Category Archives: Australia

Gone Fishing

Posted on September 9, 2010 by Cheryl

Today Kevin and I were up before dawn (and before the fruit bats went to bed) to catch a boat out to the Barrier Reef. It was along and very tiring day,but absolutely worth it as far as we are … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Nature | 5 Comments

A Day in the Rainforest

Posted on September 8, 2010 by Cheryl

Today Kevin and I took the train up to Kuranda, a village in the rainforest in the mountains above Cairns. We have ridden on one of the world’s great scenic railways, communed with fruit bats, eaten kangaroo pie, found a … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Nature, Travel | 5 Comments

Worldcon, Day 1

Posted on September 2, 2010 by Cheryl

Can I be exhausted already? Thank you! It has been a good day thus far. My panel on trans characters in YA fiction went very well. Lots of people have said nice things about the iPad edition of Salon Futura, … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Conventions | 2 Comments

Arriving in Melbourne #aus4

Posted on August 30, 2010 by Cheryl

I am typing this blog post from my room in the Melbourne airport Hilton, looking out at the International Terminal. I spent a little time this morning wandering around checking things out. Here are some things you may find useful. … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Travel | 3 Comments

Best Fannish Cat Nominees Announced

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Cheryl

As you may recall, this year’s Ditmar Awards have a special category for Best Fannish Cat. I’m still a bit peeved that the rules required Australian residency, so I wasn’t eligible, but the nominees have just been announced and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Awards, Weird | 7 Comments

Australia Travel Update

Posted on August 15, 2010 by Cheryl

With only a week or two (depending on your travel plans) to go before people start leaving for Melbourne, questions are being asked. Yesterday Jay Lake inquired about mobile phone rental, as a result of which I discovered that the … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Conventions | 1 Comment

The South Pacific Tour

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Cheryl

A few people have been asking me when I will be where on my tour of the South Pacific. I don’t have final panel schedules as yet, but here is a rough guide. From August 27th-29th I will be in … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Conventions, Personal | Comments Off

At Least Someone Wants Me

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Cheryl

Today I applied for, and was granted, an electronic visitor visa for Australia. I can now book flights to Worldcon. This is a great relief to me. It does remind me, however, that pretty much everyone traveling to Australia for … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Conventions, Travel | 15 Comments

Dudcon III Web Site Live

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Cheryl

The 2010 Australian Natcon, which exists, friendly-flea-like, upon the back of the ravenous beast that is Aussiecon 4, now has its very own web site. If you would like to find out how you, yes you!, could be Guest of … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Conventions | Comments Off

Diversity Linkage

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Cheryl

We are off around the world. – Justine Larbalestier has guest post by a writer who is an Australian Aboriginal. – Joe Gordon notes that the fabulous comic creator, Asia Alfasi, along with the equally talented Daryl Cunningham, is being … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Comics, Current Affairs, Feminism, Gender, Science Fiction | 2 Comments

A Little Melbourne Pride

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Cheryl

So the planned protest march took place in Melbourne, and Amanda was there to give support. She made it into The Age as a result. You can read the article here. I just want to draw attention to this comment … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Music | Comments Off

Saving Melbourne’s Music

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Cheryl

Amanda Palmer is on tour in Australia at the moment, and through her I became aware of this protest movement. Apparently, in an effort to crack down on drunken violence, Victoria’s government is imposing stringent new licensing restrictions on clubs … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Music | 2 Comments

Bizzaro World

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Cheryl

Let me get this straight: the British National Party is happy to amend its “whites only” membership rule in order to comply with equality legislation, but our glorious bishops demand that the Church of England be exempt from such legislation … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Current Affairs | 7 Comments

Morning in Brisbane

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Cheryl

It is a good job I leave my iPhone by my bed at night. This morning I switched it on to check Twitter and found that the Aurealis Award ceremony was in full swing in Brisbane. I got the announcements … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Awards, Girly, SFAW | Comments Off

Aussiecon 4 Hotel Update

Posted on January 13, 2010 by Cheryl

At SMOFcon the AussieCon 4 folks expected hotel bookings to be open on January 15th – that’s this weekend. I have just spotted this on the A4 Travel LiveJournal. Apparently there’s some delay and the new ETA is between now … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Conventions | Comments Off

Aussiecon 4 Travel Community

Posted on December 22, 2009 by Cheryl

Thinking of traveling to Melbourne for Worldcon next year? If so, check out the new LiveJournal Community created by the Aussiecon 4 folks to allow members to share travel tips.

Posted in Australia, Conventions, Travel | Comments Off

Going to Dudcon III?

Posted on December 16, 2009 by Cheryl

Next year Australia is hosting Worldcon. Of course it also needs to hold a national convention where it can give out the Ditmar Awards. Different countries have different approaches to this. – The Americans don’t bother to hold a natcon … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Fandom | 5 Comments

Danger, Evil British at Work

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Cheryl

Thankfully I don’t get a lot of loony right wing spam, and when I do it is mostly not worth bothering with because it is American in origin and therefore follows the same tired tracks of blaming the international conspiracy … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Current Affairs | 8 Comments

Link Salad for Second Breakfast

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Cheryl

Kevin and I are both very tired this morning. We have no idea why. However, breakfast and caffeine should fix that. In the meantime, in the great hobbit tradition of Second Breakfast, I offer up a big plate of link … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Australia, Books, Feminism, Internet, Music, Space, Weird | Comments Off

Jay to do Grand Tour

Posted on November 17, 2009 by Cheryl

I see from this morning’s blog reading that Jay Lake has booked up to do the Grand Tour of Down Under next year. That means he will be attending Au Contraire in Wellington the weekend before AussieCon 4. This is … Continue reading →

Posted in Australia, Conventions, Travel | Comments Off