We at Two Flat Whites just wanted to say a big thank you for all your support in 2010. We wish you & your families a Merry Christmas & fantastic New Year!

We have bigger interviews, more competitions, more of a focus on music, food, film, literature, the arts & plenty of surprises in 2011. So stay tuned & enjoy your holidays!

Two Flat Whites Team

Musician Molly Contogeorge is heading to Cuba to represent Australia at the Romerías de Mayo Youths Arts Festival. Music has been Molly’s passion from a very young age. Molly has been to America and played at some of the best clubs in the world and is as ambitious as they come. Getting behind Australian music and in particular independent artists like Molly can be very rewarding. Support her in any way you can. You can hear some of this young ladies singer/ songwriting skills here.

Growing up in the same household as two music teachers and performers meant that most of my youth was spent falling asleep to the twang of Deep Purple’s Smoke on the Water ; or to the sounds of singing students ascending their scales and to those evenings spent wishing I was old enough to attend my mother’s gigs. My family life has always revolved around writing, performing and teaching and this has contributed greatly to my love of music and my desire to build a career from it. I penned my first song at the age of ten and now at twenty, I’ve amassed ten years’ worth of writing, recording and performing experience.

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StreetSmart tackles homelessness at the grassroots. They are a unique bridge between the community and small, ‘hard to reach’ agencies and projects that assist people experiencing homelessness or at risk. They support critical services and emergency aid as well as projects that promote social inclusion, empowerment and sustainable change for people who are homeless. When money is raised from the public through our ‘dine out …help out’ fundraising events, 100 per cent of donations are distributed in the form of grants. To date they have raised and distributed over $1,180,000 to 272 grassroots projects.

When you dine at a participating restaurant they add an extra $2 to your bill. It’s not much but it’s a simple idea that adds up to a big impact on the lives of people who are homeless. This campaign runs until the 24th December so whether you’re planning a business meeting, an early Christmas dinner or just a catch up with good friends, we ask that you think about choosing one of the participating restaurants.

To find a full list of restaurants & to find out more about the great causes your money helps support, visit streetsmartaustralia.org

To finish off 2010 with a bang, Two Flat Whites is going mad with giveaways. Thanks to our many contributors and supporters, we will have loads of prizes to giveaway to see off a great year.

If you haven’t already heard, Two Flat Whites has created a Fan Page on Facebook. Future giveaways will feature through this new Fan Page, so do yourself a favour and sign up now!

To sign up to our Fan Page, simply click on the link on the top right hand corner of our website, you can’t miss it.

In the news recently has been the talk about Interest Rates and the Banks. I know that it seems that the banks are always popping up as a hot topic and it seems for good reason. Last week the Reserve Bank lifted Interest Rates by 0.25 points and guess what, the Commonwealth Bank decided to almost double its rate!

So many questions come to mind, the most common seems to be how can the banks continue to raise interest rates above the Reserve Bank’s rate; when they are continuing to make billion dollar profits? The Big 4 Banks continue to neglect good old fashioned customer service by closing branches and making us wait while on the phone, sacking workers and raising charges, yet we as a community continue to accept it!

The Commonwealth Bank won’t be the only bank to raise interest rates in the next few weeks, all the banks will likely follow. They are sitting back looking at the communities reaction to the situation and will pounce when we least expect it! The banks are always quick to raise interest rates and by large percentages, they raise the credit card rates at the same time, even though these are ridiculously high. Can you remember the last time banks dropped interest rates so quickly from the Reserve Banks adjustments?

The other key fact here is the current economic climate; wasn’t it only a year or so ago when the Federal Government declared that it would guarantee each deposit and buy the Banks out if they fell into trouble! Isn’t it still offering this support? So what gives the banks the right to kick the Federal Government and the Reserve Bank in the guts when it was these same bodies who have been supporting them through some of our toughest times in recent history.

The Banks are not silly. They realise that customers will need to walk away before they change their spots, and guess what, people will not! Why? A mixture of factors, but the main ones seem to be lack of knowledge of just how much they can save and simple laziness. That’s right,  people just can’t find the time to worry about trivial matters like this.

My suggestion to you is to keep the pressure on the Banks. Get free advice from an independent mortgage broker, check out a smaller regional or community bank or a credit union. You will be surprised just how much you could be saving on your mortgage and credit card repayments every month.

Article written by Disheartened Dave.

Arts groups across the city are up in arms about the plans for the development of Barangaroo and want more promotion of the arts and cultural activities. If you can’t stand the plans for an ugly hotel jutting into Sydney Harbour and mammoth high rise buildings along our foreshore, or the way these large developments are all done behind closed doors, then check out this vid..

www.friendsofbarangaroo.org

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.

MasterChef,  the show that stops a nation is coming to the end after months of “plating up”.
So who won? Read who won the Masterchef 2010...»

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