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In ITS obsession with property prices and housing affordability, Sydney has overlooked a startling fact: the city is awash with empty buildings. Empty dwellings in a city desperate for places to live

Can we change the heart of politics? Sydney – Last Person Switch on the light
The number of unoccupied residential dwellings in Sydney counted by census workers in 2006 was 122,211, with the highest number found in the inner city. That does not include the thousands of empty warehouses, pubs, churches and shops.

A Wikipedia-style site that allows users to map the number of empty buildings in Australia has crashed after an overwhelming response from the public. Daniel Cox, the creator of http://bubblepedia.net.au said he was racing to fix the site in spare moments between his professional duties as a specialist anaesthetist.

• Empty Spaces; [; Some of today's hottest gadgets are already infected when they leave the factory; DANIEL COX thinks the housing shortage is a myth and he has a map to prove it;]
• · UK - Councillors launch bid to put people into vacant homes ; US - The National Vacant Properties Campaign exists to provide everyone – individuals, advocates, agencies, developers, non-profits, and others – with information resources, tools, and assistance to support their vacant property revitalization efforts US - The National Vacant Properties
• · The real crisis in the UK isn’t about the sub-prime collapse, it’s about consumer demand. Is the same thing happening here? The financial malaise is spreading ; A bleaker, poorer world results when languages are allowed to wither. It says that other world-views are expendable Squandered worlds
• · · With its latest Cyber Storm II exercise now completed, the US Department of Homeland Security says it expects to release an after-action report analysing the event in August, and is beginning to plan for Cyber Storm III in 2010 DHS offers first take on Cyber Storm exercise ; New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (IRD) introduces new asset control measures to prevent further losses Taxman finds all but 36 lost PCs
• · · · With Thomas Friedman's morning keynote appearance at BEA it would be poetic to characterize BEA as HOT, FLAT AND CROWDED, but between recent statistics and the opening day mood we'll have to stand with just flat: Exxon is green... GM is green... Yeah. That's not a revolution friends, That's a party. We're having a green party. But it has nothing to do with a revolution. You'll know it's a revolution when somebody gets hurt. When companies have to change or die BEA; Publishing convention not quite green
• · · · · Premier Morris Iemma says he does not feel disloyal to the NSW Labor party over his plans to privatise the state's electricity sector Privatisation ; If Australia is going to take information security seriously, we need more people like the ATO's CIO, Bill Gibson. Gibson
• · · · · · There is a tendency to only look at what we're doing today, instead of stepping back and asking: "what do we need to focus on for the future? Why You Need To Plan for Innovation Today; Lindsay Tanner, Minister for Finance and Deregulation, CeBIT Australia, 21 May 2008. Good morning and welcome to the e-Government Forum at CeBIT Australia 2008, the largest information and communications technology event focused on government issues in this country. How to use information technology to govern more effectively and efficiently is a particular concern of mine in my role as Minister for Finance and Deregulation. My portfolio includes the Australian Government Information Management Office - AGIMO - the agency responsible for managing the federal government's information technology requirements." Keynote address to the e-Government forum ; Speech discusses various e-government and related topics such as procurement, web 2.0, IT / ICT and service delivery, citizens' engagement … Paper

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A group of Bohemians invaded the Ritz at Randwick, Mal and Gabbie, June and Richard, Dial, Bawa, Chris and Lidka – Kuba, Olek, John and Liz, Beck, Marion, Gerd was there in spirit, Jen-Jen, Kevin, Steve and Wendy and Jules, George as well as Vicki, Ana and Rudy, Catarina and Jack, Begonia and Lisa and so many others in the underground spirit such as Gina and Kevin INDY at 64 – when I am sixty four ; Movie Review: 'Indiana Jones' deserves a warm welcome The archaeology of Indiana Jones

RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL Bouncing Czech (oslovakian) on PURPOSE
Like Media Dragon Tom Stoppard share the same nicknames Bouncing Czechs – Tom was bounced from Czech Republic just before the Nazis came to get the Jews and then he escaped from Sinapore before the Japanese came in WWII (source Rock and Roll booklet)

• Dangerous path; [That's what I lovingly whispered Let's never be a part again" ; You don't have to be a committed thespian or theatre aficionado to understand how the Bard's 400 year old works give inspiration Shakespeare ]
• · 2008 AD - Come to the new King of all Apple Stores in Sydneyrella – It took me twenty odd years to make the Mac CEO to see the antipodean light Reminding the world to get a little CRAZY - Can I claim my iPhone on tax? New Store in Sydney Captain Matilda; Lowest earners should pay the lowest percentage of tax
• · The Crazy Ones; Think Different
• · · When Your Nonfiction Book Idea is Stuck in the Mud; We are conditioned from birth to acquire social competence in a single culture: our own Writing Multicultural Fiction
• · · · When is that 'big bang moment', that life-changing experience, that 'peak experience' - was it that moment, is it this moment or will it be the moment around the corner? Love will tear us apart … again (… and repeat);
• · · · · Reinvigorating Literary Scholarship? Literary criticism could be one of our best tools for understanding the human condition. But first, it needs a radical change: embracing science Measure for Measure; No tax returns and now apparently no book from Cindy McCain - Cindy McCain, wife of Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has decided not to write her memoir after signing a book deal with Viking last month Cindy McCain Backs Out On Book Deal
• · · · · · Chasers were great on Friday night at the Enmore Theatre – if a bit too risqué for some -- From Parliament to Paris Hilton, Chaser writer Dominic Knight casts a critical eye over whatever's in the news. Rock and Roll and Chasers ; Business use of social networking is fuelling a revolution in collaboration. Social networking within the enterprise ; The first guideline regarding an employee blogging policy is simple - have one Two approaches to employee blogs

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Gabriella is sweet sixteen today and at breakfast I could not take my eyes of her … It is so lovely for a father to see a daughter filled with laughter and health and creative ideas. Not many teenagers love to go to school these days yet Gabbie loves her talent school, the Brent Street, is just great … The reason Gabbie is so much into arts and photography is because the water broke while we were in the cinema all those sixteen years ago ... and Paddington still had a birth center under the flag of Benevolent Society of Royal Women!

Tonight I laughed with Mal at a movie that no critic can ever give it any justice in words ... impossible just like As it is in Heaven - Who says it is easy is just once in a lifetime story a light story with so many characters from my days in the Czech army and even I recognise a few librarians and journos from Macquarie Street Bear Pit as both places were like laboratories of human nature ... An amiable but uninventive romantic comedy about a square whose life turns heart-shaped, Juan Taratutos - Who Says Its Easy? — like the helmers debut - Its Not You, Its Me, — is basically a vehicle for the talents of hangdog thesp Diego Peretti. Main characters spiritual journey could have shed 10 minutes, but is made worthwhile by an emotionally rewarding final reel and the always-watchable Peretti. Aldo is in complete control of his life and surroundings, and he wouldn't have it any other way. Andrea has long since thrown caution to the wind, having traveled the world for fifteen years. Now Andrea is pregnant, and she's not even sure she can identify the father of her unborn son. On the surface it would seem almost impossible to love a man as rigid as Aldo or a woman as unpredictable as Andrea, but as fate would have it their eccentricities might just fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Who Says Its Easy? - Quien dice que es facil?
I'm shattered into million pieces with laughter . Still I know how broken hearts are much harder to heal than broken bodies

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The purge of Liberals involved in undermining Victorian leader Ted Baillieu could reach into the offices of state or federal MPs, with several more staffers under threat of explusion over the blogging scandal that claimed a third scalp yesterday Blog crisis 'tip of iceberg' [Google that cheeky collector and gather New scalp claimed in Liberal blog scandal

Into each life some rain must fall, some days must be dark and dreary Memoirs: whose truth – and does it matter?
If You're Looking for a Level-Headed Piece on Memoirs
The Christian Science Monitor has one. There's not a lot new here, but with the Seltzer furor having settled down, a little more perspective prevails. At Powell's Books, marketing manager Michal Drannen says, There was a certain amount of interest in Margaret Jones [Ms. Seltzer's pseudonym] regionally and locally. But we haven't seen a decline in sales of the genre. From my perspective, I don't think there's a general concern about the veracity of nonfiction memoirs or biographies.

It's made us cynical. He and his colleagues have developed a running joke. Whenever they come across an especially sensational life story, somebody will ask, What's the pool? How many weeks before it's exposed as fraudulent? That said, Mr. Donaghy admits, The averages are not too bad. Not that it mitigates it at all, but it's not anything I'd call a pandemic. He cites "Beautiful Boy" as one recent example of a memoir that read as especially genuine.

• It made the booksellers' employees cynical ; [Two years after telling the world he was finished with writing, Gabriel Garcia Márquez has rediscovered his muse. The Nobel prizewinner is giving the final touches to "a novel of love", according to a friend. Marquez Writes Another Novel After All; Let's hear it for freedom of speech! Tibet, Zimbabwe and now Myanmar are all refusing access to journalists who want to report on the hardships of their people. NBC News World Media Dragon aims to provide a dynamic look at world events and trends -- both big and small NO JOURNALISTS ALLOWED TO TELL THE STORY ]
• · Everyone networks everyday; they just may not think they do. Everyone talks daily to a family member, a work colleague or a friend and this is a form of networking. Additionally, almost everyone meets someone new everyday. The trick is to find a way to build and maintain your network that is comfortable for you Networking: what is your NQ? ; The more information we place online and the less discriminating we are, the greater the risk of exposure to ID theft and more. Privacy and social networking; How easy is it for thieves to steal your identity? Are we making it easier for them by putting our lives online? Stolen ID ; Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster is famous for his hunger Me want cookie!

• · News Creed – The internet is littered with people who don't know what they're talking about. Common sense is usually enough to separate the junk from legitimate articles, but even the most highly-regarded publications have been infiltrated by reporters who like to make things up NewsCred: Just How Trustworthy is Your Favorite Blog?; NewsCred gives you credible and quality news from your favourite news sources. News Media Dragons
• · · THE writer and social commentator Anne Manne sees this as an historic moment. We are poised at a fork in the cold river How do we want to live? ; Almost all creative ventures fail, but the successes can be spectacular Winner creates all?
• · · · The Sydney Writers' Festival director Wendy Were was excited about bringing five virtual guests to town, including Iain Banks and Alan Bennett, via LongPen technology. Virtually impossible ; Sydney Writers Festival is on next week and it is peppered with lunches – one with Czech Jana Wendt not to be missed … 200 flesh-and-blood authors
• · · · · Australia's richest literary prize won by Jozef Imrich Riches for writers ; A couple of great movies are out right now in the States and should be with the rest of the world soon. Danis checked out I’m Not There, with its great soundtrack and standout album track by Los Lobos. Here’s Danis’ review... Imrich - I’m Not There
• · · · · · After seeing Rock and Roll of Stoppards with Jeff Avril and David in the audience this is another czech artistic invasion … A documentary shot over a period of 13 years that traces the fascinating life of dissident poet turned politician Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, has become the biggest ever theatrical release for a non-fiction film in the former Warsaw Pact Central European country … We are very excited by the success of 'Citizen Havel' at the cinemas. It has by far exceeded everyone's expectations. Directed by Pavel Koutecky (who died in 2006) and Miroslav Janek, "Citizen Havel" was 13 years in the making, with shooting beginning in 1992. 'Citizen Havel' rakes in Czech coin ; Documentary shot over a period of 13 years

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This year has been a year of Film Festivals from French to German and now the Spannish. But the best plays are still with Czech accent as Tom Stoppard rocks the rocks of the Sydney Warf Theatre of Cate Blanchet fame on Thursday in the row F In 2008 Tom gave Australia one of his finest plays Rock 'n' Roll. Jan, the Czech student, lives for rock music; Max, the English professor, lives for Communism; and Esme, the flower child, is high. By 1990, the tanks are rolling out, the Stones are rolling in and idealism has hit the wall. Stoppard's sweeping and passionate play spans two countries, three generations and 22 turbulent years, at the end of which, love remains-and so does rock 'n' roll. Utopia of Indian and Czech connections: Mal and Joe

CODA: Australia – My New Home - new book about the life stories of Australian Czech and Slovak community members has been published. This book is the product of two years of research by the Kratochvíls’ amongst the Czech and Slovak communities in Australia. It depicts life stories and experiences of Czechs and Slovaks who were accepted by Australia as exiles and lived in the capital city of Canberra, and in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania. It focuses on life in refugee camps in the US zone in Germany, which a large number of refugees passed through in the 1950s, the inception and existence of Czech communities and their clubs operating in Australia (for example, Sokol, Orel, scout and outdoor clubs and associations, sporting clubs, and Jewish organizations), Czech community periodicals and magazines published in Australia, theatre, and Czech and Slovak radio broadcasting. For further information or purchase of Austrálie – můj nový domov / Australia – My New Home please contact Mr Jan Kratochvíl by email – krat3@volny.cz or the Czech Embassy in Canberra.

Ach, An Antipodean Letter of the year: With planning and thought, our films can be adopted by the caring and shown to the intelligent - Australian films deserve better than doing battle with blockbusters

From little things big things grow Building a Big SHACK
USA Today looks at the success of William Young's self-published THE SHACK, a wrenching parable about God's grace.

Co-published with Brad Cummings under the banner of Windblown Media, with assistance from author and former pastor Wayne Jacobsen, they say they have 880,000 copies in print, 750,000 in distribution, and we're talking to New York publishers. USAT reports: Published a year ago and promoted by snowballing attention on Christian radio, websites and blogs, The Shack ($14.99) is now in mainstream bookstores and Wal-Marts nationwide, and the trio behind it are talking to Hollywood about a possible film deal

• Aim at 'spiritually interested' sparks 'The Shack' sales ; [As expected, Amazon filed suit with the Supreme Court of New York to "challenge the constitutionality of a newly enacted New York State statute that requires out-of-state internet retailers, with no physical presence in New York, to collect sales and use taxes." Amazon Sues Over Proposed NY Tax; So far former Houghton Mifflin publisher Janet Silver has moved Monique Truong, Peter Ho Davies and John Pipkin to Nan Talese, and Silver doesn't officially start as editor-at-large until May 1 - I called Janet and she sent us a list of the authors she had worked with and the ones who'd said they wanted to come with her, if not immediately then eventually. We ran down the financials and ... we made an agreement with her that she would stay up there in Massachusetts. It was all done in a rather good fashion. Which Authors Will Follow Janet Silver to Nan Talese? ]
• · the blog of the national book critics circle board of directors Commentary on literary criticism; Guest Blogger: James Frey James Frey is "guest blogging" at Amazon's Omnivoracious this month--and maybe he's doing other media, too. "Two big things for me this month. One is that I am guest-blogging on Amazon all month. The other is that my new novel, Bright Shiny Morning, comes out on May 13th. Will check in now and then with updates, stories, impressions. I'll be doing some press, and will be on tour for a couple weeks." Press-Shy Frey Will Blog for Amazon
• · Seattle's Jackson Street Books will close at the end of the month as the owners retire I Been Healed and so can you!; This year's PEN World Voices Festival in New York City, themed Public Lives/Private Lives, features over 170 authors coming from all around the world. World Voices Invigorates NYC: Everyone has a story
• · · Memoirs should explore some sort of new ground, challenge and explore notions of truth and telling the truth, how we remember and how these memories relate to universals. At the very least, they should tell a good story Newest memoir from Augusten Burroughs has too much bite ; My father himself used to read the published correspondence of authors he was interested in, as well as their diaries and memoirs The letters of men of letters; Burn After Reading
• · · · Memoirs rose in popularity during the '90s on the backs of such books as Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes." Now they're in such demand that, in 2007, more memoirs were accepted by publishers than debut novels Everybody has a story -- but is it worth telling?; The author of the much-touted memoir, Love and Consequences, about a foster child who escaped gang life in South Central Los Angeles, Margaret Seltzer (who wrote under the pseudonym Margaret Jones), turned out to be a white woman who grew up in wealthy Sherman Oaks (the part where “Desperate Housewives” is filmed) Fake Memoirs and the New Racial "Passing"
• · · · · Your crazy life story could translate into mega publishing bucks. But is it true? Here's a foolproof way to tell Put Your Memoir to the Test!; THERE he could be when Parliament resumes next week busily tap, tap, tapping away on his laptop, composing his memoirs as question time drones on. Tap dance to immortality: A Million Little Pieces of Deception
• · · · · · These memoirs dig deep into the heartbreak, humor of divorce "How to Sleep Alone in a King-Size Bed" | Memoirs of a divorcée Mamas, don't let your daughters grow up to marry narcissists; As a literary genre, a memoir from the French: mémoire from the Latin memoria, meaning "memory", or a reminiscence, forms a subclass of autobiography: Everyone has a story, but not everyone puts it in writing. Now, my story is out there … floating Cold River When fiction is not enough

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Back in my childhood days in Czechoslovakia on 1 day of May we marched to the music of Soviet composers ... It’s not every day that one has the opportunity to put school memories into a political and media blog. As the half way point of the year creeps up on us, we tend to reflect on the achievements of first few months of the year and look towards the exciting possibilities the rest of the year may hold.

Among the many things my soviet communist teachers taught me:
Scientists say the higher your I.Q. The more you dream.
Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.
The largest cell in the human body is the female egg.
Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.
A pair of human feet contain 250,000 sweat glands.
Your thumb is the same length as your nose.
When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate … (

Among the many new links created in the cyber space: Even with the bar set pretty high, Amazon and Morava (Cold River) met or exceeded analysts' consensus expectations with first quarter sales of $4.13 billion, up 37 percent, and net income of $143 million, up 30 percent from a year ago. Another Jump for Amazon

Historic nobodies like MEdia Dragon The Memory Thief: Landscape of feeling
The painter Franz Kline once said, To be right is the most terrific personal state that no one is interested in. The other is that they need to educate and edify their readers.

The best criticism, as Adam Gopnik wrote inan appreciation of the poet and critic RandallJarrell, should be "not a slot machine of judgment but a tone of voice, a style, the promise of a whole view of life in a few pregnant sentences". Contrary to those who believe journalistic criticism will struggle to survive in the internet age, however, I think people are actually going to want more and more of it. If you step back and survey the situation, it seems simple. In affluent societies, of which there are more in the world than ever before, the arts rise in stature, and as they do, people naturally want to discuss them.

• I am not a writer I am a storyteller. In Cold River the words that flood the pages - they are not always perfect Bloggers are saved from the lynch mob... for now ; [I have always loved a good conspiracy thriller, easily sucked in by the conflict of secrecy and spies, the darkness in the shadows Internal affairs ; AUSTRALIANS have begun searching an online archive for news of their ancestors' nefarious dealings in Victorian London.
Old Bailey puts criminal past on web]
• · The great historical issues of our day are being decided not by historical argument, but by parliamentary vote, with judges enforcing these decisions - Dutch historian Pieter Geyl famously wrote that history is “an argument without an end”. In Switzerland today, arguing about history can mean you might end up having to explain your historical views before a judge of law. History: an argument with an end; For historians, Anzac Day, is 'a martial affair with military music and ritual', while for churches and their army chaplains, it’s a 'faith event'. Anzac day: a faith event?
• · courtesy of Mal - Catherine Austin Fitts is president of Solari, Inc.Solaris ajaja jaj Where is the Money? Let’s Get it Back!; To Blog or Not to Blog: An Employer's Dilemma
• · · The underlying metaphor of Cold River really is that it does not matter where you are stuck in life or what you think you have to do you can always choose something else – there is always a different path Sydney Writer Festival coming soon and Post-Festival of Books: Science fiction notes; Torture, terrorism, eco-disaster... a wave of new films is tackling some of the world's most pressing issues head-on, winning critical praise and box-office rewards. Can films change the world?
• · · · Went to Chauvel and saw the WAVE – Akin to life and death - Go and see it too! One of the most powerful films in the İstanbul Film Festival's international feature competition, German Dennis Gansel's "Die Welle" (The Wave), is inspired by the infamous Stanford prison experiment that took place in Palo Alto, California in 1969. The Wave' by German director Dennis Gansel; Sometimes dubbed Germany's answer to Gerard Depardieu, the gap-toothed Vogel has featured in the German Film Festival here over the past few years Jurgen Vogel at Chauvel
• · · · · A hard-fighting author has never forgotten his impoverished upbringing. Imagine you fall on hard times and (it's hard, but try) imagine further that there is no government welfare to fall back on. In with the underdogs ; One cannot go wrong in Sydney at Dan Murphy but the Bohemians know also about Dan Brown located at 9 Brisbane Street, Surry Hills A drop in the ocean - Independent Discount Liquor of Underdogs
• · · · · · A 25-year-old media dragon magnate has been revealed as the buyer of one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Australia Virtual estate; If you haven’t started a blog yet, it’s time. Blogging comes with benefits. I went to the Web 2.o Expo this week in San Francisco, a “gathering of geeks,” if you will. So as such, of course, it had a fabulous blogger lounge that was anything but geeky. Free massages, Wii on a big screen, music by Pandora, free drinks and–best of all–networking with other bloggers Another Reason to Start Your Own Blog