Alessandro Sorbello

Nice!!

2011-10-16T17:57:00.001-07:00

Awareness Test

2011-01-19T22:23:00.000-08:00

Sydney New Years Eve - Part of the Road trip with "Daisy The Love Bus"

2011-01-11T17:43:00.000-08:00

Interview with Louie Shelton 2007 - Backstage film coming in due course

2011-01-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

Part 2 of 2 - the Great Louie Shelton

Over the past several decades you would have heard Louie Shelton's signature guitar riffs and solos on more hit records than any other session guitarist in history. While there are too many to mention, some of his classics include, Boz Scaggs' "Low Down", Lionel Richie's "Hello", Neil Diamond's "Play Me", The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back", "ABC" and "I'll Be There, The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" and "Valerie". Some of the other artists Louie recorded with include John Lennon, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Kenny Rodgers, The Mamas & Papas, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and many others.

Not only did Louie play guitar on Seals & Crofts greatest hits, "Summer Breeze", "Diamond Girl", "We May Never Pass This Way Again" and "Get Closer", he produced their many Gold and Platinum albums. Some of Louie's other production credits include Art Garfunkle, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Dan Seals, Cory Wells (of Three Dog Night), Jane Oliver, The Southern Sons, Mother Hubbard and Nashville Guitars.

Vasco camping at Girraween National Park 2007

2011-01-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

Girraween, ‘meaning place of flowers’, is a park of massive granite outcrops, balancing boulders, clear streams and tumbling cascades. Spectacular wildflower displays are a feature in spring. High on the northern end of the New England Tableland, the 11 700ha park has an average elevation of 900m and is cold in winter, hot in summer. Not far from the Queensland-New South Wales border, it has more in common with cooler southern climes than with most of the Sunshine State.

The park’s eucalypt forests and heathlands support diverse birds, including the rare turquoise parrot and superb lyrebird. Common wombats graze on grassy areas fringing the heath and forest. Just three hours’ drive from Brisbane, Girraween offers great walking and camping, surrounded by the orchards and vineyards of the Granite Belt. It makes an ideal holiday destination or stop-over between Brisbane and Sydney. Bald Rock National Park is next door, just over the New South Wales border.

At Barron Falls near Kuranda North Queensland

2011-01-11T16:59:00.000-08:00

Barron Falls is where the Barron River makes its descent from the Atherton Tablelands to the Cairns coastal plain, in Queensland, Australia. Protected within the Barron Gorge National Park, the volume of water seen in the upper photo only occurs after substantial rainfall during the wet season. For much of the rest of the year, little more than a trickle is evident, due in part to the presence of a weir behind the head of the falls that exists to supply the Barron Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station located downstream in the gorge proper.

There are three ways to visit and view Barron Falls: highway, narrow-gauge railway (Kuranda Scenic Railway), and aerial tram (Skyrail). The train stops at Barron Falls overlook, where passengers are allowed to disembark for several minutes. The Skyrail stops at two rainforest mid-stations, Red Peak and Barron Falls. The trail at Barron Falls Skyrail station leads through the rainforest to three separate lookouts providing views of the Gorge and Falls.

Thoughts.....

2011-01-11T16:54:00.001-08:00

Interview on QVTV for Italian Week

2011-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Modelling at the Underground mid 80's

2011-01-09T17:58:00.000-08:00

The Zen Mind - An Introduction

2011-01-09T02:10:00.000-08:00

Blondage

2011-01-08T00:21:00.001-08:00

With Angry Anderson at the Country Music festival

2011-01-08T00:18:00.000-08:00

Interviewed Angry as part of the 'Backstage' documentary - in due course I will put some footage of his performance and interview online. Nice work Angry!!

Dinner with the great Felix Cavaliere in Nashville 2008

2011-01-08T00:06:00.000-08:00

Left to Right - Felix Cavaliere, Donna, Ingunn Jordannsen, Alessandro Sorbello
Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1944) is an American music producer and musician.

Although he was a member of Joey Dee and His Starlighters best known for their hit "Peppermint Twist", he is best known for his association with The Young Rascals during the 1960s. Cavaliere sang vocals on six of their successful singles. At an early age he joined The Stereos and moved on to form The Escorts, whilst at university. He later produced albums by other artist such as Laura Nyro and Jimmie Spheeris.

Cavaliere had a solo hit with "Only A Lonely Heart Sees" (1980), which made #36 in th Billboard Pop 100 charts. Cavaliere and former Rascals bandmate Dino Danelli joined Steve Van Zandt to record Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul's album Men Without Women (1982). However, Cavaliere strongly disputes this and claims that was never a member of Little Steven's band.

After fifteen years he recorded Dreams in Motion (1994), produced by Don Was. During 1995 Cavaliere was a touring member of Ringo Starr's third All-Starr Band. On October 15, 2006 he inducted Vanilla Fudge into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. In 2008, he recorded an album with Steve Cropper "Nudge it Up a Notch", which was released July 29, 2008. He continues to tour as Felix Cavaliere's Rascals and on June 18, 2009 Cavaliere, along with former writing partner Eddie Brigati, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. On April 24, 2010, all four members of the Rascals reunited for the Kristen Ann Carr benefit, which was held at New York's Tribeca Grill.

Photos of Extreme White Water Rafting in the Tully River Cairns

2011-01-07T23:48:00.000-08:00

Diving in the Outer Great Barrier Reef - Australia

2011-01-07T23:44:00.001-08:00

Millaa Millaa Falls in Far North Queensland

2011-01-07T23:40:00.001-08:00

Barron Falls - Kuranda Far North Queensland

2011-01-07T23:39:00.001-08:00

White Water Rafting in the Tully River Cairns

2011-01-07T23:38:00.001-08:00

hine Falls Cairns

2011-01-07T23:36:00.001-08:00

With Jimmy Barnes at the Caloundra Music Festival

2010-10-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

Jimmy Barnes has been there and back. And, he says, “I’m glad to be back.” He’s tasted glory as Australia’s favourite rock & roll singer for more than three decades.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s he was the wildest, loudest and most popular rock & roll star in the country. In the 1990’s Jimmy reached mega-stardom with back to back #1 albums in both soul and rock genres. Then everything went out of control and he came close to losing everything, including his sanity and his life. In the 21st century, after rehab and open-heart surgery, he has climbed back to the top of the charts and the top of his form.

But let’s look back before we look forward…

At age 16, Jimmy played his second gig as lead singer on the back of a truck one hot Saturday at Gawler Raceway in Adelaide, South Australia. The band would become Cold Chisel. A couple of years later they had a residency at the Larg’s Pier Hotel that was so packed, fans drove a ute through the back wall to get in.

By 1978, Cold Chisel was a nasty rock & roll band tearing up the pubs of Sydney and Melbourne. The first single, “Khe Sanh” was banned from commercial radio.

Within three short years of their first album’s release, Cold Chisel was the most successful band in the land. The second album ‘Breakfast At Sweethearts’ broke the radio drought. The 1980 album ‘East’ surpassed all expectations selling a quarter of a million copies straight out of the box and debuting at #1 on the charts. Every ticket on their now-legendary tours was sold out.

In December 1983 Chisel came to an end with the largest concert tour ever undertaken by an Australian band – a record that still stands over twenty years later.

Within a month of Cold Chisel finishing, Jimmy Barnes was on the road with a new band and within 10 months of that, in October 1984 to be specific, Jimmy released his first solo album, ‘Bodyswerve’. It entered the charts at #1.

The following year he signed to Geffen Records in the US and cut five new tracks that were added to remixed version of key ‘Bodyswerve’ tracks to make the album ‘For The Working Class Man’ – another #1 debut. Artistic differences ended Jimmy’s relationship with Geffen and he recorded 1987’s ‘Freight Train Heart’ (another #1 debut) on his own terms. The national tour in support of that album featured a young Perth guitarist Mark Lizotte (aka Diesel) who would soon become Jimmy’s closest musical collaborator.

Around this time, Jimmy also teamed up with INXS and Divinyls, Models, The Saints and Triffids for the massive national tour, ‘Australian Made’. To celebrate ‘Australian Made’, Jimmy and INXS recorded an Easybeats song “Good Times”. The single topped the Australian charts and was included on the soundtrack to the film The Lost Boys and subsequently became a Top 40 hit in the U.S and a Top 10 hit in the U.K.

Jimmy began working with American producer Don Gehman on the album ‘Two Fires’. Released in 1990 and yet another #1 album, it was Jimmy’s most sophisticated set yet. His songwriting had matured and he had learned how to control the power in his voice.

In 1991 and on little more than a whim, Jimmy and Don Gehman cut an album of R&B classics over a fairly intense fortnight. The continuing success of ‘Two Fires’ kept the ‘Soul Deep’ album in the bottom drawer for almost a year, however when it did hit the stores it was a massive success with sales to this day of close to one million copies.

After twenty years it was time to take stock. The pressure of maintaining a large organisation as well as a home and family was exhausting. He found himself playing tours just to cover the overhead. There are only so many Australian tours any artist can do. Jimmy sold his house and cleared the decks. He moved to France.

For three years Jimmy toured through Europe and the U.K from a base in France. During this time he made the critically acclaimed ‘Psyclone’ album. Then, towards the end of the decade, Jimmy returned to Australia and started looking for a new direction.

Jimmy took part in the 1998 reformation of Cold Chisel. Despite all the disagreements and the feuds, there was still a deep friendship between the five members. Getting together wasn’t just a matter of recording some tunes and playing some shows, it was also a reconciliation.

He then recorded an album ‘Love and Fear’, which purged a lot of demons that had been plaguing him for many years. He confronted issues that he had avoided by being on tour and by drinking and taking drugs. He cut another album of southern music, ‘Soul Deeper’, that had a bluesier feel than its predecessor.

In 2002, Jimmy began the hard road to sobriety.

A side project with friends from different corners of the world resulted in the heavy metal combo Living Loud and a self-titled album in 2004.

In October 2005, Jimmy Barnes was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in his own right (Cold Chisel had already been inducted in 1993)

Early in 2007, Jimmy underwent open-heart surgery to repair a congenital heart defect. The recovery from the surgery necessitated several months of bed rest. It was during this time that Jimmy began writing for the album ‘Out In the Blue’, released in November of that year.

Jimmy Barnes’ current album ‘The Rhythm & The Blues’ entered the Australian Music Charts at #1, making him the most successful local artist in Australian chart history. It is Jimmy’s ninth #1 solo album.

Jimmy has just returned from Los Angeles where he recorded his 23rd album {out later in 2010}.

His career as both a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the legendary Cold Chisel has made Jimmy Barnes one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music artists of all time.

Dr Vinton Cerf interview and press conference for the official launch of ‘Hear and Say WorldWide’.

2010-08-12T16:48:00.000-07:00

On the 8th of March 2007, Dr Vinton Cerf was interviewed in Brisbane at a press conference held by Alessandro Sorbello, director of New Realm Media. Dr Cerf was in Brisbane for the official launch of ‘Hear and Say WorldWide’.

Alessandro Sorbello: Good morning, a special welcome to Dimity Dornan and to Dr Vinton Cerf.

Through the Efforts of the ‘Hear and Say Centre, we have been presented with a unique opportunity to hear the thoughts of one of the great minds of our age.

Dr Vinton Cerf is widely known as the ‘Founder of the Internet,’ Dr. Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet. In December 1997, President Clinton presented the U.S. National Medal of Technology to Dr. Cerf and his colleague, Robert E. Kahn, for founding and developing the Internet. Kahn and Cerf were named the recipients of the Alan M. Turing award, sometimes called the ‘Nobel Prize of Computer Science,’ in 2004 for their work on the Internet protocols. Currently, Dr Cerf is vice president and chief Internet evangelist for Google. Dr Cerf is in Australia to officially launch ‘Hear and Say WorldWide’.

I would then like to begin by posing the first question to Dr. Cerf – ‘Hear and Say WorldWide’ is an organisation which you are clearly passionate about, can you tell us a little about how you came to be involved with Dimity and the ‘Hear and Say Centre.’

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : Dimity came to our family by way of the audio verbal international program for teaching people how to listen and how to hear. My wife Sigrid is a double Cochlear Ear implantee, she had her first implant in 1996 and a second one last year in 2006 she was very active in this audio verbal international program because she recognize that it's not just a question of the technology it's a question of learning how to use it. It’s a question of teaching audiologists and speech pathologist and others who deal with hearing impairments, how to help someone who is using one of these assisted techniques, whether its hearing aids or cochlear ear implants or other types of techniques how to use those to their advantage.

And so on top all the basic technologies which are stunning and spectacular in their nature, in fact I should say that Graham Clark, the inventor or the cochlear ear implant is here today, he gave a fabulous presentation about how the technology works and what some of the future potentials are for neuro-electronic interfaces in addition to hearing repair of optical impairments and the possibility even of spinal implants to overcome paraplegia and quadriplegia and so on. So these things are all easily predictable within the state of the art of the development of technology, but unless you actually understand how to use this and how to augment it, you won’t get the full effect. And so Hear and Say Centre here in Brisbane are going international and that's what ‘Hear and Say WorldWide’ is all about.

I'm feeling a little funny about opening this particular press conference because I bear no responsibility and no credit for any of the work that the ‘Hear and Say Centres’ do, I'm a beneficiary in some direct and indirect way. Children of course are very, very important as a focus for the ‘Hear and Say Centres, the earlier that one can intervene either with hearing aids with cochlear implants the more likely it is that the child will learn to hear normally and to speak normally in the same way that those of us who don't have a hearing impairments have learned.

So intervention is now technically possible as early as six months but of course you have to know that the child needs the intervention and so early detection is absolutely critical to this whole process. But perhaps even more important is the training program that helps professionals to understand how to perform the early intervention, how to use the technology and how to help children and their parents learn to adapt and make use of these techniques.

My wife pioneered a number of uses of the cochlear ear implant, because she didn't have any help, she just invented ways of using these things more effectively. So as soon as she got her implant ten years ago, she phoned the library, phoned the library, hadn't used the telephone for 53 years right. So she's on the telephone talking to the library saying "I'd like to sign up for recorded books for the blind" and she wanted to hear words pronounced that she hadn't heard before she could read them but she didn't know what they sounded like.

So the library said 'what's your name and address and phone number' and then they said you're blind aren't you? And she said “no I'm deaf” so there was this long pause while they were trying to figure out, well how is this is going to work. In the end she has acquired a variety of different additional devices like FM transmitters and receivers that she would use in a large auditorium, optical receivers that she can use in a movie theatre that are transmitting the soundtrack over an infrared signal that you can pick up and then plug directly into a speech processor or a head set.

She carries patch cords so that when she's in an airplane she can plug directly into the armrest and hear only the audio from the movie and not the screaming kids that are in the seat next to her. So she has been very, very active in using these technologies and the way I see Dimity's work in the ‘Hear and Say Centres’ is to train our professionals to train the implantee’s and hearing aid users to make better effective use of that technology.

Now I think before we get to more questions about this that committee should have an opportunity to tell you about her passion and the scope of the ‘Hear and Say WorldWide’. So Dimity can I ask you to tell our friends here in the press a little bit more about it.

Dimity Dornan: Thank you Vint. ‘Hear and Say WorldWide’ is an initiative of the Hear and Say Centre that has been officially announced and launched today by Dr. Vinton Cerf. ‘Hear and Say WorldWide’ is our project which will take a message of hope that children who are deaf can learn to listen and can learn to speak to the world. Here at the ‘Hear and Say Centre our graduates have a 93% chance of success in our treatment.

If you live in other countries you might have a 33% chance or less. The difference is not in the technology it is in the training of the professionals. So we at the Here and Say Centre have initiated a Global Hearing Health Care Team Education Program which will be starting off when I’ll go to Moscow on the 19th of March and then we also are funding to go into Papua New Guinea hopefully go into Germany after that.

Nicola Pozzobon, New Realm Media : How would you describe man in the Internet era?

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : So you can actually see some of the side effects. What happens when you get a billion people all connected together and able to interact? The first thing you notice is thanks to Tim Berners-Lee and the World Wide Web is an enormous avalanche of information coming into the network. The uses and consumers of information have now become the producers.

And so when you look at things like Wikipedia you discover that its content comes from anywhere in the world from anyone who has a piece of information that may be of use to others. What amazed me is the number of people who want to share their information and they are not looking for payment, they are simply looking for credit or they simply want to contribute.

So there's just this enormous quantity of information, now there's a side effect: the side effect is that a lot of information is of very little value or that it's misinformation because the person that put it up on the net is misinformed. So now there’s a problem of figuring out which information on the network should we pay attention to and what should we ignore. This is not a new problem.

This problem comes up in all media: there is information and misinformation available from television, radio, newspapers, magazines, your friends and family and your parents.

So you have that problem in all media and the probably the most important thing that you can teach children is to how to think critically about the information that they are getting, to try to evaluate whether or not it's useful or not.

We figured out kinds of clichés to help us do this in other media for example logos on all the brands from television programs, television channels, newspapers and magazines help us figure out which means we should see, which magazines we should read, which newspapers, we should pay attention to.

Of course many of you are part of the news media and I would be willing to bet that every article that you read that you didn't write, every article that you read that you actually know something about you notice that it has some little mistakes in it.

And yet we don't always remember that, we notice that if we know something about that particular story but if we don't know something we sort of it that everything is correct we all know that isn't quite true.

So one of these things at this global network can do is help us tease out what the real truth is because there are so many disparate points of view available to us.

Blogging is an example of this, both video and text blogging. The Wikipedia is another example. Then we start see collaborative activities happening. Google is really interested in that, we put our products on the network that will help people work together in the production of a text and in the production spreadsheets and the production of other collaborative works and when you look at world war craft or second life or some of the other role-playing games you are seeing very interesting social collaborative activities going on in fact there is so the interesting that there are economists that are studying what's going on in world war craft and in second life to try to understand the social and economic experiments that have been carried out by the people who are playing in those environments.

So I believe that as time goes on, we have 1 billion users at now, I'm predicting 3 billion users by 2010 (half the world's population roughly speaking). A very large fraction of those users will be getting access by mobiles like this Blackberry.

That has shaped the way in which many companies have been producing content on the network why they are adapting that content to be reasonably accessible through the small displays. Keyboards are accessible to people who are three inches tall and sometimes limited bandwidth.

So a very large fraction of the world's population may be introduced to the Internet through these devices and eventually through broadband access. I should remind you that Australia has a very, very high penetration of Internet use something on the order of 70% of population has access. A smaller fraction has access with broadband and I anticipate several evolutions there: one of them is that more people will have broadband access but a lot of that for consumers is asymmetric, which means you can pull in it faster than you can push it out it's easy to predict that people are going to demand symmetric access to the network at the time for the same reason that businesses already get symmetric access to the network.

So the net all of this is that we are going to see an increasing number of applications in which the users are producing information as well as consuming it.

Question;
What's the connection between what you have done with the Internet and what you are doing with Google and your development of Internet forming those protocols and what you are doing now.

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : The closest I come to connecting these to is that my wife has these cochlear implants and they have speech processes I want to reprogram the speech processes so that it does Internet protocols so when she is plugged in to the Internet and asks a question, which goes into the speech processor, the speech processor is going to send that question as sound, digitized sound to a computer on the Internet which can understand speech and then send the answer back to her which will appear in her head because it’s going straight back to the speech processor. That's my next little personal project.

Question;
how hard will it be?

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : It is not hard at all. I found something like this with TCP/IP is easy so it's all within the state-of-the-art there's nothing I said that cannot be done in a couple of months time. So imagine being able to talk to the Internet and get answers back in your head that no one else can hear.

So now we have people cheating on tests that's terrible.

Patrick Gray, Sydney Morning Herald: I'm wondering though this meshing of technology with biology which seems to be something that a lot of futurists seem to be speaking about Richard Clarke schism speaks about trans humanism do you think this has potential to get out of hand to create. When the secure become an enhancement when does a wonder the lines begin to blur between technology which allows us to function normally and technology which enhances.

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : This is an absolutely wonderful point I took a comment and a lot exactly along those lines in an earlier speech this morning. The question is whether we draw the line between repairing impairments and enhancing capabilities and I think the answer is I think we should not draw that line there is nothing that should stop us from taking that same technology that brings someone into the normal mainstream of hearing for example and actually allowing people to hear sounds that other people could not hear of there is nothing that would stop you from building a speech processor that actually except a signal from at 40 kHz for example and step it down into a preconceived range at the wrangle detect.

You could actually imagine the same sort of thing with ocular implants normally would be repairing blindness allowing people to see in the normal visual range.

Patrick Gray, Sydney Morning Herald: Who decides who gets access to this technology and capabilities? Is it solely determined by who can afford the technology? What implications are there for the society when you have soupy humans running around with?

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : Well first of all let's not get too carried away out of so that all technology tends to be of the available to people who can find the way to afford it or in the case and my wife both of the implants were played by insurance policies and also the kind of technology we are talking about are not necessarily at the well named would trade a person who would be dangerous which is an implication of your comment.

We're not talking about cognitive implants if I were to write Kurzweil and I were telling you about the same deep similarities now I might be saying well that humans are computers are evolving very quickly and by 2030 there will be computers that will be capable of thinking faster than human beings. Personally I'm sceptical of this but if you wanted to worry about something you should worry about that rather than worrying about any plot that happens to be used to better capabilities that we normally inherit from our evolutionary trajectory as to who decides what it's availability that counts you could ask the same question of eyeglasses you could ask the same question in hearing aids you could ask the same question of clothing.

People who have access to better incomes and have more disposable incomes often get better treatment whether they get better information whether they get better health care that's not going to change.

It's been a fact of life for a long time.

Our objective in the objective of the Hear and Say Centre is to bring both the technologies and the use into reached for more people which is one of the reason that this expansion into worldwide is so important.

Patrick Gray, Sydney Morning Herald: How far away is this technology?

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : The optical implants for example and the spinal implants, my view which is relatively uninformed, the person who could really give you their information is grand plot was working the technology that I would guess that optical implants and spinal implants are probably at the same stage of development now as the cochlear implant was 20 years ago in 1986 or 87 so we're looking at a decade or two of development work before those things could make sense.

I am confident however that these are feasible because we are not talking about trying to read your mind or to get electronics to elect interact with you at a cognitive level these devices are interacting with you at a sensory level; this at a century level these are things we understand a lot better we don’t understand how the brain thinks but we do understand how the body transduces signals to produce sounds and signals that are interpreted as sounds or signals by the brain.

In the case of my wife this is actually - let me make it less dramatic than it sounds - I could do what I was describing for sacred by having her speech process program to plug in into the Internet you could do is just as easily by sitting with a microphone and a headset in a laptop you could speak a question have that digitized, turned into packet, sent across the network a computer could interpret the sound which by the way does when you make a fine call to various user help lines for example self-service lines you're often talking to a computer who is understanding speech it sends the responses back and those digitized responses and packetized speech will sound like sound in your ear and so all I'm doing is replacing the headset with the cochlear ear implant.

It's just kind of cool that the whole process means that there's no sound ever being produced in the response it's all happening in your head but it's not a cognitive interface I don’t want to mislead anybody into thinking otherwise.

Dr Francesco Capecchi, Italian Consol for Queensland and Northern Territory: In 1998 you have been awarded by the Marconi prize for lasting contribution to human progress in the field of communication, science and the Internet and so I was wondering how do you feel about this weighty recognition and especially since I'm representing Italy here about Marconi's role in modern communication.

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : Well Marconi is as all you know I hope know is credited with the invention of radio if you dig deep into the history you'll discover a number of other names that were contemporary with him. But I want you to think for a moment about what it must've been like in the 19th century let's go further back than Marconi, let's go to the 1840s and Morse code over wires.

Up until that time the fastest you could move a signal from point A to point B was as fast as the train could go or as fast as a horse could ride, now suddenly you could send a signal at the speed of light this had to be a stunning revelation for the people in the middle of the 19th-century.

Then Marconi comes along and he does it without wires, still at the speed of light that had to be even more amazing, you're sitting in Europe and communicating in real time with someone in the United States without any wires at all.

There's a book I would recommend to you called “The Victorian Internet” it's by a man named Tom Standich and it's all about the telegraph and if you were to read the press announcements about the telegraph and Marconi's wireless capabilities in that 1990/1991 period. If you replace telegraph with Internet you would recognize the headlines.

People had expectations that it would be no war anymore because people could instantaneously communicate with and then resolve all the problems and of course shortly thereafter we had World War I followed by World War II…So much for technology…

As far as the Marconi award goes there's a small cadre of people who'd been recognized with this award about 30 or so i would guess by this time it is a huge honour and a terrible responsibility.

Because it is not an honour which is conferred solely for that which you have done in some sense it is conferred with the expectations that you will keep doing so I personally feel very, very challenged to earn each year that recognition as to my colleagues and so I hope that participating in activities like this, looking for new ways to apply Internet technologies in the social realm will earn, once again that recognition. I can tell you that it's a great challenge to really be worthy of the recognition because it requires a hard work each year.

Question; The Internet is a means of democratization but it's also a means of standardization. What are your reflections on this.

Dr Vinton G. Cerf : The answer is yes. Some people think that standardizing means a suppression of creativity. I consider this to be completely invalid reasoning. Standardization creates opportunity for innovation. So by way of example by standardizing the Internet protocols in saying that I'm out of where you are in the Internet when you plug in your compatible with 400 million other machines on the system if you want to invent a new application the standard permits anyone who is part of the net to absorb the new technology that you've offered that's why the peer-to-peer applications and the Skype applications have propagated so quickly: it's called the end to end principle.

It says that the network doesn't know what applications it is supporting it says that you invent the applications at the edges of the net; so I see standardization as a powerful, powerful tool to create interoperability in and out the net and therefore an opportunity to create and to innovate.

With regard to democratization I feel strongly that the Internet is one of the most democratizing technologies ever invented. It has all the good and bad characteristics of democratization and all of you will remember from a famous close game that “democracy is a messy terrible system but it is better than anything else it has never been invented”.

Once the Internet became publicly available which wasn't until 1989 actually you got all of the side effects of the general public using of the technology, all the good stuff and all the bad stuff.

I consider the Internet to be a kind of mirror of the society. You look in America see all the good things and bad things about people of course some people say you should fix the mirror and my reaction is it doesn't help to fix the mirror you gotta fix the people if you're concerned about the way they're behaving.

I see the democratization as being a very, very powerful force and it's an interesting one because it's an erosive kind of force that may take time. So visually I think of the Grand Canyon in the United States that started out as a floodplain and a river was running through it and at some point it carved it and after several hundred million years it has become this enormous canyon.

I look at countries like China that exhibit concern about freely available information looking for ways to inhibit some of that information exchange. Over time that will erode.

I believe that society will adapt and eventually recognize the utility of the broad sharing of information that they've been in a very restricted environment for many decades and it takes time.

So I'm very patient about the technologies and their abilities to open up all would otherwise be as limited environments. Patience and persistence are two great values and I can tell you that Graham Clark was patient and persistent in the development of the cochlear implant and as I read his story the dates paralleled important milestones in the Internet and I remember thinking I wish we'd known each other we would have commiserated with each other about the incredible barriers we got in the way of producing the technologies.

Question;
Are you disappointed with the take-up of ID P6 paragraph?

Dr. Vinton G. Cerf: Yes, IDP six was standardized in the early 1990s the version of Internet that you are using today was standardized 1978.

It was roughly 5 years after the experiment was begun and at the time it was still an experiment the number of terminations that could be supported by IDP version 4 was 4.3 billion.

When I made the decision in 1977 to use a 32-bit address space which multiplies out to 4.3 billion I thought this was still an experiment and I thought 4.3 billion terminations ought to be enough to do a pretty good experiment what I didn't understand is the experiment was not going to end.

The network was simply going to keep growing, so here we are in 2007 we are well within visibility of running out all the unique addresses of the Internet I want to distinguish the numerical addresses of the Internet from the domaining system which is a completely separate layer which does not look to me like running out at all and I doubt that it ever will.

We can see potentials for running out the spiked fact is that there are out network and access translation boxes that artificially expand the address space in ways which are quite damaging to the end to end protocol.

So I'm pushing very hard for ID P6 to be abducted, at the moment software exists for all routes, software exists for all the computers, laptops, desktops, services, and the alike forms. All the main software makers, Microsoft, Apple, Linux and the various UNIX derivatives, all have IDP seeks to detectability.

The Chinese have already announced that they are well along in implementing IDP six nationwide they wanted ready and operating for the Olympics.

I was just in Beijing last week I had a chance to see the work of the Chinese electronics and rigid educational research network which is all IDP 67 have demonstrated full capability to run a an IDP 6 application suite.

So you will find me repeatedly pressing to get IDP implementing at the ISP level and I'll be very unhappy until I’ve actually seen that happening.

Alessandro Sorbello: Have you ever sit back and reflect on the usage of the Internet worldwide and are you entirely happy with the way it's evolving the content and use.

Dr. Vinton G. Cerf: Well obviously I have watched this thing evolved for the past 35 plus years. I have two reactions, first of all I believe that the spheres especially after team Tim Berners-Lee introduced the world wide web and became commercialized by Netscape communications and then Microsoft and so on.

I believe that has triggered an enormous amount of information to flow on the net and I see that it is generally useful.

If you like me when you have a question that you don’t have an answer to any Google it and it's amazing how often you actually get something useful out of that process, so on that score I'm really very happy.

Doctors tell me the patient is a very well-informed. Students are more able to find information of course some of them try to cheat by getting in a paper it is already written; the tools are available for teachers to recognize when the students have been plagiarizing the material the seeds of the solution of that problem are hiding in the technology.

I'm not happy that there is bad content on the network I'm not happy with spam I'm not happy about viruses and worms. I accept that some of this behaviours (bottnets for example) are driven by economics, driven by people who believe they can generate revenue from these kinds of abuses.

I don’t think that we can defend against the mentality by using only technical means although there are very specific things we should do in order to minimize at least some of the abusive behaviours for example if we were overusing IPV 6 and one of the features of the six is that you can always go into fully encrypted moulds between sources and computers on the network.

That would actually blunt the number of attacks that can be made against either of the two communicating computers because you can't see deeply into the packet it's been encrypted at the IP layer.

We could be checking the sources from another address the packets going into the system and rejecting those that are certain addresses that are patently faults sometimes spoofing of the source IP addresses used as a tool for launching certain kinds of attacks.

We could do a better job of detecting viruses and worms, we could certainly do a better job of building operating systems that are less vulnerable to be invaded and turned into zombies that are part of the .net armies.

The domain name system itself could be reinforced using what's called DNC which is where the digitally signing the domain name information that's been announced now Sweden is digitally signing its root sign files to DNC the top level domain name to Sweden.

The Internet Corporation assigned names and numbers which is ICANN is rapidly moving toward supplementation of DNS sector the rate and encouraging all of the top level providers to digitally sign things.

So there's a whole of things that we could and should be doing to deal with some of the abusive behaviours on the net but not all of that could be defended against technically some of it requires us to do some of things that we have done in other domains where we see socially unacceptable activities but we tell people if we catch you doing that there will be consequences but we have to do that on a global scale because the Internet is global and is frankly insensitive to national boundaries from the most part.

Settle in a cooperative work among governments in order to enforce various kinds of response to inappropriate and antisocial behaviour on the network.

Question

We have just been talking about democratization, Wikipedia and democracy. The evolution of the Internet is following several trajectories. Is it still something related to democracy or is it a mob rule?

Dr. Vinton G. Cerf: It's a very good question, it's not too different from talking to the Oxford English dictionary guys that will say it is part of the language even if you don’t like it I would say we have two important lessons that we must teach people about Internet specifically and more generally about information that we get. The first lesson is that not everything that you hear and see is correct and that’s true for an old media, not just the Internet.

The second thing it seems to me is that the antidote for bad information is more information as opposed to attempting to filter in some fashion even when the information appears to be valid and it comes from a really good source we could be interested in looking for something deeper.

The good thing about the online environment is that you can change the information easily; the bad thing about the online environment is that you can change the information easily.

And so one lesson is to understand that not everything is fixed and true for old time the third lesson that I feel very strongly about is that people who think that they have done their research because they did a search on the Internet are wrong.

Someday I hope that's not true Google, hopes that it will someday get to the point where all of the information is in fact can be interrogated through the Internet even things that are locked up on paper today, someday becoming at least indexed.

So particularly for medical research if you do a Google search or any kind of search on the net saying “I'm down I want to know everything I'd need to know to get better”, well may be there are information in other media that you should be looking at that you have not found simply because you looked on the Internet. So I want to reinforce that message to young people especially who are so comfortable with the Internet it's always been there for them they can't imagine living without it and yet we have to make sure that they understand it does not contain only information on demand. It would be wonderful to imagine that all the information we ever knew and all the information that we know can be accessible by fingertips. It is not actually true, but it could be true in the future.

Larissa Dubecki, Journalist The Age: What new things have been on the net in the last years in general?

Dr. Vinton G. Cerf: So I've already mentioned a little bit about mobiles and broadband and things like that. This is a clear trends that you can anticipate.

I think the other very clear development which I'm very happy to participate in has to do with the extension of the Internet to operate across the solar system and this is the interplanetary Internet up in working with that on what the 'Jet Propulsion Lab' since 1998 and we are well on the way to standardizing interplanetary protocols.

Some people immediately assume that Cerf is crazy because he must believe in aliens because he's building this in the planetary network and hoping that hoping that somebody will come. No, the real answer is that we want to support space exploration with robotic equipment and humans using better communication systems that we have today in deep space something that's more flexible and standardized like the Internet would allow us to reuse and reuse resources that have already been put out there from previous missions of which can then be repurposed. We've already done a little bit of that manually with the orbiters around Mars and the Rovers that are on the surface.

Going well beyond that no one of the questions that comes out has to do with how we interact with the network and one of the things that we do not do today which I would like to see a spoken interaction with the content of the net if you're blind and the only way you have two interact with the information is to speak in here then you'd like the Internet to be as accessible as if it would be accessible using a keyboard.

This would not only benefit people who are blind but it would also benefit people who are illiterate there are very, very large number of people in the world who can speak and hear but who cannot read and write. A lot of the Internet content is inaccessible to them today and so one of the developments which I don’t want you to infer it as necessarily a Google initiative but it is a personal desire of mine that we make spoken interface as effective as possible in addition to the kind of point-and-click type in the face that we see today.

I can speculate about one other thing a large number of senses are going to be on the network, billions of these things scattered a letter the world in parks, building stinky wearing ties its in offices at that time in order to keep track for example what's going on in the world around us and global warming is a big issue in some of the things that we need to know are going to be derived from major sensory networks which a part of the network but also you can imagine the systems are aware of this building like it and when here who is in here and how should I adapt my behaviour to be more effective for the people who are in here that kind of responsiveness is possible as the world in which we live in becomes more aware of us as opposed to how we have to adapt to it.

THE GINGHAM DRESS

2010-06-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband,dressed in a homespun Threadbare suit,stepped off the train in Boston,and walked timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President's outer office.

The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods country hicks, had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge.

"We'd like to see the president," the man said softly.
"He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped.
"We'll wait," the lady replied.

For hours the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't,and the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted.

"Maybe if you see them for a few minutes, they'll leave," she said to him!

He sighed in exasperation and nodded.

Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, and he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office.

The president, stern faced and with dignity, strutted towards the couple.

The lady told him, "We had a son who attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus."

The president wasn't touched. He was shocked. "Madam," he said, gruffly,"We can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."

"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly. "We don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard."

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical buildings here at Harvard."

For a moment the lady was silent. The president was pleased. Maybe he could get rid of them now.

The lady turned to her husband and said quietly,"Is that all it costs to start a university? Why don't we just start our own?"

Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.

Mr and Mrs Leland Stanford got up and walked away, travelling to Palo Alto, California where they established the university that bears their name, Stanford University, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.

You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them.

...............................A TRUE STORY By Malcolm Forbes

With Jimmy Barnes at Motown After Party

2010-02-27T05:15:00.003-08:00

James Dixon Swan (born 28 April 1956), better known as Jimmy Barnes, is an Australian rock singer-songwriter of Scottish background. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. His career as both a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music artists of all time. The combination of 14 Australian Top 40 albums for Cold Chisel and 13 charting solo albums, including nine No. 1s, gives Barnes the highest number of hit albums of any Australian artist.

With Martha Reeves of Martha and the Vandellas at the Motown After Party

2010-02-27T05:13:00.000-08:00

Martha Rose Reeves (born July 18, 1941 in Eufaula, Alabama) is an American R&B and soul singer and former politician, and was the lead singer of the Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas. During her tenure with The Vandellas, they scored over a dozen hit singles, including "Jimmy Mack", "Dancing in the Street" and "Nowhere to Run". From 2005 until 2009, Reeves served as an elected councilwoman for the city of Detroit, Michigan.

Martha and the Vandellas

With her brassy and gospel-reared alto vocals, Martha Reeves helped Martha and the Vandellas ascend from background singers with early songs such as "Come and Get These Memories" and "(Love Is Like a) Heat Wave" distinguishing the group from contemporaries and label mates The Marvelettes and The Supremes, who were more influenced by doo-wop. Though the group's early recordings under their different monikers were doo-wop oriented, the majority of songs released under the Vandellas' name produced a rougher, soulful sound with frenetic musical backing from The Funk Brothers. Martha's alto, Rosalind Ashford's soprano and Annette Beard's contralto vocals gave their harmonies dimension and made their recordings unique. After "Heat Wave" became the group's first million-seller, the Vandellas quickly rose to become the label's top draw both as recording stars and as a successful live act. Martha was the one consistent member of the group staying throughout all the group's incarnations and lineups. After the exits of original members Annette Beard and Rosalind Ashford, members replacing them included Betty Kelly, Sandra Tilley and Martha's youngest sister Lois Reeves. Among the singles released that became signature hits for the group included "Quicksand", "In My Lonely Room", "Live Wire", "Nowhere to Run", "A Love Like Yours (Don't Come Knocking Everyday)", "I'm Ready for Love", "Jimmy Mack", "Honey Chile" and the group's most popular single, "Dancing in the Street". Martha often cites her performance highlights as one being a performance with Vandellas worshiper, Brit soul singer Dusty Springfield, on the UK show, Ready, Steady, Go! and performing on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Despite the success of the Vandellas, Martha was dismayed by Berry Gordy's decision to promote The Supremes and the group's lead singer Diana Ross in particular more so than the Vandellas. Other issues -- including group infighting (Martha often tangled with Betty Kelly), a stringent recording and touring schedule and other matters led to Reeves abusing prescription drugs and alcohol. Near the end of the decade, Reeves suffered a nervous breakdown from an acid trip and had to be institutionalized in 1969. The breakdown led to a brief disbanding of the Vandellas in which Ashford left for good. When Reeves was well enough to return, she recruited Sandra Tilley and the lineup of Martha and Lois Reeves and Tilley continued until 1972 when the group disbanded shortly after issuing the Black Magic album. In 1973, Martha planned to continue releasing solo work with Motown, but when the label moved from Detroit to Los Angeles, an angry Reeves negotiated out of her contract with Motown, ending her 12-year association with the label.

With Joan Osborne at the Motown After Party

2010-02-27T05:08:00.001-08:00

Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us", and for her work with members of The Grateful Dead.

Originally from the Louisville, Kentucky suburb of Anchorage, Osborne moved to New York City in the late 1980s, where she formed her own record label, Womanly Hips, to release a few independent recordings before signing to Mercury Records; Soul Show: Live at Delta 88 (1991) was her first album. Her second (and first major label) album was Relish (1995), which became a hit on the strength of the single "One of Us". The song was much more pop-oriented than the rest of the album, which was steeped in country, blues and folk music. "Right Hand Man" and "St. Teresa" were minor hits following the success of "One of Us".

She was featured in the 2002 documentary film, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, and toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers. She and her band accompanied the Dixie Chicks for a national tour in the summer of 2003, during which time she also joined veteran San Francisco jam-rockers The Dead as a vocalist, and released her fourth album, titled How Sweet It Is, a collection of classic rock and soul covers.

……….. what else are we missing?

2010-02-24T01:26:00.000-08:00

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning. A man with a violin plays six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx. 2 thousand people passed through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle-aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:

The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:

A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:

The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin valued at $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the price of seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made……….. what else are we missing

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

At the Motown 50 after party in Brisbane with Ian Moss

2010-02-23T16:17:00.000-08:00

At the Motown 50 after party in Brisbane with Ian Moss

Ian Moss is an Australian rock musician, best known as the guitarist and occasional singer with Cold Chisel. In that group's initial ten year career, Moss recorded eight albums, three of which were #1 national hits. His solo career began with a #1 album and single and five ARIA Awards. Since then his career has been more low-key, interspersed with periodic tours and albums with a reformed Cold Chisel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Moss

Jon English, Alessandro Sorbello and Peter Cupples

2010-02-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

Recently I had the opportunity to film 2 great Australian icons performing in Brisbane at Miss Dee's. Jon English and Peter Cupples performed to an enthusiastic audience a collection of their classic hits.

Jonathon James English (born 26 March 1949 in Hampstead, London, England) is an Australian rock singer, musician, actor and writer. Jon English emigrated to Australia with his parents in 1961. He was an early vocalist and rhythm guitarist for Sebastian Hardie but left to take on the role of Judas Iscariot in the Australian version of the stage musical Jesus Christ Superstar from May 1972,[2] which was broadcast on television. English is also a noted solo singer, his Australian top twenty hit singles include "Turn the Page", "Hollywood Seven", "Words are Not Enough", "Six Ribbons" and "Hot Town".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_English

Peter Cupples led the band Stylus, one of Australia's best-known acts, in the 1970s when pop/rock groups Sherbert, ACDC and Cold Chisel dominated. Stylus combined a soul and funk sound with rich harmonies. Eventually the group signed for American giant Tamla Motown, the first white group to sign for the label. Hits included "Summer Breeze" and "World Of Make Believe". During the 80s, Peter led The Peter Cupples Band which made two albums and has since maintained a significant presence in the industry.

http://www.abc.net.au/oztrax/stories/s1429044.htm

Musicians Hall of Fame Nashville 2009

2010-01-24T21:44:00.000-08:00

In October of 2009 Mr Louie Shelton was inducted into the Musicans Hall of Fame in Nashville and I had the great please of being there to film it as part of the 'Rockumentary' BACKSTAGE http://backstagemovie.blogspot.com/ which is currently under production. The all star cast of Musicans inducted into the Hall of Fame included the original members of TOTO.

With Steve Lukather of TOTO at the Medallion ceremony where TOTO was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame. 'Luke' is famous for having recorded on the Michael Jackson Album which included 'Beat It' along with Eddie Van Halen.

At the after party Louie Shelton got up on stage after some prompting from the audience and lit it up with David Paich and David Hungate (original members of TOTO) and they covered some Boz Scaggs material ( all three musicians originally recorded with Boz on the 'Silk Degrees' album.

Charlie Daniels was inducted into the hall of fame and he performed on the night - Charlie is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", Daniels is a singer, guitarist, and fiddler, who began writing and performing in the 1950s. In 1964, Daniels co-wrote "It Hurts Me" (a song which Elvis Presley recorded) with Joy Byers. He worked as a Nashville session musician, often for producer Bob Johnston, including playing on three Bob Dylan albums during 1969 and 1970, and recordings by Leonard Cohen.

It was a great pleasure to interview the original members of TOTO and hear some of the stories from the old days - David Paitch gave some insight into his early days in production and how Louie Shelton opened the doors for him.

Three of the original members of TOTO recieve their awards. Steve Lukather, David Paich, and Steve Porcaro

NASHVILLE, October 14, 2009 – The Musicians Hall of Fame celebrated with a room full of industry admirers, peers, and contemporary stars on Monday night, as the crowd gathered in force to salute the 2009 class of virtuosos inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame on Monday, October 12 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.

Legends Chet Atkins, Billy Cox, Dick Dale, Charlie Daniels, Fred Foster, Victor Feldman, Paul Riser, and band TOTO all became members of the prestigious club that already includes Booker T. & The MGs, The Crickets, Duane Eddy, Al Kooper, The Memphis Horns, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Billy Sherrill, The Nashville A-Team, The Blue Moon Boys, The Funk Brothers, The Memphis Boys, The Tennessee Two, and The Wrecking Crew.

The late, great guitar legend, Chet Atkins, received tribute from contemporary guitar master and country artist, Steve Wariner, who was joined by longtime Atkins sideman and composer, Paul Yandell. The two played an enchanting tribute to some of Atkins better known tunes and compositions. The award was accepted on Atkins behalf by his daughter, Merle Atkins Russell.

“I know my father would be so happy to know that he is in the company of old friends, and so many musicians that he admired so much,” she said. Celebrated King of the Surf Guitar, Dick Dale, known through the decades for his enthusiastic manipulation of the guitar amplifier, and the namesake behind the “Showman Amp,” created especially for him by guitar and amplifier Guru, Leo Fender, rocked the house into euphoria, bringing them to their feet, with his energetic and volume pumped performance. It was apparent that Dale was having the time of his life, interacting with audience members and taking the audience on a musical ride that had many jumping up and down at their seats. Dale is best know for his rendition of “Misirlou,” a tune that gained a new generation of fans when it became the hit song behind Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction in 1994).

Longtime Dale friend, Al Jardine original Beach Boys member, performed a rousing, audience accompanied version of “Help Me Rhonda,” a song on which he sang lead, prior to inducting the guitar great into the Hall of Fame and turning over the microphone to him for his emotional acceptance speech. The evening continued to gain intensity as Jimi Hendrix longtime friend and bass player, Billy Cox, took the stage to lay down the beat, paying tribute to Hendrix while showcasing his own musical prowess and expertise. Country star, Charlie Daniels, not only had the crowd in amazement with his stellar guitar playing but continued to take them to the top with his hit, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, showcasing his fiery fiddle playing and paying tribute to his current band as the best of his entire career.”I’m probably the best taken care of artists in the music industry,” he said, as he also said thank you to his staff, road crew and all others involved in daily operations.

Cox and Daniels together on stage was also a homecoming of sorts being that Cox once played in Daniels band, after he was no longer playing with Hendrix. It was apparent that the two were having the time of their lives. Former Allman Brothers guitarist, Dickey Betts, joined forces with Daniels for Bett’s, “Southbound,” to which the two traded licks and tossed melodies back and forth in a tour de force of guitar playing.

Producer Fred Foster, a man who played an important part in the careers of such luminaries as Roy Orbison, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, and others, was honored via video message from a thankful Dolly Parton. “”I’m sorry I can’t be there in person,” she said in the message, “but it’s your own (damn) fault: you made me famous!” Kristofferson also paid homage via video to the man with whom he co-wrote one of his biggest hits, “Me and Bobby McGee.” Blues rocker, Tony Joe White, paid tribute to Foster with his self-penned, “Poke Salad Annie,” prior to handing Foster his statue.

Motown legend and 2007 inductee, Bob Babbitt, a member of the famed Funk Brothers, presented the award for Paul Riser and accepted for him in his absence, sharing stories and experiences about Riser and his brilliance as an arranger.

The evening capped off with progressive rockers TOTO (David Paich, Steve Lukather, David Hungate, and Steve Porcaro), taking the stage with good pals Rascal Flatts, to perform a medley of some of their biggest hits, including ‘”Rosanna,” “I’ll Be Over You,” “Hold the Line,” and “Africa.” Rascal Flatts stated their thrill with being able to induct original band members, with Jay DeMarcus saying, “My entire life, I’ve been a Toto fanatic!” The evenings MC honors rotated between Union Gap’s Gary Puckett and Steve Wariner, with Gary Puckett bringing the crowd to their feet with his performance of “Woman Woman.”

Leap

2010-01-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

How long has it been since you watched a movie that really changed your life? If you saw The Secret or What The Bleep, but felt you wanted more depth and meaning, you are ready to go on a journey far beyond where those films left off. You're ready for LEAP! Get It here

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http://www.leapmovie.com/jrox/jrox.php?id=10583

Sydney 2007 - New Years Eve (with Daisy)

2009-12-17T20:04:00.000-08:00

Some fun with 'Daisy the Love Bus' a Wicked Camper that a few friends and I drove from Melbourne to Brisbane over a 2 week period for Christmas 2007 - this was shot in Sydney on New Years Eve as we arrived into the hotel.

Love of Another World Louie Shelton Peter Cupples

2009-12-15T19:49:00.001-08:00

Tribute to Stevie Wonder Louie Shelton Peter Cupples

2009-12-15T19:47:00.002-08:00

This Masquerade Louie Shelton Peter Cupples

2009-12-15T19:47:00.001-08:00

Lowdown tribute to Boz Scaggs by Louie Shelton and Peter Cupples

2009-12-15T19:46:00.000-08:00

Lowdown tribute to Boz Scaggs by Louie Shelton and Peter Cupples

2009-12-15T19:45:00.000-08:00

A selection of Albums which Louie Shelton Played on or Produced

2009-12-10T23:59:00.000-08:00

View all

Get your own

Louie Shelton and Peter Cupples live at Miss D's

2009-12-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

Louie Shelton and Peter Cupples filmed and produced by Alessandro Sorbello http://www.alessandrosorbello.com/ and featuring Louie Shelton http://www.louieshelton.com/ and Peter Cupples http://www.petercupples.com/ live at Miss D’s in Brisbane Australia.

The great Louie Shelton teams up with Peter Cupples to pay tribute to some of the many recordings which Louie worked. While there are too many to mention, some of his classics include, Boz Scaggs' "Low Down", Lionel Richie's "Hello", Neil Diamond's "Play Me", The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back", "ABC" and "I'll Be There, The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" and "Valerie". Some of the other artists Louie recorded with include John Lennon, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Kenny Rodgers, The Mamas & Papas, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and many others.

A message from Yoko Ono

2009-09-13T16:19:00.000-07:00

Hi Alessandro, Thanks for following! Love, yoko
IMAGINE PEACE: Think PEACE, Act PEACE, Spread PEACE www.imagepeace.com

Yoko Ono

Twitter - i'm loving it thus far!!!

Roberto Nobilia and Funk Yea!

2009-09-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Film clip produced by Alessandro Sorbello and features Roberto Nobilia http://nobilia.com.au/ filmed by Ingunn Jordansen http://ingunnjordansen.com

Being mentored by Sir Llewellyn Edwards

2009-08-26T00:54:00.000-07:00

Sir Llewellyn Edwards, CEO of World Expo 88 in Brisbane Australia has generously agreed to mentor Alessandro Sorbello and support Italian Week. We are deeply grateful for the wealth of experience Sir Llew offers and his valuable assistance. Thank you once again Sir Llew

In 1972 he was elected to the Parliament of Queensland as the Member for Ipswich representing the Liberal Party. He was appointed Minister for Health in 1974 and in 1978 became Deputy Premier & Treasurer of Queensland until he retired from Parliament in 1983.

He was then appointed by the Federal and Queensland Governments as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of World Expo 88, the major bicentenary event in 1988, and remained in that position until 1989. It was one of the most successful events held in Australia and attracted 18 million visits over six months.

Sir Llew then entered corporate life becoming Executive Consultant to Jones Lang Wootton, Australia`s leading property company, now Jones Lang LaSalle, and remains with that company.
He has served on many Boards: Chairman of Como Properties 1990-1994, Australian Japan Foundation 1990-1996, Chairman Multi Function Polis 1990-1997, Chairman of Greyhound Pioneer Pty Ltd 1994-1998, Director of Channel 10 1990-1993, AGC Ltd 1989-1996, Chairman of Micro-medical Industries 1994-1996, Westpac Banking Corporation from 1988 to December 2004, James Hardie Industries 1989 to 2001, Telecom New Zealand (Aust) Ltd 1994 to1998, RT Edwards & Sons Pty Ltd from 1974 to present time, Chairman of Pacific Film and Television Commission (the Queensland Government Film Body) from 1990 to present time. He has been Chairman of the Medical Research and Compensation Foundation, Amaca Pty Ltd and Amaba Pty Ltd since 2001.

He was also a member of the Forde Foundation Advisory Council, appointed by the Queensland Government, for 3 years from 2001. He has chaired UQ Holdings Pty Ltd since 1998. He is Chairman of the Asia Pacific Economic Forum and a Director of Uniseed Pty Ltd.

Sir Llew was awarded a Knight Bachelor in 1984 for his services to the people of Queensland, a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1989 for his services to the people of Australia, Queenslander of the Year 1988 and many other awards. He has been awarded Honorary Doctorates of The University of Queensland, Griffith University and Queensland University of Technology.

Principles of HUNA

2009-08-08T18:55:00.001-07:00

Huna (New Thought)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Huna is a Hawaiian word adopted by Max Freedom Long (1890-1971) in 1936 to describe his theory of metaphysics which he linked to ancient Hawaiian kahuna (experts). It is part of the New Thought movement.

Principles and beliefs

Long believed the key to Huna is the concept of the Three Selves – the low self, middle self and higher self; or unconscious, conscious and super-conscious, which he called the unihipili, the uhane and the aumakua. Other Huna teachers also refer to the Three Selves but give them the alternate names of Ku, Lono and Aumakua, or simply refer to them as high, middle and low without Hawaiian terms.
Serge King has articulated seven principles of Huna:

IKE (ee-kay) - The world is what you think it is. KALA - There are no limits.
MAKIA (mah-kee-ah) - Energy flows where attention goes.
MANAWA (man-ah-wah) - Now is the moment of power.
ALOHA - To love is to be happy with (someone or something).
MANA - All power comes from within.
PONO - Effectiveness is the measure of truth.

Dr. Rima Morrell has stated that one who truly practices Huna, has the ability to influence consciousness (2005). The consciousness is not restricted to human consciousness, but may include that of animals, rocks, everything in the world around us both seen and unseen, therefore can include gods and goddess (akua) and the spirits of the departed ('aumakua) who often appear in the form of animals. Thus some Huna proponents claim that someone who practices Huna is a shaman who has the ability to create with consciousness and bring the world into being as he or she desires.

Thought for the Day

2009-08-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
- Albert Einstein -

Marco Evans Interview

2009-08-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

Paolo Diotti Intervista

2009-08-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Duke of Edinburgh Silver Medal

2009-08-02T17:16:00.001-07:00

Commodore Sir James Ramsay KCMG KCVO CBE DSC.
Governor of Queensland Presents the Duke of Edinburgh Silver Medal to Alessandro Sorbello at Government House Brisbane 1984

A long, long time ago....

The Sicilian Kitchen - TV Pilot?

2009-07-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

Part of Italian Week

Thought for the day!!

2009-07-28T15:56:00.001-07:00

He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it - namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to obtain. - Mark Twain

The nature of our experience

2009-07-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

Bringing from the annuls of time the wisdom to create one’s own identification with the universe, manifesting itself in the manner of one’s own imagination and intrigue. The objective is to create an experience which by its very expression (projected from within the individual) is impressive to its creator.
- Alessandro Sorbello -

Italian Government announced that it intends to close two important and vital consulates in Australia

2009-07-07T21:35:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and fans of Italian Week.

Much material is in the process of appearing on http://italianweek2009.blogspot.com/ and Facebook from the 2009 edition of Italian Week. Please stay tuned. Today I write about an important issue that is now affecting Italian representation and subsequently Italian Week.

Recently, the Italian Government announced that it intends to close two important and vital consulates in Australia, this decision has sparked significant response from the community as the implication affects everyone. The consulate of Italy holds a significant role in the development of language and culture within the Australian Community and we are currently at risk of losing the consulates. It is for this reason that I am writing to enlist your assistance. We are lobbying the Italian Government with a show of opposition to this decision. Together we can reverse this inappropriate decision.

Please download the petition from this link http://www.italianspirit.com/SaveTheConsulatesInAustralia.doc
Print it off and have all your friends and family sign it. Anyone can sign it.
Then either fax it to +61 7 3356 4522
0R

POST TO PO BOX 1198 STAFFORD BRISBANE QLD 4053 AUSTRALIA

Please dedicate some of your precious time to this important issue. Together we can prevent this from happening.

You can also leave your comments on the Blog http://italianconsulates.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your assistance and time

Best Regards
Alessandro Sorbello

Italian Waiters Race

2009-07-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

Italian Waiters Race as part of Italian Week 2009 held in the Queen Street Mall.

Lisa Hunt, Marco Evans and Paolo Diotti interview with Alessandro Sorbello part 1

2009-07-06T18:40:00.000-07:00

Lisa Hunt, Marco Evans and Paolo Diotti interview with Alessandro Sorbello

Interview with Cosimo Ronconi

2009-07-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

RAI International Highlights of Italian Week 2009

2009-06-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

Highlights of Italian Week http://www.italianweek.com.au/ produced by Alessandro Sorbello http://www.alessandrosorbello.com/ for the Italian Government as shown on RAI International. The segment aired internationally and showcased the events of the Friday night and Sunday concert.

Raitalia is the international television service of RAI, Italy's public national broadcaster.

Italian Fashion Week is an event organized to promote Italian design and Made In Italy. Appreciated and valued the world over, Italian fashion and Style is has inspired countless designers and stylists. During Italian Week, Italian born designer Elio Marzullo owner and creative director of the label Elio Moda showcases Italian designs and Italian Inspired works from designers such as Subfusco and emerging stylists from Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE, fashion who have created a range of Italian Inspired designs. Direct from Italy and supported by the Italian Embassy in Canberra, Italian Week is proud to present Fatima Scialdone, Roberto Nobilia performing at the Opening of Italian Fashion WeekAustralian born Roberto Nobilia Robert has written and recorded many albums, including the work of Stark which is the collaboration between himself and musician/producer Lindsay Askew who plays guitar Italian Motor Expo 2009 Queen Street Mall and Reddacliff Place For lovers of the sleek lines and high performance of Italian Motor vehicles, the Italian Motor Expo is not to be missed.

18 year old rising star, Zosia Kilmartin, is a classically trained singer. One of the highlights of Zosias career, to date, is her recent appearance at the annual Opera on the Mountain open air concert in May. This event featured Zosia along with 10 of Australias top opera singers Alex Ranieri 16 year old Alex Raineri currently studies piano performance with Leah Horwitz, OAM at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and also studies composition with Gerard Brophy. In November 2008, Alex was awarded a distinction in his Trinity College of London' LTCL exam and the Top of the State award. Also in 2008, Alex performed Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue' with the Queensland Orchestra in the keyboard finals of the 'ABC Symphony Australia Young Performers Awards'.

Raffaele Pierno is a graduate of the Conservatorium Domenico Cimarosa in Avellino, Southern Italy. Graduated with a Diploma di Canto in 1998. He performed extensively across Italy including Concerts of traditional Neopolitan songs for the Mayor and the Cardinal of Naples in il Duomo di Napoli; tribute to Enrico Caruso 1995; Messa di Gloria of Mascagni with Lucia Tramontano (official accompanist at Teatro San Carlo).

Dominique Fegan Dominique has performed with numerous operatic societies in south east Queensland and in the UK. Principal roles include Casilda in The Gondoliers, Angela in Patience, Anna in The Merry Widow, Josephine in HMS Pinafore, The Plaintiff in Trial by Jury, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Guenevere in Camelot, Maisie in The Boyfriend, and Hugette in The Vagabond King. Dominique joined Opera Queensland as a chorus soprano in 1995 and has appeared in numerous concerts and productions.

Italian Waiters Race Waiters and waitresses representing Italian restaurants in Queensland will gather in The Queen Street Mall to compete in a relay race with a difference—the runners have to carry glasses of wine on a tray without spilling a drop.The waiters race, or Corsa dei Camerieri in Italian, is one event of the Tastes of Italy to be held over the weekend.
Marco Evans in concert Marco Evans grew up in a very musical household. His grandmother, father and his aunt are all singers, musicians and performers.

Paolo Diotti in concert Pianist, composer, arranger and producer, Paolo studies music since age 5 and has arranged and composed music for theatre: In alto mare di Slawomir Mrozek (1994), Cibo di Carla Vistarini (1995), Guglielmo e la moneta doro di Mino Milani (1996), Paolo is the winner of two scholarships by the world famous CET musical institute of Mogol: composed music for theatre:

Lisa Hunt in concert - Lisa Hunt began singing in that great African American tradition, the gospel church, there was laid the foundation of her soulful singing style. In Italy she has been the featured vocalist on tour and recordings of ZUCCHERO Sugar Fornaciari for over 15 years and has worked with a range of artist from Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. You can check out her on Pavarotti and friends.

QCTV Italian Week Interview

2009-06-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

QCTV Italian Week Interview
Filmed at the Westpac bank, an Italian Week sponsor, Phil Di Bella, Francesco Capecchi, Fatima Scialdone, Alessandro Sorbello http://www.alessandrosorbello.com , Donagh Worner discussed the upcoming Italian Week 2009 http://www.italianweek.com.au with QCTV.

Fatima Scialdone on QCTV for Italian Week

2009-06-28T20:25:00.001-07:00

Fatima Scialdone on QCTV in Brisbane as part of Italian Week with Maria Lamari

Letter from the Italian Consulate

2009-06-26T00:19:00.000-07:00

Consulate of Italy in Brisbane
the ConsulBrisbane,
3rd June 2008

Dear Mr. SorbelloI wish to congratulate you for your great contribution to the success of the Official Italian Week 2008.
This Consulate of Italy recognizes and appreciates your great personal effort as the producer of the Official Italian Week 2008 in order to present with us, a real image of our country in Brisbane, through events of great quality.

Both Italians and Australians who were present to the Official Italian Week appreciated the quality of the programme and the level of organization of the events. You already know how much I evaluate your contribution, but allow me to say that it was thanks to your passion, persistence, professionalism that a modern, vibrant and vital image of our country was so successfully presented.

I wish to thank you again for your precious cooperation, sure that we will be associated also to the Official Italian Week 2009
Best Regards
Francesco Capecchi

Sig. Alessandro Sorbello
Direttore New Realm Media
PO Box 1198 Stafford,
QLD 4053

Interview With Louie Shelton

2009-06-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

In 2007, producer, Alessandro Sorbello http://www.alessandrosorbello.com/ interviewed Louie Shelton on Australians Gold Coast for New Realm Media http://ww.newrealm.com.au/ . Louie Shelton http://www.louieshelton.com/ discussed his career and the his experiences playing with such artists as Boz Scaggs' "Low Down", Lionel Richie's "Hello", Neil Diamond's "Play Me", The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back", "ABC" and "I'll Be There, The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" and "Valerie".

Some of the other artists Louie recorded with include John Lennon, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Kenny Rodgers, The Mamas & Papas, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and many others.

'... Arrivi ... Partenze' which was officially opened by The Ambassador for Italy in Canberra

2009-06-25T23:06:00.001-07:00

‘…Arrivi …Partenze’

On the 5th and 6th of June, at the request of the Consul of Italy, I produced the dance-theatre piece '... Arrivi ... Partenze' which was officially opened by The Ambassador for Italy in Canberra, H.E. Stefano Starace Janfolla. The event was a joint venture between, Multicultural Affairs Queensland, The Italian Government and New Realm Media and featured as part of the official Italian Week 2007. My role was executive producer. The Premiere occurred at the Queensland Perfoming Arts Complex in Brisbane. The dance-theatre piece “...Arrivi ... Partenze” explores the issue of movement and its various meanings: necessary condition for the human being, expression form and communication medium; need of a group resulting in nomadism and migration. The multimedia performance incorporates the use of music, dance, acting, video projections, live music and various other art forms. Watch the film trailers. You may wish to see a photographic slideshow http://www.alessandrosorbello.com/arrivipartenze2.html

2009-06-25T23:03:00.000-07:00

Hear and Say Centre Governor General

On the 24th of October 2007, His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, launched Hear and Say WorldWide at Admiralty House at Kirribilli in Sydney. Honoured to be a guest of the Governor-General, It was my pleasure to film and produce the footage of the launch. The Governor-General is the patron for The Hear and Say Centre . You may wish to see some photo's of the launch and you can read the Governor-Generals speech. The launch of Hear and Say WorldWide coincided with the release of Peter Cupples new Album ‘about time’, Peter graciously allowed me to use some of his music on the production of the films.

http://www.alessandrosorbello.com/MajorGeneralMichaelJeffery.html

Louie Shelton An abbreviated mini documentary on Guitar legend and producer

2009-06-25T22:20:00.001-07:00

Louie Shelton An abbreviated mini documentary on Guitar legend and producer Louie Shelton, who has worked with all the greats. Have a look at the albums he worked on or produced.. You would have heard Louie Shelton's signature guitar riffs and solos on more hit records than any other session guitarist in history. While there are too many to mention, some of his classics include, Boz Scaggs' "Low Down", Lionel Richie's "Hello", Neil Diamond's "Play Me", The Jackson Five's "I Want You Back", "ABC" and "I'll Be There, The Monkees' "Last Train To Clarksville" and "Valerie". Some of the other artists Louie recorded with include John Lennon, Whitney Houston, Barbra Streisand, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Kenny Rodgers, The Mamas & Papas, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and many others.
http://www.alessandrosorbello.com/louiesheltonproducer.html

Concert of Italian pianist Olga Zdorenko Landi

2009-06-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

Olga Zdorenko

In collaboration with the Consulate of Italy in Brisbane, It is my pleasure to promote and manage the media for the concert of Italian pianist Olga Zdorenko Landi on Saturday 15th December 2007 at St. Brigid’s Catholic Church, 78 Musgrave Road, Red Hill. Olga Zdorenko Landi graduated in 1994 in piano at the ''Tchaikovskij'' Academy of Music in Moscow with E. Malinin and in 2001 with S. Perticaroli at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. She has won awards at several international piano competitions and has performed in the most prestigious European concert halls. See some of the Highlights of the Concert here - Read More

Paolo Diotti and Alessandro Sorbello at Italian Fashion Week

2009-06-22T20:00:00.000-07:00

Thought for the day - Canned chatter

2009-06-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something worthwhile. The first discipline of education must therefore be to refuse resolutely to feed the mind with canned chatter. - Aleister Crowley

Launch of Italian Fashion Week in Australia

2009-06-07T00:37:00.000-07:00

At the official Launch of Italian Fashion Week in Australia, Elio Marzullo creative director of the label Elio Moda, the Italian Consul, The Ambassador of Italy, Gian Ludovico de Martino di Montegiordano and Italian Week Executive Producer Alessandro Sorbello celebrate a successful international collaboration between the Queensland and Australian Government after the Italian Fashion on Show in the Queen Street Mall.

Quest Newspapers coverage of Italian Week and Italian Fashion Week

2009-06-07T00:00:00.000-07:00

Degustation dinner anyone? Decadent wine-matched lunch? Choices abound in Brisbane in upcoming weeks. Here are just a few…
http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/blogs/story/treat-for-foodies-all-over-town/

BRISBANE: All things Italian will take centre stage in Brisbane for Italian Week from May 26 to June 2. The CBD will be a hive of activity, including performances of highlights from Romeo and Juliet at the Queen Street Mall stage on May 26, 28 and 30http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/latin-theme-fit-for-a-queen/

BRISBANE: Food guru Jan Power will salute Italian food and wine at her Wednesday market next week. “I researched farmers markets in Italy and all over Europe before I launched the concept in Brisbane,” Jan said. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/italy-makes-mark-at-markets

Metropolitan South Institute of Tafe fashion students did a dress rehearsal of their garments, which will be part of Italian Fashion Week parades in the City this weekend - Pictures: Dale Haberfield and Jim Campey See and buy thousands of photos at Newsphotos http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/photos/gallery/top-threads-italian-style

THERESA Lariza’s designs on becoming an internationally renowned fashion designer have taken a stride in the right direction. The Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE fashion graduate was one of 18 handpicked to showcase their Italian inspired creations as part of 2009 Italian Week celebrations. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/italian-flair-on-catwalk/

THE work of Wynnum fashion students Edwina Tait, 18, and Stacey O’Keeffe, of Capalaba, will be showcased during parades to mark Italian Fashion Week celebrations. Ms Tait’s design was shortlisted with the works of 18 students selected from a 450-strong entry field from Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/fashion-students-in-italian-week-show/

BROOKFIELD’S Tahli Accad will showcase her Italian-inspired creations at Italian Week celebrations this weekend. The Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE (MSIT) student is among 18 fashion students handpicked to showcase their garments in the fashion extravaganza which runs in the Queen Street Mall from May 29 to 31. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/italian-inspiration-for-designers/

HER mother is Zimbabwean and her father South African, but Kirsten Reynolds has turned to Italy as inspiration for her latest fashion collection. The Springwood designer’s garments will be paraded on the runway in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall this weekend during Italian Week celebrations. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/kirsten-has-big-designs-on-success/

THE creations of Morningside fashion designer Melinda Toomey will be on show this week. Melinda is among 18 fashion designers from Metropolitan South Institute of TAFE showcasing their Italian-inspired creations at Italian Fashion Week. The students were handpicked to exhibit their garments in the fashion extravaganza which will be held in Queen Street Mall from May 29-31. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/italian-inspiration-bellissimo/

FOOD and family were at the core of Michele Di’Bartolo’s upbringing. Memories of sitting in her grandmother’s kitchen watching her cook, coupled with a trip to her ancestral home of Sicily in 2005, spurred the lawyer to put pen to paper upon her return. The result is The Sicilian Kitchen, a memoir with a liberal dash of traditional, home-style Sicilian recipes scattered throughout. http://quest-news.whereilive.com.au/news/story/a-taste-of-sicily/

ALDERLEY: Italians have taken over Alderley in the lead up to a festival which celebrates the culture, history, and food of the boot-shaped country. Italian Week organizer Alessandro Sorbello said the week-long celebration was now in its third year and provided an insight into Italian culture. “We’re bringing the ‘la bella vita’ (life is beautiful) essence of Italy to Brisbane,” Mr Sorbello said. “This year’s celebration will capture the flare and excitement of one of the world’s oldest countries. http://north-west-news.whereilive.com.au/lifestyle/story/italian-life-celebrated/

Italian Week to showcase modern flavour

2009-06-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

Sink your teeth into Brisbane's Italian Week.
Ask the boss of Italian Week where to get a slice of authentic pizza in Brisbane, and he doesn't want to talk about it.

Rather than focus on age-old images of red-and-white check tablecloths and steaming bowls of bolognese, Alessandro Sorbello would rather talk about the modern Italy.

The producer of Italian Week 2009 said it was time Brisbane embraced the complexity and depth of modern Italian culture, rather than just focus on the past.

"It's important that we do not ignore our heritage," Mr Sorbello said. "Neither should we let the past hold us back."

The recent closure of Newmarket's long-standing Italo-Australian Centre was a sign Italian culture in Brisbane needed to move with the times, he said.

"After several decades of offering a place for Italians and people passionate about Italy to unite, this Brisbane icon leaves a large gap within the Italian community," he said.

"(This) highlights the need to evolve and celebrate Italy as the modern, fascinating and alluring country that it is today."

Hence the program for this year's Italian Week, which runs for a week from today, is designed to cross generations and celebrate the integration and differences between the cultures of Australia and Italy.

"Whether you're a connoisseur looking for a taste of the world's finest wine or homemade pasta, or a fashionista looking to the catwalks of Milan for inspiration, Italian Week is a chance for locals to experience the culture and delights of this beautiful country," said Mr Sorbello.
Now in its third year, Italian Week will this year be housed predominantly in Queen Street Mall for the first time.

The program comprises a host of film, opera, music, fashion and food events, culminating in Festa della Repubblica (Italian National Day).

"We were really trying to express the full gamut of Italian ingenuity and attitude to life this year," Mr Sorbello says. "From astronomy to gastronomy, technology and textiles, this year is about the good life, the old life and the new life."

For more information on Italian Week, including a full listing of programs and events visit http://www.italianweek.com.au/

Katherine FeeneyMay 25, 2009
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/italian-week-to-showcase-modern-flavour-20090526-blbz.html

CBD gets a taste of Italy

2009-06-06T22:44:00.000-07:00

Workers strolling through Reddacliff Place in Brisbane's CBD today got a colourful taste of what to expect from the second half of Italian Week.
Models draped themselves over a Vespa scooter and red Fiat convertible, three tenors paid tribute to operatic icon Luciano Pavarotti and waiters from the old country practised running with trays of wine-filled glasses.
Festival producer Alessandro Sorbello said the week-long celebration had already been a hit with the city's residents, but the best was yet to come, including Italian Fashion Week parades, numerous musical performances from internationally renowned artists, a motor show and more food events.
At the end of the day, however, he said he hoped the festival left Brisbane residents with a deeper understanding and affinity for the Italian way of life.
"Italy has such a rich culture that we want to start to really now tap the broader, the deeper dimensions of it,'' he said. "We want to say it is about food, it is about fun and wine, but there's much, much more to it as well there's also a way of life. They (Italians) are very much orientated around now, about being spontaneous.

"You don't know which day is your last day so why not have a great day every day?'' Mr Sorbello said there was no reason why the sunshine state's celebration of all things Italian could not become bigger than its southern rivals. "We're going to keep building,'' he said.

"Melbourne has the Lygon Street Festival and Sydney has the Norton Street Festival, and now Brisbane has the Italian Week Festival. "Absolutely we can be bigger. "Next year we have plans to bring in architecture and visual art so we can really transform the city for Italian Week into Italy.''

Major events over the coming days include fashion parades showcasing Italian and local designers' creations in the Queen Street Mall on Friday and the weekend; the Italian Motorshow in Reddacliff Place on May 31; the Italian Waiters Race held as part of Tastes of Italy on May 31 which re-enacts the 1950s race in Rome's Colosseum and a host of free concerts from star performers on the Queen Street Mall stage and in Reddacliff place.

Simon O'Brien May 28, 2009

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/entertainment/your-brisbane/cbd-gets-a-taste-of-italy-20090528-bon9.html

Some highlights of Italian Week 2009

2009-06-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

A range of image showing Italian Week 2009 highlights - more to come in due course

La Bella Vita in Brisbane with Alessandro Sorbello and Maro Cali

2009-06-06T22:30:00.000-07:00

Alessandro Sorbello and Mario Cali enjoy lunch in preperation for Tastes of Italy, A feature of Italian Week 2009. Wines by ItaliQuore (Thanks Filippo D'arro) and foods by Eurofoods Qld (thanks Sam Monforte)

Alessandro Sorbello samples the delights of Bella Cosi Modern Italian Restaurant at Chermside

2009-05-24T12:25:00.000-07:00

Emma Pappalardo covers Italian Week for the Saturday May 23rd edition of the Courier Mail. Photo Caption. TASTE test... Alessandro Sorbello samples the delights of Bella Cosi Modern Italian Restaurant at Chermside. Photo by Liam Kidston (Click on image to enlarge)

City News 21st may 2009. Italy makes mark at markets. Photo Caption:- Gianna Di Bella with frest Italian produce. Click on image to enlarge

2009-05-24T00:10:00.001-07:00

City News 21st May 2009. Latin theme fit for a Queen. Photo Caption:- LOVER BOY:- Niki-J Witt and Tim Dashwood play Romeo and Juliet

2009-05-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

Brisbane News May 13th - 19th 2009. The Queensland Orchestra. Click on Image to Enlarge

2009-05-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Brisbane News May 13th - 19th 2009. Celebriamo. La Dolce vita is just around the corner as all things Italian come under the spotlight. Click on Image

2009-05-23T23:58:00.001-07:00

Sunday Mail May 24th 2009. Going crazy for all things Italian? this week is also Brisbane's Official Italian Festival.

2009-05-23T22:59:00.000-07:00

bmag 19th May 2009. Five of the best things to do this week.

2009-05-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

What the future may look like

2009-03-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Once I heard about a concept which was similiar to this - based on the work of the United Nations, designed to enable creation from sub atomic particles and harvesting the molecular structure from the atmosphere.

2008 Christmas Concert

2008-12-29T01:07:00.000-08:00

The films above will play sequentially

The Italian Consulate in Queensland and Northern Territory in conjunction with Co.AS.It present the 2008 Christmas Concert. Filmed and edited by Alessandro Sorbello http://www.alessandrosorbello.com/ for New Realm Media http://www.newrealm.com.au/ and hosted by Damian Anthony Rossi. A Vespa Studios project http://www.vespastudios.com/ Featuring Anna Maria La Spina http://www.anna.com.au/ and Mark Watson and Featuring the Australian Girls Choir and Zosia Kilmartin http://zosiakilmartin.com/

Following last year’s tradition, this Consulate of Italy, in cooperation with Co.As.It. Brisbane, organized a free concert to celebrate Christmas together with the Italian Community and the whole city of Brisbane.

The Concert took place at the Old Museum of Brisbane (Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills), on Sunday December, 14th 2008, from 3pm to 5pm.

Performing Artists included Anna Maria La Spina (http://www.anna.com.au/), two world tours with the 20 million album selling group "Savage Garden", accompanied by the pianist Mark Watson and the Australian Girls Choir (http://www.ausgirlschoir.com.au/) who will sang traditional Christmas carols. Zosia Kilmartin also performed at the concert which was enjoyed by over 500 people

Italian Panettone and Champagne will be served after the concert, thanks to the kind support of Com.It.Es. for Queensland and Northern Territory.

Hoping to have the opportunity of wishing you all a Merry Christmas on this occasion

I send you my best regards

Francesco Capecchi
Consul of Italy
For QLD and NT

Designer label and discount outlet shopping in Hawaii.

2008-12-07T23:37:00.000-08:00

A spender's paradise and generous baggage allowances are too tempting for Kristie Kellahan.

WHAT Designer label and discount outlet shopping in Hawaii.

WHERE On the main Hawaiian island of Oahu there exists the kind of shopping opportunities that could tempt a monk from his vows of poverty. Ala Moana Centre is the world's largest outdoor shopping complex and the premier destination within Hawaii for well-known brands and stores. Among the 290 stores are luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Hermes and Tiffany & Co. Department stores Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy's and Sears are all here, just a lei's throw from Waikiki beach.

Twenty-five kilometres away is Waikele Premium Outlets, the place for crazy bargains and outlet stores. Nine West, Puma, Adidas, Coach, Levi's and Polo Ralph Lauren all have outlets here, known in some parts as "remainder stores".

HOW MUCH OK, are you ready for it? The prices for most brand goods are often up to 50per cent cheaper in Hawaii than Australia. You know that $500 Tiffany pendant you have your heart set on? You will likely pick it up at Ala Moana for $US225 (less than $250). Likewise Levi's from $US30, Puma sneakers from $US20 and Marc Jacobs heels from $US50.

Cosmetics from Maybelline and L'Oreal are at least half off what you would pay in Australia. As an example, Maybelline's top-selling Great Lash mascara can be picked up for about $US5 per tube.

But wait, there's more! Make the trek to Waikele and things start to get really interesting. The prices are mind-boggling at this dumping ground for discontinued lines and excess stock. I found a desirable range of Nine West heels reduced from $US100 to just $US9.95 a pair; recent release hardcover titles at Borders for $US3; Calvin Klein bras and knickers from $US5 each; and luxury leather Coach handbags reduced from $US800 to $US200. Yes, I nearly fell over too.

WHY GO Whenever I came home from teenage shopping expeditions excited by the bargains I had snapped up, my father would say, "You'll go broke saving money". Spending to save money does sound counter-productive, however, the stuff you will buy in Hawaii (clothes, shoes, sports gear, watches, bags) are things you would have to buy at some point anyway. Why pay twice the price elsewhere? Buy it in Hawaii and get a holiday at the same time. That is what I tell myself, anyway.

Hawaii has gained an excellent reputation as an international shopping destination; visitors jet in from Japan, Korea and Australia with empty suitcases. Ala Moana Centre alone receives 42million shopping visits each year. In 2005, it was the first mall in the United States to reach $1billion in annual sales.

Tourists generally fly out seven to 10 days later, sun-kissed and sated, with the maximum allowable 64kilograms of checked luggage. The US is generous with its luggage limits, allowing passengers to check in two pieces, with each piece weighing no more than 32kilograms.
The strength of our dollar against the greenback means now is a cheap time to travel to the US. At the time of writing it had hit a record high exchange rate: $1 was equal to US96 cents.
Throw in bargain flights to Hawaii from Australia on Jetstar and Hawaiian Airlines and you have yourself a recipe for happy holidays.

FREE STUFF With prices like these, they're practically paying you to take the goods away! Ala Moana does host free daily entertainment and a spring shopping festival.
BONUS Shop on Tuesdays at Waikele to receive an added 10per cent discount from selected stores.

DETAILS Ala Moana Centre is across from Ala Moana beach on Ala Moana Boulevard, 1 1/2 kilometres from Waikiki and threekilometres from downtown Honolulu. An open-air shuttle (known as a trolley) runs a regular loop from the centre to various hotels and landmarks, at a cost of $US2 per ride. See http://www.alamoanacenter.com/ for details.
Waikele shopping centre is 25 kilometres from Waikiki. Hop on the Waikele Trolley at a cost of $US12 per ride. See http://www.premiumoutlets.com/ for details.

Rome on A Motorcycle

2008-12-02T14:31:00.000-08:00

Rome as seen from the back of a motorcycle. My friend Vasco Petruzzi and I spent a most pleasant Sunday morning touring around Rome and visiting the sights. This 7 minute film shows highlights of Rome and a street view of the Eternal City

Piazza del Campidoglio (on the Capitol Hill) is the headquarter of the Italian Government; Piazza Venezia represents the 'heart of the city'; Piazza Navona displays the spectacular Baroque triumphant architecture; Piazza di Spagna is a masterpiece of the XVIII century with its famous Spanish steps and, last but not least, St Peter's Square is the majestic access to St Peter's Basilica, the centre of Christianity.

Roman basilicas and churches. Within Rome there are about 19 basilicas to be found, out of which 3 are patriarchal: St Peter's Basilica - the world's largest basilica of Christianity; St John in Lateran (San Giovanni Laterano) - former seat of the bishops residence and the most ancient church in the world, Santa Maria Maggiore... Ancient Rome sights, Colosseum The hugest structure of its type in the ancient Rome, the elliptical-shaped Colosseum, took about ten years to build. The centre of ancient Rome entertainment, where the gladiatorial and animal combats were held, surely the top tourist attraction in Rome.

Roman Forum The central area around which the ancient Rome developed. Administrative and corporate heart of Rome.Pantheon One of the most impressive buildings of the Imperial Rome. Originally dedicated as a temple to "all the gods", therefore the name. Roman Aqueducts Baths of Caracalla Catacombs Appian Way Vatican Sights Castel Sant' Angelo St Peter's Square Saint Peter's Basilica Rome fountains, Trevi Fountain, Fontana di Trevi, one of the top Rome's attractions that is never to be missed.

There are times walking around the centre of Rome when you may feel that tourism is the city's raison d'etre. That's not entirely true, but tourists are certainly spoiled for choice in the Eternal City. In this expanding section of our Rome destination guide, we'll pick out some of the top tourist attractions and endeavour to put them into some kind of context.Colosseum - Rome's most famous tourist attraction Castel Sant'Angelo - built as Hadrian's mausoleum, later a Papal fortress Catacombs - underground burial complexes with early Christian frescoes and carvings

Rome Zoo, the Bioparco - Rome's zoo is in the Villa Borghese area and adds variety to a family holidayRoman houses on the Celio hill. Capitoline Museums - the best of Rome's ancient statuary, Centrale Montemartini - Roman sculptures and mosaics displayed in a former electricity generating plant. Museo di Roma (Palazzo Braschi) - Museum of Rome, in the Centro Storico, Museo della Civiltà Romana - Roman history, portrayed through plaster replicas and models. Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari - folk art and traditions, Museo dell'Alto Medioevo - museum of the Middle Ages in Italy. Galleria Spada - small art gallery housed in a pretty palazzo. Galleria Borghese (book in advance) - superb collection of paintings and statues. Palazzo Barberini - another collection of paintings, Museo Barracco - small and attractive collection of ancient sculpture, Museo della Pasta - Pasta Museum

Pantheon - one of the best-preserved and loveliest buildings from the Ancient World. Trevi Fountain - dramatic fountain famed for coin-throwing. Vittoriano - big ugly white monument with good views (pay for access by lift to the highest panoramic terrace). Teatro di Marcello - Roman theatre later converted into residence. Via Appia Antica - the old Roman Appian Way lined with ruined tombs and archaeological sites. Protestant Cemetery - peaceful spot where Keats is buried. Scala Santa - Holy Staircase - pilgrimage destination. Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano Rome's cathedral. Abbazia delle Tre Fontane - little-visited abbey out of town.

The Most beautiful Hole in Rome ( la buca piu bella di roma)

2008-12-02T14:27:00.000-08:00

The Aventine Keyhole - For those in the know, this is a popular attraction. Locals bring their visitors here to admire the impressive optical effect created by Piranesi. It doesn't sound that wonderful; some trees and St. Peter's, but few leave uncharmed. Located in the artistic and enigmatic Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta, a gate bars the entrance to the Priory of the Knights of Malta. Queue up to have a look through the ornate keyhole, and you'll see the Vatican's vast white cathedral floating at the end of a symmetrical tunnel of trimmed trees.The piazza is placed on the Aventine Hill (Aventino), which is a nice tranquil place to stroll on a sunny day. To reach the keyhole, you follow Via di Santa Sabina from the Circo Massimo (Circus Maximus) past a rose garden, two attractive churches and a couple of delightful panoramic parks. One, a walled garden filled with orange trees, hosts outdoors theatre in the summer months.

Giulio Rapetti, Mogol al Centro Europeo di Toscolano

2008-11-30T01:51:00.000-08:00

On My recent trip to Umbria in Italy, The Italian Consul and I visited the Centro Europeo Toscolano founded by the great MOGOL (see profile below) we hope to commence a collaboration with CET and that they will tour to Australia next year as part of Italian Week 2009. This footage shows the amazing Music Acadamy founded by MOGOL.

Giulio Rapetti (born August 17, 1936 in Milan), in art Mogol, is an Italian lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Lucio Battisti.

His father, Mariano Rapetti, was an important director of the Ricordi record label, and had been in his own time a successful lyricist of the 1950s. Young Giulio, who was likewise employed by Ricordi as a public relations expert, began his own career as a lyricist against his father's wishes.
His first successes were Il cielo in una stanza ("Heaven in a room" or "The sky in a room"), set to music by Gino Paoli and sung by Mina; Al di là ("Beyond"), a piece that won the 1961 Sanremo Festival when performed by Luciano Tajoli and Betty Curtis; Una lacrima sul viso ("A tear on the face"), which was a huge hit for Bobby Solo in 1964. Another famous song from 1961 was Uno dei tanti (English: One from many) which was rewritten by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1963 and released under the title "I (Who Have Nothing)".

In addition to writing new lyrics in Italian for a great many singers, Mogol also took it upon himself, in years in which familiarity with the English language in Italy was still sparse, to translate many hits from overseas, especially film soundtracks, but also works of Bob Dylan.
In 1965 he met Lucio Battisti, a young guitarist and composer from the Latium region of central Italy. Mogol's lyrics contributed to Battisti's initial success as an author, in megahits such as 29 settembre, and led him to undertake the role of producer as well, as happened with the song Sognando la California, which Mogol himself had translated from the signature number of The Mamas and the Papas, California Dreamin', and with Senza luce ("Without light"), an Italian rendering of A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum.

In 1966, Mogol, overcoming resistance from his record label, convinced Battisti to perform his own songs. The lyricist's intuition would have one of the most rewarding outcomes of the history of Italian music, as Battisti, after a halting start, would explode as a singer, becoming one of the most successful artists in the panorama of Italian music. In the same year, Mogol left the Ricordi label to create his own with Battisti, called Numero Uno, which brought together many celebrated Italian singer-songwriters. The pair wrote songs as well for Bruno Lauzi, Patty Pravo, and, especially, Mina.

In 1980, Mogol broke the artistic relationship with Battisti, and successfully continued his independent career as a lyricist with the noted singer-songwriter Riccardo Cocciante, with whom he wrote the texts for some successful albums, first in the series Cervo a Primavera ("Deer in springtime").

Lately, with the work of Cocciante moving in other directions, Mogol has formed a stable partnership with Adriano Celentano; his songs for Celentano are scored by the Sicilian singer-songwriter Gianni Bella. This collaboration has produced the delicate song L'arcobaleno ("The rainbow"), included in the CD Io non so parlar d'amore ("I know not how to speak of love"), which is considered openly dedicated to Battisti, who had recently died.

Dr Vinton Cerf in Brisbane

2008-11-07T16:40:00.000-08:00

On March 8th 2007, I interviewed Dr. Vinton G. Cerf and presented him to the Australian Media at a press conference which I organised. Currently I am producing ‘Internet, Infinity and Beyond’ the DVD based on Dr Cerf’s Presentation at the Brisbane Convention Centre, you can see elements of the presentation on the film clip.

You can also see the story screened by the Ten Network in Brisbane. You may like to see the photo gallery of the Press Conference.

Hear and Say Centre wins national award! - Dr Vinton Cerf, co-founder of the internet and the 2007 keynote speaker at the Hear and Say Centre’s biggest fundraising event, addressed 750 of Brisbane’s top business leaders and the message was clear - people with a disability such as deafness can overcome it and make world changing discoveries. Read more

Vinton G. Cerf is vice president and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google. In this role, he is responsible for identifying new enabling technologies to support the development of advanced Internet-based products and services from Google. He is also an active public face for Google in the Internet world. Widely known as of the ‘Founder of the Internet’, Cerf is the co-designer of the TCP/IP protocols and the architecture of the Internet. In December 1997, President Clinton presented the U.S. National Medal of Technology to Cerf and his colleague, Robert E. Kahn, for founding and developing the Internet. Kahn and Cerf were named the recipients of the ACM Alan M. Turing award, sometimes called the "Nobel Prize of Computer Science," in 2004 for their work on the Internet protocols. In November 2005, President George Bush awarded Cerf and Kahn the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their work. The medal is the highest civilian award given by the United States to its citizens.

In December 1994, People magazine identified Cerf as one of that year's ‘25 Most Intriguing People.’

Dr Cerf has recently retired as chairman of ICANN - have a look at the tributes paid to him from Internet Leaders including Vint Cerf by Vice President Al Gore.

Alex Raineri Rhapsody in B minor Op. 79 No. 1 J. Brahms

2008-08-10T00:03:00.001-07:00

Alex Raineri Produced and Presented by Alessandro Sorbello http://www.alessandrosorbello.com for the Italian Consulate as part of Italian Week www.italianweek.com.au Alex Raineri 15 year old Alex Raineri is a Brisbane based pianist and composer. He currently studies piano performance with Leah Horwitz, OAM at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, and also studies composition with Gerard Brophy and clarinet with Graham Evans A.R.C.M.

Alex Raineri Dinner at Table 7

2008-08-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

Alex Raineri is a Brisbane based pianist and composer. He has won many prestigious awards, bursaries and scholarships both in his age group as well as for open age group categories. In 2006, he won both the Queensland Piano Competition and the Queensland Clarinet and Saxophone Competition, as well as winning a composition award in The Keys National Festival of Australian Music. Performing as Part of Italian Week 2008

Alex Raineri Intermezzo, Nutcracker Ballet.P. I. Tchaikovski

2008-08-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

Alex Raineri Produced and Presented by Alessandro Sorbello http://www.alessandrosorbello.com as part of Italian Week. In addition to playing clarinet in the Queensland Youth Orchestra and St Lucia Orchestra, 15-year-old Alex Raineri has performed extensively as a pianist in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. He has featured in several radio broadcasts, including ABC Classic FM's Rising Stars with Graham Abbott, 4 MBS Classic FM, and 2MBS-FM's Emerging Young Artists series.

Shandell Tosoni sings Gone Fishing

2008-08-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

Part of Italian Week. UNLESS you are a diehard country fan, chances are you have not heard her music, nor can you yet download her songs from the popular iTunes music site. But make no mistake, Shandell Tosoni is a name we are going to hear a lot more about. Ivory's Rock Conference Centre is fortunate to have booked the singer and songwriter for its Sunday in the Country open day on July 9,just as she has moved to Brisbane from her north Queensland home to seriously launch her career. Although only 19, Shandell has already achieved much in the country music world,with a host of awards and high-profile gigs to her name.

Shandell Tosoni sings You aint women enough

2008-08-09T23:54:00.001-07:00

TRUE blue country girl Shandell Tosoni may sing country music and ride horses on the Gold Coast, but if she goes to Italy, the songstress will tackle the undulating notes of jazz.She is one of two finalists up for the Pellegrino Scholarship, which will be awarded this weekend at the finale of Italian Week in Brisbane.Originally from Dimbulah in far north Queensland, the 21-year-old is currently writing songs for her debut album while working at Outback Spectacular.

Shandell Tosoni - Winner Pellegrino Scholarship 2008

2008-08-09T23:52:00.001-07:00

Shandell Tosoni, is another ex student making her mark in the entertainment industry. Australian Idol's Jessica Mauboy, Aleyce Simmonds, Nick Kingswell, Kirsty Lee Akers (Toyota Star Maker 2007), Brianna Lee -- Telstra Road To Tamworth winners. Shea Fisher, recently signed to ABC Music and EMI artists The Baileys. This is just a sample of the successes of the Camerata Youth Country Music school that is held in Tamworth every July.

Finale of Italian Week 2008

2008-08-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

Finale of Italian Week 2008 Concert produced by Alessandro Sorbello http://www.alessandrosorbello.com/ featuring Performers Peter Cupples, Opera Queensland, Alex Raineri, Enza Pantano, Frank Paolino, Lucia Drago, Jason Barry-Smith, Emily Burke, Anna-Maria La Spina and Shandell Tosoni and Fashion Designers Elio Moda and Depazzi Stage Management by Penelope Krishna -- P3 Events

Italian Week 2008 Concert -

2008-08-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

Performers at the Italian Week Concert at Southbank - this is the entire concert divided into individual songs. The DVD of the entire concert is available. Please Enjoy..

ciao

Alessandro

Perfection

2008-08-09T02:50:00.000-07:00

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Italian Ambassador in Brisbane

2008-07-23T15:20:00.001-07:00

From Left –Alessandro Sorbello (producer Italian week, His Excellency Stefano Starace-Janfolla (Italian Ambassador), Dr Francesco Capecchi (Consul of Italy for Queensland and Northern Territory) Anna-Maria La Spina, Phillip Di Bella, Mario Calli’ and Cav. Stephen Pellegrino

It was a great pleasure to hear the comments of the Italian Ambassador to Australia, His Excellency Stefano Starace-Janfolla when he met with the Italian Week team in Brisbane at Gianni’s Restaurant. The Ambassador thanked the team for the collaboration with the Italian Consulate in promoting Italian Culture via the young Italian/Australian team.

With Australian Rock icon - Peter Cupples

2008-07-04T00:29:00.000-07:00

A coffee with Peter at Miss D's at Tarragindi - always a pleasure to catch up with the
Great Peter Cupples!

Italian Design and Fashion discussion

2008-07-04T00:22:00.000-07:00

With Elio Marzullo and Alessandro Marzullo at the opening of the design exhibition at QUT in Brisbane

Partnership with Radio 4MBS Festival of Classics

2008-07-04T00:18:00.000-07:00

Dr Francesco Capecchi with Gary Thorpe, General Manager of 4MBS Classic FM and Alessandro Sorbello

It was a real pleasure to meet with Gary at the Italian Consulate, it is rare to meet a person who displays so much obvious passion for his work/art. We too are excited about the collaboration which has commenced this year and which will continue on for the coming 4 years as a minimum.

Susan Parisi launchs her Novel 'Blood of Dreams'

2008-07-04T00:17:00.000-07:00

Author Susan Parisi with Dr Capecchi and Alessandro Sorbello at the book launch at Viale Canova as part of Italian Week

Letter from Italian Government

2008-07-04T00:14:00.000-07:00

Opera Queensland - Performing at Italian Week Concert

2008-06-10T23:40:00.000-07:00