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Sunday, June 11, 2006



Nothing corrupts a man so deeply as writing a book; the myriad temptations are overwhelming.
-Rex Stout, The Mother Hunt

Five million women have just been told that I’m a sex expert. Maybe this will be just enough to counter-balance my ex-wife’s opinion ;-) The Cold Truth of Love

Art of Living & Literature Across Frontiers: Take two for film funding: can’t-wait-to-do-it
Investing in the Australian film industry by private consumers is undergoing a revival, after having been on the outer for some years. It was a popular strategy in the 1980s, when its tax advantages outstripped those of horticultural schemes. However, the share of private investment has fallen to just 10% of the total $A61m spent by the industry on new films in 2004-05. This may soon change, with the Australian Government set to overhaul the tax incentive divisions 10B and 10BA of the Tax Act. Two investment vehicles are also being launched for private investors interested in the movie business, in the shape of Future Films Australia and The FLIC Company. FLIC is an acronym for the Film Licensed Investment Company licence granted by the Federal Government. Aspiring director Richard Gray says raising finance for a film is still hard work 

The first vehicle, Future Films Australia, is an investment fund seeking to finance $250 million worth of Australian films. Its minimum investment is $25,000. Twelve film projects are being considered, all of which must have a product ruling from the Australian Tax Office before investment.
Future Films Australia's 50-50 joint venture partner is British-based Future Film Group, which has invested pound stg. 1.8 billion ($4.4 billion) in successful films including Kill Bill 2, Hero, Princess Diaries 2, and Bend it like Beckham.


Double Take on Dagon [ Mort Janklow is auctioning Ted Turner's memoir. As ever, the Post is bidding big. Big Times; French monks, footy groupies, televangelists, Gallipoli star Mark Lee's directing debut ... Sacha Molitorisz finds the best of the Sydney Film Festival. Flick picks - best of the fest ; The Greatest Generation fought and died for narcissist Baby Boomers with their “lifestyles.” Between them were the people who made a revolution. The in-betweeners ]
• · How does one mentally and emotionally deal with serious tragedies such as the loss of a loved one?  What about global tragedies like natural disasters, genocide, or famine?  Is it only human to feel down and depressed after such events, or is it possible to remain conscious and positive throughout?  Is there a deeper meaning behind these seemingly random and tragic experiences? Dealing With Tragedy and Loss ; Self Magazine Sex Article; Spike Milligan was clearly into surreal humour The world's funniest joke was written by Spike Milligan
• · · New research finds there are only three ways for singles to meet each other: by chance, by introduction or out on the singles scene. Lunch has a beginning; lunch has an end. It's kind of easy to say goodbye, there's no good-night kiss - it's just really easy! The New Meet Market - Who knew board games could be so sexy? ; Breaking up is hard to do. Especially when there's lemons, laundry and the dishes involved The Break-up ;
• · · · Communication is everything to you artists. You can't look at a landscape or a bowl of fruit without thinking how you will put it on a canvas so that somebody else will see it as your landscape or your bowl of fruit. That is the inescapable vulgarity of art A slight case of art ; Sir Tom Stoppard, “Clever Tom,” a master of the swirl and dazzle of language, celebrated for his rich ideas, and famous for running off with Felicity Kendall Even if, as in the case of Sir Tom Stoppard, they can't remember what it was like
• · · · · Self-defense, protecting those who need it, dread of the “undead,” fighting against the odds: these are the age-old themes of literature Self-defense ; The Da Vinci Code 6: Hell Hath No Fury had done very well – at 120 million in hardback, even better than The Virgin’s Carbuncle. And yet Dan Brown’s quest had not ended Closing the book on the lousiest story ever sold
• · · · · · I put on a Louis Armstrong record to warm myself up and beamed at the familiar sound of his sunny, gravel-choked voice: Boy, you the lucky guy. When you consider the highest bidder; Can’t buy the gleam in your eye, You the lucky guy. It's infallible ; Living off the other guy as an easy lifestyle choice. Too easy in Sweden, where the welfare state is falling apart under its own weight Swedish Models