Natural Environment
Trees @ Melbourne – Nature’s Fortress and Humankind’s Friend
Trees are awesome, they are nature’s fortress and humankind’s friend, and here at Melbourne they are valued and conserved especially one Golden Elm at Sth Yarra
On a Camellia, in a garden or in a grove in Australia
Swedish Naturalist Carl von Linne or, Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778) was the founder of the modern scientific nomenclature for plants and animals. He established the name Camellia in the system he devised for classifying all plants in the west. His Systema Naturae of 1735 was where Moravian Jesuit botanist George Joseph Kamel, or Camellus, name was recorded.
National Year Reading 2012 – Creating the Future of Learning
Do you Love2Read? 2012 in Australia is the National Year of Reading. Ensuring that Australians become a nation that loves to read is what it is all about. It’s also about boosting the literacy of children and adults, especially on a screen.
The Culture Concept Circle – You Tube Channel
On our You Tube Channel you will find our mini-documentaries, which provide an insight into the evolution of art, design, music, fashion and style.
Inalienable Rights of Man – Class In, Out or, Dismissed
The English class system it seems has changed from being a pyramidal shape into being a diamond shape, at least in terms of its hierarchical structure. The working class at the bottom are shrinking as are the upper class at the top. The middle class however are continuing their expansion that began hundred of years ago, well beyond expectation. So much so they now have a class structure all of their own.
Inalienable Rights of Man – Charting Freedom and Liberty
For the English of the thirteenth century the signing of the Magna Carta was a huge step forward towards protecting the inalienable rights of man
For the Love of a Rose – The Beauty of Creation
According to the French couturier Valentino, ‘roses impose a tranquility of peace upon the image of woman. Dresses and accessories with oversized roses…are something bold and yet mysterious, an evocative symbol of life, the earth, civilization and the beauty of creation’
Architectural Heritage – Integral to Cultural Development
The intellectual ideas of every period in world history have always been reflected in its architecture. It is important we consider well the consequences of the decisions we make in tearing down our living heritage, even in regard to modern buildings of great merit.
Happy New Year – Welcome 2012 as a Creative Year to Remember
It is time to cast off old thinking and embrace the new. 2012 is a great place to start formulating ideas that will help invent and innovate the future.
Reading, TV and Music Choices for Festive Season 2011/2012
Riveting reading, considered DVD watching and beautiful music listening are all great can-do activities for the festive holiday season, as are long walks each day. This is the time of year we all need to recharge not only our body batteries, but also refresh our mind, spirit and soul.
Apollo, from the Earth to the Moon – Imagination & Knowledge
Ardent socialist and playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) lived a life of literary criticism dealing sternly with prevailing social issues, but with a lightness of touch that made stark realities palatable. He said ‘Imagination is at the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will’. The 60′s was the age of those who dared to dream a dream and then went out and made it happen.
French Country Style – Provence and joi de vivre
Unpretentious, warm and welcoming, the interiors of Provence today reflect the heritage of Provencal life and the Provenceur’s enjoyment of the simple pleasures of life; the sharing of good food, the local wine and the art of good conversation.
French Country Style – Provence is c’est magnifique!
Provence until the end of the 15th century was a group of states entirely separate from France. It had its own language, government and a sense of style, with deeply rooted ideas and philosophies first founded in strong traditions. They kept goats and ate fish, grew herbs in abundance, as well as olives which were introduced by the Greeks. With the fabled vitis vinifera grape vine for stock they made wine and became great consumers of wild boar as well as truffles. The oak forests of Provence would have been prime truffle territory then as now. The little slivers of this celestial fungus harbors many of the amusing stories of the region. They were often obtained by nefarious means or through a local truffle fair not listed in any tourist guide.
Early Civilisations – In the Beginning
All cultures on earth, just like individuals, have distinct modes of existence. Creation stories are something they all have in common in a logical attempt to rationalize the presence of humans on earth.
Tiptoe Through The Tulips – Speculating on a Fragile Flower
“Come tulip come and take color from my cheek” said Eastern Philosopher Mevlana in the thirteenth century when shrubs, bulbs and flowers were flooding into Europe from the near East. They went wild for them, especially Holland, who would make the tulip that grew wild in Anatolia in western Turkey an integral part of both its culture and economy
Grasses, the Cinderella of gardens
Walking by the Yarra River in Victoria I came across a worker slashing the lush green grass on the gentle slope down to the river. What is our obsession with mowing every inch of grass growing all about? Is it another aspect of our seeking to control nature? Why can’t we also consider the aesthetic?
Asides
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