disassociated

Future recipients of the Stella Prize, a literary award recognising the work of Australian women writers, can except to see their efforts acknowledged for years to come, following a one-million dollar donation to the Stella Forever Fund by former Stella Deputy Chair Paula McLean.

McLean’s donation is a part of the Fund’s objective to secure a total of $3 million in prize money by April 2022, when the next Stella award winner will be announced. The announcement is being presented as a ‘matched funding’ initiative, meaning that every donation made up to $1 million will be matched by McLean, as a way to kick-start an even greater circle of giving around this important literary prize.

Seven books to buy for men in your life, by Sheree at Keeping Up With The Penguins. Unlike similarly titled lists you may see published by book-sellers at certain times of the year, this is one you want to look at.

So, why on earth am I making a list of books to buy for men? Well, I’ve noticed that people do actually pay attention to these recommendations, and the “books to buy for men” page is almost always almost exclusively populated with books written by men. What about the books by women, the ones that might “normally” find a large audience of women, but would actually really benefit cis-men?

I could probably say more about the matter of why the “for him” recommendations issued by book-sellers, are filled with titles by men, about men, when there’s a stack of awesome novels written by women they could also be reading. If the question is asked enough though, perhaps more people will think about it.

Last week Australian musician Darren Hanlon put together a music playlist inspired by works of literature for radio station Double J. Included is a cover of the old Dire Straits hit Romeo and Juliet, based of course on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare, by Lisa Mitchell.

The Metaverse as seen by Sydney based writer and musician, Penny Flanagan:

Call me paranoid, but I’m starting to think that Zuckerberg’s end game is to stop all of us from existing physically in the real world. I think he wants to “make the time spent on the internet better” so that he can turn us all into 24/7 flubby, docile sources of advertising revenue. In truth, his ideal for the metaverse is a world where the internet is so satisfying, you won’t want or need to leave it for the real world.

I can see where Flanagan’s coming from, particularly in light of the recent lockdowns that have forced many of us to participate in an elemental iteration of the Metaverse. If you, that is, consider the likes of Zoom, Slack, Facetime, et al, to be a prototype of the virtual environment Meta/Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg proposes creating.

And while there’s little doubt Zuckerberg is eyeing potential revenue, I see benefits in some of the ideas on the table. I’m also not doubting some people could become completely immersed in this new virtual realm in time, but I think we’re some long-way off from seeing the Metaverse eventuate in the way Zuckerberg envisages it.

Some late news to hand… Still Life by London based British author Sarah Winman, was recently named winner of the Dymocks 2021 Book of the Year. Still Life is averaging a tad over four stars in reader ratings on Goodreads, which means the title should be on your to-be-read list.

Iconic Indigenous Australian actor David Dalaithngu died yesterday, aged 68. He starred in a stack of locally made movies, including Walkabout, Storm Boy, Crocodile Dundee, Rabbit Proof Fence, The Tracker, The Proposition, Australia, and Charlie’s Country.

House of Gucci, Ridley Scott’s depiction of events leading up the to the 1995 murder of Maurizio Gucci, former head of the same Italian fashion house, has been criticised by the Gucci family as being inaccurate and insensitive:

“The production of the film did not bother to consult the heirs before describing Aldo Gucci — president of the company for 30 years — and the members of the Gucci family as thugs, ignorant and insensitive to the world around them,” the statement said. “This is extremely painful from a human point of view and an insult to the legacy on which the brand is built today.”

Meanwhile Lady Gaga’s portrayal of Patrizia Reggiani has been lauded by film critics, with at least one suggesting she deserves an Oscar for her work.