No, not the Sydney Film Festival, and not the Melbourne Film Festival… The Other Film Festival!

Check out something a bit different and adventurous as the 2010 festival of New Cinema By, With and About People with a Disability kicks off at the Melbourne Museum this Wednesday 25th August through to Sunday 28th August.

The festival dares to dream that one day everybody’s story will be written boldly across the cinema screen and that universal access to the cinema will be the norm not the exception. The program this year offers an exhilarating array of choices: sessions dedicated to the experience of people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, films that celebrate the power of expressive dance, workshops for emerging actors and filmmakers, a forum on accessible cinema, and of course Rob Spence and the world premiere demonstration of the Eyeborg prosthetic eye.

So come and check out the future, because it’s right here, right now.

Click here to view the program and buy tickets!

Coming this September are two great new books by authors Kate Atkinson and Sophie Kinsella.

“Started Early, Took My Dog” has former Detective Jack Brodie Returning in this new novel which is “A sharply subversive and fiercely observed peice of storytelling” and also ”Mini Shopaholic” from Sophie Kinsella sees Becky Brandon back with a new accessory .. a daughter.

So switch off the T.V and get reading.

The rumblings have become deafening, good friends of the Federation, and at last we can go live with the news that Yes! the rumours are true, Design Federation will be releasing an inspiration book at the end of the year celebrating the collective creative coolness of our supporters, readers, fans and friends. Huzzah!

check out the rest of the info here www.designfederation.net

If anyone has been watching SBS Sports coverage of the Fifa world cup, you will no doubt have heard the most annoying phenomenon to hit the sound waves since Lady Gaga, that’s right, its the mighty Vuvuzelas.

According to Wiki, “The vuvuzela (English pronunciation: /vuːvuːˈzeɪlə/) , sometimes called a “lepatata” (its Tswana name) or a stadium horn, is a blowing horn up to approximately 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in length. It is commonly blown by fans at football matches in South Africa”

But according to the millions of people watching the games in the comfort of their homes, the noise (which sounds like buzzing bees) is unbearable, with many people either turning the sound off and or turning the TV off altogether.

So what can we do to get FIFA to ban the Vuvuzelas ?

1. Contact SBS Television and complain

Phone: 1800 500 727 (toll free)
Email: comments {at} sbs.com(.)au

2. Go to www.banvuvuzelas.com and sign the petition

3. #Vuvuzelas in your twitter posts and make NOISE!

Here at Two Flat Whites, we’re all about giving creative types the chance to share their talent with the world. Two Flat Whites focuses on discovering, promoting & nurturing Australian talent. Whether you are a budding young writer, fashion designer, artist, photographer, musician, restaurateur, chef or film maker this is the network for you!

Two Flat Whites are launching a series titled “Supporting the wider community”. The aim of this series is to help promote the need for the more fortunate to help out the less privileged in our society. We will be doing this by showcasing a number of charity organisations that Two Flat Whites supports.

We kick off with CARE Australia. They joined the CARE International family in 1987, led by former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser. Today, CARE Australia manages programs in over 20 countries. They focus on feeding the hungry in developing countries, pioneer primary health programs and respond with both emergency relief & long term agro-forestry projects.

Finding it a little difficult to find a present for someone special & want to step out of the box? CAREgifts are a fantastic solution. A CAREgift really does keep on giving. Your gift could provide endless benefits for a community and help alleviate poverty. With CAREgifts, lives are changing, people are becoming healthier, children are better educated and families are benefiting from higher incomes

Visit the CARE Australia website here.

We are all doing it tough, it’s hard times out there! This may be the case, but remember, there are always people out there a little less fortunate than yourself. So dig deep and support one of the Charities that Two Flat Whites supports. You will find a list of these below and on the Two Flat Whites front page.

Care Australia

The Exodus Foundation

The Big Issue

The Salvation Army

The Smith Family

Royal Flying Doctor Service

Street Smart – helping the homeless

Welcome to my new column. I’ve joined forces with Two Flat Whites and will be delivering you with a weekly dose of what has been hitting our headlines. Check out the In The News section on the site. Covering everything from politics, the arts, sport, current affairs, entertainment, lifestyle and business, this is your boiling broth of tasty headlines and opinion.

Nothing new about racism hitting the news stands in Australia it seems. The latest issues raised have been attacks against Indian Australians. Earlier in the week there were a couple of attacks in Melbourne and over the last few months an allegation of a murder in South East New South Wales over unpaid wages and a riot in Western Sydney. It’s been over 200 years and we are yet to come to terms with our multiculturalism and realise just how wonderful this country of ours just really is and how much more we could achieve!

Heat waves, Adelaide temperatures hitting the 40’s most of last week, Melbourne and Sydney having the hottest Summers of all time and overall, figures released that 2009 was the second warmest year since measuring began. What is really happening? You ask one set of scientists and we are in deep trouble, ask the other side and we have nothing to fear? Confused, join the club. But what I do know is that we have been treating this planet with contempt for far too long and its time we were all a little smarter.

The anti whaling ship Ady Gil is allegedly rammed by the Japanese vessel Shonan Maru 2. The Australian government are dodging and weaving, it seems the financial interests of this nation are a higher priority than the safety of human life and the whales. Do we really not want to piss off the Japanese that much, as our 3rd largest trading partner it seems so?

Over 40,000 people have bought there first home in 2009 with the government paying over $33 billion in concessions. With the money offered now scaling down, how will this affect the housing market? We will need to keep a close eye on our new Premier Kristina Keneally who not only is the first female Premier of New South Wales but seems to be doing a pretty good job so far since taking over the post in early December.

In other news, the Australian test team beat Pakistan in a remarkable come from behind victory in the Sydney Test Match. Reports have come out that some of the Australian Rugby League players were unhappy with coach Sheens’ tight rains off the field in there recent tour. Are they kidding? What is wrong with some Rugby League players? Wedding anyone? Supermodel Catherine McNeil and MTV presenter Ruby Rose are now engaged. And finally, if your in Sydney you can’t beat the Sydney Festival with plenty to do for all the family. See you next week.

Article written by Annabelle Knight.

Welcome to 2010. I’m never sure what to make of this time of the year. What’s more significant is that one year has come to an end and a new year has begun. It’s generally a relaxed month, its summer and we all have good intentions to get things started on the right foot.

Here at Two Flat Whites, we’re all about giving creative types the chance to share their talent with the world. Two Flat Whites focuses on discovering, promoting & nurturing Australian talent. Whether you are a budding young writer, fashion designer, artist, photographer, musician, restaurateur, chef or film maker this is the network for you!

Our website is full of lively reviews of films, music and restaurants; information about upcoming events, interviews with talented individuals from a range of industries; and lots of creative opportunities & competitions.

Two Flat Whites encourages submissions of articles on a variety of topics from young writers. We have been busy encouraging more writers to get onboard and I’m sure you will notice the difference, with more creative writing from our network of insightful contributors.

Our network while having the same feel, has been transformed adding some new exciting topics; if you are interested in Australian Music, Film, Food and Wine, Art and Design, Towns and Places or obtaining your dose of what is hitting the headlines this is the network for you.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for all your support in 2009 and look forward to seeing you back in 2010. So strap yourself in and enjoy the ride!

The Two Flat Whites Team

It’s interesting to see how logo’s come about. Not long ago we saw that Melbourne updated their logo, now Brisbane has followed suit. It was hard to find much if any information about it but I had seen it used around the place and I managed to find a good article on the Brisbane logo update here.

Sydney’s artistic fraternity came together in force this week to reward and recognise the city’s most creative and innovative characters. The 2009 SMAC Awards, held at Helm Bar, saw leading musos Kim Moyes, Kirk Pengilly alongside Archibald prize winner, Del Kathryn Barton and Academy Award winning director, Steven Soderbergh, turn up to honour and celebrate this year’s winners.

Muso turned politician John Wardle, who has tirelessly campaigned to get the POPEs abolished, took home the most prestigious award of the evening, the SMAC of the Year. The SMAC of the Year is awarded to the most outstanding artist, professional, or group/collective in any field in Sydney who forwards the cultural fabric of Sydney. John’s work has since opened the floodgates for Sydney musicians to be able to play ‘string free’ in venues across the state.

Oscar-winner, Cate Blanchett, was awarded Best Performer following her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire for The Sydney Theatre Company – her award was collected by her husband Andrew Upton. Fergus Brown was awarded Best Sydney Song for ‘John, She Was Never Only Dancing.’

In the music categories, electronic trio Seekae won Best Live Music Act whilst the Best Music Event went to Nick Cave’s All Tomorrow’s Parties. The Record of the Year award went to the Lost Valentinos for their debut album, Cities of Gold, whilst The Red Rattler was awarded Best Collective and Sherlock’s Daughter picked up Next Big Thing – Music.

Sydney artist, Wade Marynowsky was given the accolade for Best Artist with Semi Permanent, the annual design convention, winning Best Arts Event and the Sydney Festival winning Best Major Festival. I Heart Kings Cross was awarded the Remix in the City Award for rethinking what’s possible and getting creative within the ever colourful area. The event saw the community come together to knit giving residents and visitors an insight into the creativity of one of Sydney’s best loved suburbs.

(more…)