Tara Brabazon's blog
Greetings to members and lurkers.
Well, we have made it to December. What a year it has been for the Popular Culture Collective. Our first book has been published, and our second on in the planning stages. Our Community is growing in number and relationships. Great work — writing, creating and thinking — has been produced. It has been one of the great pleasures of my life to see the PCC continue to surprise and ignite social change and promote important ideas in difficult times.
Some of the best material I have read all year has been produced by Collective members. My hope is that this outstanding work will continue through 2005. I have no doubts or concerns about this goal, as the sheer ability and insight of the PCC has already surpassed my (lofty!!) expectations.
Greetings to members and lurkers.
It is certainly a wild time. Novembers are always unstable. Christmas decorations punctuate the shops, but it is tragically too early to put up that tree. We anticipate great nights and days of change and opportunity through the next few weeks. Our news section this month is bulging with the wonderful accomplishments of members. It has been an exciting time watching the changes in the lives of our Collective.
Many of our members work in education. Some are students. Some are teachers. Some are librarians. Some market education. But all of us — all members of the Collective — have a commitment to learning, broadly defined.
And we thought October was busy. The members of the Collective have matched great public work with immense private joy. It is my pleasure to share some of these great moments with Members.
Greetings to members and lurkers.
October has been a special month since Donnie Darko hit our cinemas and consciousness. This month will always contain an undercurrent of an impending event, a countdown, a set of experiences we feel and only later understand.
This October is special. It is the month when our first book is published. Yes — after nearly a year of waiting, proofing and waiting some more, Liverpool of the South Seas: Perth and its Popular Music is being published by the University of Western Australia Press.
It is a special book. It is the first cultural mapping of Perth's music industry. It demonstrates what creative industries initiatives and strategies can do for popular cultural workers. It is the first great book on an Australian music scene.
There has been much news in the last month. Firstly, many new members will be joining us in the next few months. We welcome them to our start of the century party. For our current members, much is happening.
Firstly, our Web designer Carrie Kilpin graduated from her doctorate in September. She has worn the big hat, she has the degree. The rest of her life is in front of her. Congratulations Carrie.
The big news for September is the remarkable success of our Web Designer, Carrie Kilpin. She has been successful in attaining her PhD. This is an incredible achievement. Through three years work — assessed by international experts in the field — she has become Dr Kilpin. On behalf of the Collective, we congratulate her and acknowledge this important moment in a scholarly career.
In the next two weeks, we will be organising our next project of the PCC, Access all Areas. Mike and I will be sending an email out to coordinate everyone's contribution. This will be our major focus for September.
Greetings to members and lurkers.
Popular culture has energy to it, encouraging passionate debate, staunch attack or dense love. It moves us outside of lives and into new terrain, challenging us to think differently and be different.
Besides the Olympics, politics has been dominating my vista and ideas in the last month. Many of these troubled thoughts were provoked by Michael Moore's filmic commentary on 9/11. Most people have seen it — and most people have an opinion on it. While listening to others offer their commentary, I was fascinated how Moore was attacked. He made 'a bad documentary.' He used 'excessive emotion' to make his points. He was 'a propagandist,' not a film maker.
Greetings to members and lurkers.
July 2004 has been a busy month for the Collective. The membership list has been expanding, and Carrie Kilpin — our outstanding Web designer — has created a remarkable site. While we are still building our virtual home, the structure is livable, warm and productive. It feels right. On behalf of all of the PCC, we thank Carrie for her terrific work, done late at night and on weekends while starting a new job.
Members have been busy finalising projects. The major achievement in the last month has been the submission of Carrie Kilpin's PhD thesis. Our web designer for the PCC has submitted her thesis, investigating women and the World Wide Web. We all congratulate Carrie, are proud of her achievements, and wish her well as we wait for the results. Some of Carrie's work is being prepared for publication at the moment. Details to follow.
