sure what this all means and how you can be part of it. And I´ll
bring you up to speed.
Enjoy the universe - digital and otherwise. Especially now that the
really nice weather is here ... I need to remind myself of the wonders
of life in the non-digital world too.
So here´s what I´m up to .. get in touch if anything fires up your
imagination.
In today´s newsletter:
1.) Back on the Air! - Bringing the World Home
2.) Keeping the World Safe for Words of Wisdom (and otherwise)
3.) Upcoming and Notable - future plans
1.) Back on the Air - Bringing the World Home
I´ve been back in Hamilton now for three months. It was inevitable
.. I am back on the air starting tomorrow morning. Join me at CFMU
93.3 FM in Hamilton for my new show "Bringing the World Home". Or if
you´re not in Hamilton, listen on line at http://cfmu.mcmaster.ca
I think of "Bringing the World Home" as what a dinner party would
sound like if I was able to invite the whole world (even though, in
real time, it´s more like a breakfast party .. at least here in
Hamilton). For the next couple of months I´ll be digging through my
archives and playing the sound pieces I´ve done that I would like
people to hear again. And I´ll be playing the episodes of The Green
Planet Monitor, the radio program that took me to India, Nepal and
Sri Lanka.
On tomorrow´s show:
The Green Planet Monitor -- The Medicinal Plant Revolution - how
traditional herbs are building economies and improving health in Sri
Lanka, India, Nepal and Ecuador. An interview with Canadian Governor
General Michaele Jean by Michelle Betz in Accra, Ghana
"Sweet Waltz Bitter Waltz" - my friends Sarah and Kevin Atkinson,
also known as "Teach Yourself Piano" Europe between the wars, Lotte
Lenya, Randy Newman and a bit of Tom Waites thrown in. Great music
and chat.
(And thanks to Gord Jackson, my friend who has graciously given me
his timeslot for the summer. Have a nice break .. I promise you can
have your time slot back when you want it)
2.) Words of Wisdom
Another big part of my life right now is my work with the Kairos
Literary Society. Since March, I have been working half time helping
the writers of Hamilton tell their stories. It´s a really varied job
.. sometimes I´m planning workshops and readings, sometimes I´m the
resident beancounter making sure we have enough money to make all the
workshops and readings happen.
My particular enthusiasms involve adapting literature to the digital
age, understanding how writing is changing in the post-post-post
Gutenberg era. And also exploring those grey areas where fiction and
non-fiction intersect. In the near future, I will be establishing a
Hamilton journalists group where those of us with our feet in the
"real" world (or maybe deluding ourselves that there IS a real world)
can explore where we and the rest of the world connect. It´s a
fine, fine line.
3.) Upcoming and Notable
I am hoping that I will be in Nairobi the end of September if the
gods and goddesses of funding approve. I´ve been invited to speak at
the conference of the International Association of Women in Radio and
Television (www.iawrt.org) What makes this group outstanding is that
we of the "first world" are vastly outnumbered by women of the
developing world .. if you count the members of the IAWRT, 75 of us
are from the so called "first" world and 225 are from the rest of the
planet. The focus of the conference is primarily on social justice
.. with many seminars on the role of media in conflict resolution,
new ways of reporting elections, solving violence against women
through media. Very exciting. Fingers crossed that the funding
comes through.
I am also developing a new project which won´t happen until next year
.. but I´m really excited about it. The focus is on activists and
social justice workers .. what motivates people to go to a place far
away and expose themselves to difficult conditions .. what keep them
motivated, why do they think this is worth the risk? And things to
think about if YOU´RE considering taking off halfway around the world
because you think you might be able to make a difference.
I think it´s going to be mostly a web project. With online audio
and video. It's still evolving ...
Oh yes .. this is just for fun. I am taking belly dancing lessons
tomorrow afternoon. And right now I´m listening to my friend Laura
Hollick on the air talking about how to make your life an artform.
That´s all I can think of for now. Be happy. Be in touch.
Blessed be
Victoria
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