My little tiff about the intolerance of humanity

For those of you that don't know me well, I have an alternative side. Every Wednesday morning, from 10am until midday (and sometimes longer, should time permit) I head down to my local Centre for Mind, Body, Spirit and fill in at reception while Sylvia, the owner, is able to run errands and do her own thing for a couple of hours. It's not paid, but that doesn't bother me in the slightest. I do it purely to get out of the house, to have some sort of face-to-face contact with civilisation, and to, for two hours a week, surround myself with relaxing, soothing, calming vibrations.

The Centre is housed in a double story, art deco, spanish styled mansion at the end of the main street of Werribee. It is the house that all the locals look upon as the abandoned haunted house, especially me, who was prone to a wild imagination in my childhood years. The house remained unoccupied the entire time I've lived in Werribee, a good 21 years. It is the house that remained an elusive mystery, the one we as children would sneak into the grounds (overgrown with weeds and shrubs, of course) and peer through the dusty windows into the dark, dank interior, secretly hoping to spot a ghost or two.

Well, now I get to spend time in this house every week, and it has this strangely soothing vibe about it. It provides me an escape from the mundane, and I have free range of books to read while I'm there. I don't have to do anything except man the phone and reception while Sylvia ducks out. It is my idea of temporary bliss.

This morning, I came across a book called The Roswell Message 50 Years on- The Aliens Speak. I never really got into the whole Roswell thing (not actually being alive at the time probably didn't help) but I have always been fascinated in UFOs or anything unexplainable. This book caught my attention because it contained actual dialogue with one of the ETs that died in the UFO crash. The ET was contacted psychically by a medium, in the presence of a scientist who wanted to ask loads of questions.

Now I know there are a LOT of skeptics out there. And skeptics have every right to their own opinions as I do.  But the dialogue was absolutely fascinating. The ET, who identified itself as Lilit, said that it's race was basically what humanity evolves to a few million years in the future. Millions of years ago their race chose the path of technology (sound familiar?) and as a result there were many things about them that are different to humans. The main one, which I found beautiful, was that they live in peace and harmony, and that their only life philosophy is respect for all life.

I'm not going to talk about the book any more, because this was the main point I wanted to talk about. Respect for all life. Why is that such a difficult philosophy for some of us to live by? Everything that is wrong with the world today can be blamed on intolerance of one race to another, of one individual towards another. Intolerance of religion, belief systems, cultures, ways of life, morals, values, whatever. I need to ask these pressing questions:

Who cares if someone is a different race to you?

What does it matter if one society lives totally differently to yours?

Why is the West so intent on getting the rest of the world to be like them?

Why is the US so intent on making other countries into mini-America?

Why must we all be the same?

God, could you imagine what the world would be like if we WERE all the same?? Had the same morals and values and opinions, the same coloured skin, spoke the same language? What a BLOODY BORING place it would be! Not only that, but we would have got NOWHERE as a species! We would all still be sitting around the fire speaking oog-oog to each other because no one had the sense to be different.

Why is there so much intolerance in the world? Is it part of who we are? Why must each religion claim their own as being the one true religion, and damn the rest of them to eternal whatever? My opinion of this even includes things such as some societies viewing women as lesser species. Of course, personally, I disagree and think men and women are equal in all things. But I'm not going to sit here and preach to someone who disagrees with my view. I'm going to accept that fine, that's the way they think, this is the way I think, let's leave it at that. Just accepting people, cultures, societies as they are, and appreciating their similarities and using their differences to appreciate OUR society! Like, thank god we don't live in a society where it's ok to eat other people! And thank god we don't live in a society where I will be prosecuted for wearing pants!

It just makes me sad to think that people are so fixated on differences that they can't see the similarities. I think it was Groove Armada that said "If everybody looked the same, we'd be tired of looking at each other." Wise words. 

Book nerd heaven: why I love my iPhone

We're all friends here, so I can safely admit to you all why I got an iPhone without being ostracized for being a sheep. Aside from the fact that I was sick of never having any credit with my pre-paid account, I was extremely tempted to get an iPhone because of some of its features. When they first came out I had a very "meh" attitude towards it. But all of sudden, over the last fortnight or so, I was overwhelmed with a strong urge to get one. Why? Why the sudden change of heart?

Well, I figured it out. It was temptation of the possibility of having hundreds of books with me in my pocket at all times that did it. Yep, that's right. I'm a MAJOR book nerd (in case you hadn't figured that out already). And last night I made the best purchase of perhaps my entire life, and I bought an application that consisted of 165 old classic books for a measly $6. That's right. $6.

Among this loooong list was a bunch of classics that I'd always wanted to read, but never got around to buying: Moby Dick, The Republic, Little Women, Wuthering Heights, A Tale of Two Cities, Homer's The Iliad and The Odyssey, and many of Edgar Allen Poe's works. As well as these "must reads", there are heaps of childhood favourites: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, The Secret Garden, White Fang, Jungle Book, Anne of Green Gables and Gulliver's Travels to name a few.

I was so excited that I stayed up until 2am this morning reading through the many titles, reading bits of the first pages, and generally just being rapt that I will not be lacking in something to read for a long, long time.

If you're interested, the application is 150 Great Books and it is well worth the small change needed to buy.

REAL Magazine update

For those of you that are unaware, I'm involved in a magazine called REAL, which is aimed at promoting positive body image and self-respect in 14-18 year-old women. We all know the story, I mean, who here even remembers what a REAL female figure looks like? Every day we are bombarded with messages and signs that thin is beautiful, and that physical beauty and appearance is top priority. From the models you see in game shows like Deal or no Deal, to the hosts on television morning shows, we are brainwashed to feel unhappy with our own figures, and to strive to look more beautiful. And it's REAL's aim to show girls that being an individual is more important than conforming to what society says is right.

Anywho. Thanks to Twitter, the highly acclaimed Girl With a Satchel blogger Erica Bartle mentioned us in her Playlist section on Friday 3 July, much to my excitement, I might add. And while many people are still incredibly apprehensive of the benefits of Twitter, at least I can say that I understand why it's so great. GWAS confirmed they'd heard about us through Twitter, and the rest is history! Here's what GWAS had to say: 

 ...Real magazine, published by Inspired (it's actually Real) Girl Productions and supported by The Butterfly Foundation, Libra and Edge, aims to "inspire creativity and positive thinking, promote self respect and encourage readers to embrace their individuality". Editor Erin Young writes, "Each day we are bombarded with messages implying that beauty and appearance should be the most important thing in our lives. Beauty is only skin deep...it is glamour that lasts forever and glamour comes from within!" Sounds like an unreal editorial philosophy to me. Subscribing immediately!

The most exciting news about the mag is that as of next year it will be a quarterly publication. Two issues a year is just not enough to say what all the young women have been emailing us about. 

I can't believe how lucky I was to come across REAL. If I'd not been reading the Saturday Age that day in January last year (and at the time I usually didn't read it on the w/e) then I would not have read about REAL in the paper, and been compelled to contact Erin Young (the Editor) and offer my help. It helps that I want to work in the publishing industry, and that working on a magazine is right up there in my dream-jobs-I-have-to-have list. But the magazine also fulfills the part of me that wants to help, and especially, help teenagers make it through the most turbulent years of their lives. 

The great thing about the mag -probably the greatest thing- is that most of it is written by young women themselves, who have experienced the melancholy of teenage angst. It's so eye opening to read about other peoples' stories of adolescence. 

Anyway, we are updating the website to be more interactive, but if you know of any young women who need encouragement to be creative, confident, independent and happy do send them our way, and maybe they can tell their story too.

What's on your bedside table?

I've learned a lot about myself lately. Like the fact that I need to have several things on the go at once to really feel...satisfied. Like the discovery that I'm a fix-it person, where I tend to tell people how to fix their problems, and give advice where I think it's needed, and then get incredibly frustrated when people whinge but do nothing to improve their situation. And, apparently, that I love reading so much, but that the book has to match my mood.

Guess how many books I have on bedside table that I'm CURRENTLY reading? Let's see:

• There's Anais Nin's  Under a Glass Bell- A beautifully descriptive piece of literature that I'm not quite far enough in to tell you about. Lent to me by my obst/gyn (who is also a family friend) it apparently falls under the genre of "soft-porn". Who knew it could be so beautifully done?
• Philip Norman's John Lennon: The life- An incredibly in-depth biography about one of the most revolutionary musicians of all time.
• Richard Yates's Revolutionary Road- the First Tuesday Book Club reviewed the book a few weeks ago, and ever since I heard that it was about a middle-class, white couple living in suburbia who dream to make their lives exciting and interesting but fail to do so, I have been dying to read it. Feeling somewhat stuck in suburbia myself, living the same life as everyone else, I could relate to that feeling of wanting more (as I'm sure many of us can) and I wanted to be shown the story from someone else's perspective.
• Catherine Deveny's Say When- which is basically a compilation of the opinion columns she's written in The Age, but hilariously funny
• Mia Freedman's The New Black- which is very similar to, and just as funny as, Catherine Deveny's book
• Phillipa Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden- one of my books for my Children's Lit subjects at uni, it's about a boy who, staying at his Aunt and Uncle's one night, hears the grandfather clock downstairs strike 13 o'clock one night.
• And finally, Russ Harris's Act With Love- a book that I thought would help me work on my relationship with my husband, which has no problems at all (currently) but for which I like to be prepared anyway.

That's a lot of books. Is anyone else that bloody mad?

You see, I have a different book to match each mood. Serious, literary ones when I'm introspective and feeling analytical and want to challenge my grey matter; Humorous, ligh-hearted ones when I feel like a laugh, and nothing too serious; non-fictional ones that I can learn from when I'm in the learning mood; and fantasy-type ones for when I feel like drifting off into another world and feel immersed in the story.

What's on your bedside table?

What are your life-changing books?

There are many books and works of literature out there that have opened my eyes and made me think. Some of them have been profound, some of them have been a giant reality check, and some have been eye-opening, heart-wrenching and/or LOL funny. But to come across a book that I can say has changed my life and the way I think about things is a very rare treat. So, I'd like to share with you the books that have changed my life in some way or another, and hopefully have you share your life-changing books, if only to add to my short-list of must-reads.

Many Lives, Many Masters- Brian L. Weiss MD

This is actually a true story. I couldn't sum it up without doing it injustice, so I took the explanation off Dr Weiss's website:

As a traditional psychotherapist, Dr. Brian Weiss was astonished and skeptical when one of his patients began recalling past-life traumas that seemed to hold the key to her recurring nightmares and anxiety attacks. His skepticism was eroded, however, when she began to channel messages from "the space between lives," which contained remarkable revelations about Dr. Weiss's family and his dead son. Using past-life therapy, he was able to cure the patient and embark on a new, more meaningful phase of his own career.- http://www.brianweiss.com/

I loved this book. Whether or not it's totally true I don't know, but I tend to believe it is. The guy's a doctor! He has qualifications! And if it's true, the consequences are absolutely mind blowing. It provides evidence that there is not only an afterlife, but that reincarnation exists. Being a pagan, I'm a firm believer in reincarnation, and living life after life until we become enlightened and have no more lessons to learn. I believe the Christian way of thinking is an easy way out- you only live once, and if you're good you go to heaven, and if you're bad you go to hell. Where are the lessons? What's the point of having one chance? Anyway, I'm getting off the topic here. The point is that this book somehow confirmed my belief that there is something, whatever that something is, after life.

Stranger in a Strange Land- Robert A. Heinlen

This was apparently a best seller when it was published in 1961. It's about a human that was raised by martians on Mars, who was eventually found by another Mars expedition, and brought back to Earth. Of course, you're wondering how a human was raised by martians on Mars right? Well, on an earlier expedition a husband and wife couple conceived while on their mission. Somehow everyone in that expedition but the baby dies, and the baby is found by martians and raised as their own. The result is a human in physical appearance only, but a martian in mind, emotions, and spirit.

This book made me question many of my own values and morals. Like monogamy, and why it is so important in our society. Like the true ability of humans, and the fact that if we supposedly only use 10% of our brains, imagine how amazing we would be if we used all of it. And it also brought up the question of environmental influence. If we were brought up in a society that only used thought and feeling and actions to communicate, would we be able to read people's thoughts? Would our brains and our powers of thought be so advanced that we could move objects with our minds? Would we all be Uri Gellers?

If I were to recommend any book, this would be the one. You'll either love it or hate it, and I'm willing to wear the blame if you hate it, but it certainly made me question many of the "rules" and regulations that our society has in place: what's tolerable with regards to sex, behavior, religion, and what's not.

So these are my two life-changing books. What are yours?

The dying art of conversation

I'm surrounded by conversationally challenged males. One who can't speak at all, one whose conversations revolve around Cars (the movie) and Thomas (the tank engine), and another whose conversation extends to cars (the mode of transport), drinking, Ebay, cars, computer crap, and cars. And I never realised how much it bothers me until I read an article in this month's Vogue about how the art of conversation has plummeted and is almost non-existent since the introduction of modern technology.

When your friends seem a million miles away and the only conversation you get is the conversation you have with the checkout chick who you buy milk from, the Medicare lady when you get your refund, or the women on Twitter you "talk" to but have never really met and your sentences never exceed more than 140 characters, it's easy to see how important conversation really is. Especially when your life is lacking it.

I remember the days (may I remind you I'm only 27 and I'm starting a sentence like I'm 50) when I used to catch the train into the city to work, and strike up a conversation with whoever was sitting near me. Sometimes it was me who started it, sometimes it was them. Either way, it would begin with a "where are you off to?" and end with a sincerely genuine "it was great talking to you!" I also remember the days when it was perfectly natural to be friendly with your neighbors, to strike up a conversation when you went out to collect the mail at the same time: "How's that chook of yours going, any eggs yet? I heard her laying up a storm early this morning." Nowadays we only ever speak to neighbors when we're forced to. Usually we try avoiding them all together, sneaking the long way around the car, running up to the door before they turn around, pretending not to see them.

So the article spoke about the art of conversation, and how it used to be important to be able to converse with someone you didn't know. Unfortunately there are numerous occasions when I've found my conversation skills lacking, when I'm at a party standing with someone I've only just met, and have run out of conversation. I mean, what do you talk about? Or, how do you walk away politely once the conversation has run dry? "Well...I'm gonna go to the toilet/grab another drink/stand over there now..."

For all you lucky Sydney-ites (probably the only time you'll EVER hear me say that, because I'm a strictly Melbourne girl) you can go to a seven week course that teaches you the art of conversation. For those of us that aren't so lucky, there's a book titled, funnily enough, The Art of Conversation by Catherine Blyth, that I fully intend to read. 

I just never knew that something that I've been so good at for so long (my grade one school report said "Melissa talks a lot") could be an art form. Being able to make good conversation is as necessary as being able to make a good coffee, be a good listener, or a good friend. Being a good conversationalist means people view you as smart, intelligent, witty, and enjoyable to be around. I'd much rather be that than awkward and uncomfortable, which I sometimes find myself being. If I want to excel in the Communications industry I really need to start working on my conversation skills.

Williamstown Literary Festival

You may or may not have noticed my lack of posts over the last few weeks. I've been busily organising publicity for the Williamstown Literary Festival, which is on this weekend (Fri 1-Sun 3 May). I'm pretty lucky to have been given this opportunity, through Veronica of Market PR. She has been kind enough to mentor me through my first real account, and so far I think I have done pretty well!

So, the WilliLitFest is on this weekend. Aside from doing the publicity I am also going to lots of the events. But let me just give you a quick breakdown of who's there:

- Andy Griffiths
- Andrew Rule
- Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope (ABC's The Librarians)
- Denise Scott
- Alice Pung
- Amra Pajalic
- Leigh Hobbs
- Catherine Deveny
- Jackie Kerin
- Gideon Haigh
- John Harms
- Maureen McCarthy

The person who most captured my attention is Jackie Kerin. She is author of children's book Phar Lap the Wonder Horse, but she is also writing about stories from Australia's history that have otherwise been untold. See, I believe it's the little things that really make up our history.

So, this is just a quick plug to say that if you enjoy reading (and if you're here, I assume you do) or writing and need some inspiration, then I suggest you head to the WilliLitFest this weekend.

Book Review - The Slap (Christos Tsiolkas)

Set in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, The Slap is a brutally honest depiction of what really goes on behind closed doors in the 'burbs. It tells of the jealousy, infidelity, regret, uncertainty, violence, sex and drugs that permeates the lives of the eight characters used to tell the story.

The book begins with a bbq, and a slap administered to a child by a man who wasn't his father, and then meanders through the lives and opinions of eight of the people present at the bbq, briefly touching on each person's life, while discussing how they viewed the "incident".

I find the plot to be very weak, and I don't like the fact that this book doesn't have movement. It goes nowhere. It's stagnant, as all the characters revolve around one event that really isn't even that interesting to begin with. I get slightly put off at the start, when I'm introduced to a barrage of characters at the bbq- too many to keep tabs on- so after the first few I kind of tune out. This poses problems later in the book, when I reach a chapter of a character I'm not familiar with, and have to refer back to the bbq to refresh my memory.

The story begins from Hector's point of view, and proceeds to meander through another seven of the people that were present on the night: Anouk (Aisha and Rosie's friend), Harry (the "villain" in question), Connie (17, I assume, and works with Aisha at the vet clinic), Rosie (mother if Hugo, the "victim"), Manolis (Hector's father, Harry's Uncle), Aisha, and Richie (17 yo gay friend of Connie's). It is based on the slap that Harry administered Hugo, and its consequences. There are around 20 people at the bbq that witness it, and everyone has different opinions on whether it was wrong and Harry should be charged, or whether Hugo, being the spoilt, undisciplined brat that he is, was actually well over-due for such slappings. Ultimately Harry is taken to court by Rosie and Gary, but the outcome, in the scheme of the story, is neither here nor there.

In every chapter you will find sex, drugs, and plenty of 'c' bombs. I have never read so many 'c' bombs in one place. I'm not a prude, but still by the end of the book I couldn't help recoiling every time I read the word. Anyway.To me, the book really goes nowhere. It briefly touches on the eight main characters lives, and even more briefly on what their opinions of the slap and how it affects them as families and individuals. But there's no beginning and no end. It just sort of...remains stagnant. There's no climax. I know not all books have climaxes, but I really prefer ones that do.

There's only one character I can really form any sort of relationship with and that's Connie, the 17 year old girl. Maybe it's because I was once a teenager like her, and I remember it clearly, and yearn for it often. But she's the only one in the whole book who doesn't annoy me, doesn't irk me, and doesn't make me feel like grabbing them by the shoulders and shaking them. It's also probably because she's the least cynical and jaded of them all, and the most level-headed and grounded.

One thing I will give Tsiolkas is that he has a great talent at getting inside the minds of the characters. In particular, I was impressed with his depiction of the two teenagers, Connie, and her gay friend Richie. Assuming he's never been a teenage girl himself, Tsiolkas's portrayal of the way Connie thinks of herself and the world around her is spot on. He has captured the self-consciousness, insecurity and naivety with perfection, and it really struck a chord with me and how I remember my adolescence.

Tsiolkas is undoubtedly a brilliant writer. His style is cohesive and easy to read, the narrative colourful. It's just the plot that I don't like. I feel he could have done so much more with it, and felt quite disappointed when I reached the end, a disappointment I knew was imminent only a few chapters in. I finished it because I wanted to see how it "ended" but somehow I knew once I got through the first two character's chapters that it wasn't going to "end" as such. There's no conclusion and I received no sense of satisfaction once I closed the book, as I do with most other books I've read.

Apparently the book will be reviewed on The First Tuesday Book Club (ABC) next month, so I will be interested to see what they have to say about the book.

Book Review - Cents and Sensibility (Maggie Alderson)

Sometimes it's good to read something that requires no brain power, and this is one of those fabulous works of fiction where you can just get lost in another life of fantasy, pretending to be the character and leading that life.

Cents and Sensibility is about Stella Montecourt-Fain, a journalist at one of the best newspapers in London. She specialises in luxury feature stories, and so is exposed to that awe-inspiring world of luxurious clothes, accessories, high jewelry, money, and beautiful people. Not that that's important of course.

On one of her regular trips to France (sigh) she meets the heir to one of America's biggest fortune...but she doesn't find out straight away. The story is about hers and her father's reaction to the amount of money this man would inherit, as well as love (of course), and family values.

There are some colourful characters in the story, my favorite being the womanising Lord Montecourt-Fain, Stella's father, who has had six wives and a myriad of children to each wife. Of course this makes for an interesting and complicated family mix, but full of love and fun nonetheless.

The story is a lighthearted read when you feel like escaping life without having to put too much thought in it.

You can buy Cents and Sensibility here

Book Review- Tuesdays with Morrie: an old man, a young man, and life's greatest lessons (Mitch Albom)

I loved this book. It is an easy read, but at the same time it tackles life's greatest questions and makes you think, which is what makes this such a great book.

The story is about a Mitch Albom's college professor (Morrie) who has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Mitch goes to visit him (yep, every Tuesday) as the disease slowly takes control of his body. During this time Mitch comes up with a list of topics he'd like to discuss with Morrie You see, Morrie is one of those people that everyone could benefit from having in their lives. He was the type of person who followed his passions, never let superficial things get in the way of his true loves, drew people towards him like moths to a flame, didn't care what society thought, and was incredibly insightful and wise- all of which were magnified when he found out he had a terminal illness.

The topics (or the syllabus) that Mitch and Morrie covered are: The world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, death, family, emotions, fear of aging, money, how love goes on, marriage, our (western) culture, and forgiveness.

We need more books in our life that approach these topics with an open mind. I took away three lessons from this one:

1. That no matter how much money and material possessions you have, they will never buy you lasting happiness and contentment. I mean to the point where you say "I don't need anything else in my life, I have all that I could possibly need to make me happy". I've covered this briefly in my post Generation X and Y: the lost generations?.

2. The most important things in life really are friends and family. Because at the end of the day, if you have no one to talk to, it's all worth nothing (unless, of course, you're one of those people that is perfectly happy being on your own)

3. We will never be truly happy until we can look at ourselves and accept all our faults and try to make them better, rather than try and make more money, get skinnier etc. If we can learn from our imperfections, accept that we all age and eventually die, and learn to enjoy life for what it is rather than slowing down the process of death, we will be able to live better lives.

You can buy Tuesdays with Morrie here

Book of the moment: John Lennon- The Life

I've always been a huge fan of The Beatles. I don't know where this stems from, but it doesn't matter, their happy-go-lucky, sometimes psychedelic, sometimes sombre music has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I especially liked John Lennon. I guess because he was the troubled one, the "tortured artist", the lost soul of the group, and for some reason I automatically gravitate towards these types. So when I read about the a biography of Lennon by the same guy that did the Beatle's book "Help" (Phillip Norman) in The Age M Magazine, I wanted it. I had to have it. Fortunately it was my birthday a couple of weeks after reading about it (read: today) so when my 3 year-old son asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I was quick to reply.

So I've started reading it already and I will keep you posted how it goes.

Book Review- The Bang-Bang Club: snapshots from a hidden war

So I just finished reading this book called The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a hidden war. It's about four photographers- Greg Marinovich, Joao Silva (authors), Kevin Carter (dec) and Ken Oosterbroek (dec) who were covering the Apartheid in South Africa during the 1990s. This is a book I think everyone should read.

Many of us -most of us, I think- live in our own little comfortable boxes of which we rarely step out of. Sure, we read the newspaper, watch the news, listen to the radio. We know about the war in Iraq. We know that homeless people exist. We know that many countries have civil wars. We know what genocide is. And we know about AIDS and poverty and famine and disease. But the difference between knowing that it exists and understanding what is happening is huge. Before the book, I had a vague idea of what the Apartheid was. As I was only eight when Nelson Mandela was released in 1990 I didn't really know what was going on, why he was jailed in the first place, or why it was such a big deal that he had been released. Except that it showed some form of hope for the black majority in South Africa (and unease for the white minority).

The Bang-Bang Club opened my eyes to what really happened in South Africa during the time of the Apartheid. It was a time of extreme violence, where anything could happen. These four photographers were subjected to such horrible images that one of them committed suicide, while the other died on the job, having been shot at.

Let me give you a brief idea of what the photos they took were of:

- one photo of a vulture stalking a starving child in Sudan
- a photo of a man running away from the camera, with his clothes on fire
- many images of the dead
- an image of a 2 year old boy, whose head had been smashed, laying dead next to his aunty. The justification the guy who killed him (part of an extreme right-wing political party) was that "snakes give birth to snakes"

I know humanity is capable of some horrible things, but you don't realise just how horrible until you read the details- unedited by the media, with no hidden agendas. If you want to know about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, check out the blogs of the local people. Don't read about it in the paper. The media has nought but its own agenda to worry about, never mind giving you the full picture of what's really going on behind the scenes.

The Bang-Bang Club was written by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva, the only two remaining photographers of this exclusive club. If it weren't for this book (which, by the way, is banned in Australia- but you can buy it off Amazon), I wouldn't have known the truth behind what happened during the Apartheid, and the extent to which humans can commit utterly horrible crimes with no remorse.