How much do I love my Atomic!

While I was on The Wolverine at the end of 2012 I had access to a metal buffing machine so thought it was worth giving my trusty Atomic Cappuccino Maker a good clean and refresh. Over time it slowly tarnishes and once every few years it’s nice to return it to it’s brilliant, shiny newness.

Last time I did this while working on Narnia and sadly damaged the label which I wasn’t able to have replaced without taking it personally into Bon Trading. You have to understand, there are copies out there which people label with an Atomic label to then pass off as the real thing, so the good folk at Bon Trading need to see the unit to confirm it’s genuine. Sadly this meant I had to wait until I returned to Sydney which fortunately for me was in 2012.

The moment I dropped my Atomic on the counter I had a surprise reaction from the staff. I don’t think they have seen an atomic that shiny in a good long time. It even scrubbed up better than a new machine after being freshly polished.

We all got raving about it so I asked Irene to tell us a few things about the atomic and its history.

Then as a favour for them I recorded a little impromptu video for them.

Heck why not, I love my atomic and if I can share some of my enthusiasm and encourage others to enjoy this stylish, simple way to make excellent coffee in your life.

Go to Bon Trading and get your own
Atomic Cappuccino Maker here

 

Bringing it all together in one place.

I thought it was worth bringing the whole story of Sabina and my trip to Canberra as part of #HumanBrochure in one place. What better way than the best of the audio and images I could find from the greater group of people we meet on the week-end.

Adventure in Canberra for Sabina and Ian.

Ian Kath and daughter Sabina are off for a week-end of Adventure to discover Canberra and meet a heap of new friends thanks to being a ‘Human’ as part of #HumanBrochure

Storified by Ian Kath· Sun, Mar 03 2013 16:43:11

RT @fddlgrl: Hanging out in the BNE airport with @IanKath, @ErikVeland, & @cameronreilly of course. Embarking on #humanbrochure Canberra! Erik Veland

For those #humanbrochure kids, check out the super secret Facebook group for instructions on how you can score a bottle of wine that grum guy

Love to know your thoughts in the comments below.

 

I asked the other ‘Humans’ for their thoughts on #HumanBrochure.

I love audio.
I mean… I really love audio!

As a way of getting the personal thoughts and emotions from people about a variety of issues there is nothing better than recording their voice. And as we were all in Canberra as guests of the #HumanBrochure campaign put on by Australian Capital Tourism I thought it would be worth recording the opinions of some of the other ‘Humans’ about their experiences.

There were four streams on the #HumanBrochure week-end – Art & Culture, Food & Wine, Family and Sabina (my daughter) and I were on the Adventure stream.

Farewell at the Crowne Plaza Bar.

During drinks put on by Crowne Plaza Canberra before we were bussed to the airport I managed to ask a few of my other ‘Adventurers’ what they thought and later at the airport I managed to get a few thoughts about the Art & Culture and Family streams.

I’d love to know your opinion on the #HumanBrochure campaign.
Is Canberra now on your agenda of places to visit?

 

Not everyone agrees.

As part of the #HumanBrochure campaign for Australian Capital Tourism we were welcomed at the Australian War Memorial and presented with some of what this iconic Canberra museum has to offer. Sure it was a quick and somewhat superficial visit but we only had a couple of hours and the idea was to give us a taste of that the AWM has to offer.

After the introductions, welcomes and main audiovisual presentation I thought it was worth hearing from a few of the ‘Humans’ what their thought and opinions of the Memorial.

Here is some varying opinions on what we thought of the Australian War Memorial.

What’s your opinion of the Australian War Memorial?
Leave you comments below.

 

A week-end on indulgence shared on Social Networks

Ian & Sabina waiting for the plane.

I’ve been producing online for a half-dozen years now but it’s rare for me to receive any bonus for doing something I enjoy but this last week-end that’s exactly what’s happened as part of the #HumanBrochure campaign for Visit Canberra put on by Australian Capital Tourism.

It all started with flying with my daughter Sabina to Canberra for a ‘just the two of us’, trip together. It’s been a long time since we’ve had the chance to spend quality time together, especially since Sabina has grown up and it was particularly nice to mix it with activities, fine food and new friends to make it all the better.

Leaving on a Jet Plane.

Even before we left I noticed (and constantly reminded of), the impeccable planning and execution of every aspect of the week-end ahead.

Some of the free Swag we got.

Over the months since applying as one of the 31,000 odd people to then be culled to 500 ‘Humans’, I’ve had to fill out a few online questionnaires but other than that, every once in a while I received an email informing me of how everything was ‘just happening’, to make the week-end come together. I simply let the organisers do everything for me, then I checked in online and then jumped on the plane.

I wonder if this is what if’s to have a personal assistant? This was just the start of having my worldly desires managed for me and couldn’t help wondering if there would be someone on stand by to tuck me in at night . BRING IT ON!

At the airport we meet the first of the “Humans’ to join us, some were old friends, some were new and some I had only known online but now was a chance to meet them in person. There’s still something about ‘in real life ‘, meetings which can’t be replicated online.

Now, I want to say up front, I realise I was a bought and fully paid for shill on this trip. Everything was all free of my own expense and I appreciate all the wonderful things which were done for us. But I also realise everyone was on their very best behaviour.  This was both a courageous and dangerous event for all the service providers to participate in. Even though we felt grateful for a free holiday and would be inclined to be generous with our compliments (unlike professional cynical reviewers), if they had screwed up, we had the social presence to make a great deal of noise online which could take months or years to fade away. Basically they couldn’t afford to screw up!

Canberra arrival.

The first day was all about checking into Crowne Plaza, introduction to the other ‘Humans’ and settling into the city of Canberra.

Check out all the best images of #HumanBrochure

As expected, and this is the way it was for the whole week-end everything was perfect, including little gifts and a handwritten note welcoming us, which some poor hotel employee had been dragged into writing 20+ times.

Bit of rest for Sabina and I and it was off to meet the other 40 odd people on the adventure stream before heading to the Australian War Memorial for the official welcome.

Not too many people realise the Australian War Memorial is the number one attraction for Canberra and as such it seemed appropriate as the first port of call on our itinerary.

The Australian War Memorial is a place I enjoy visiting for historical reasons, not so much for the military aspects but that’s for another discussion.

What we did see was a video presentation of WWI aerial battles and history with a stunning visual and audio presentation. It just goes to show how effective modern digital multimedia can be used for the education of history in museums these days. Especially when produced by someone like Peter Jackson and all the resources he uses in his film productions.

After the official welcome Sabina and I went out with others for a drink and our first chance to actually get to know each other before the main activities the next day. This was one of the few time we were able to spend some of our own money!

Falling down a mountain.

Mt Stromlo just west of Canberra suffered from a catastrophic firestorm in 2003 resulting in the destruction of much of the local area and the astronomical observatory. Over the last 10 years a major rebuilding programme has created a new suburb, National Arboretum and mountain bike course. Now with all the new growth taking hold the area is really starting to look good again.

But we were here to get on a bike and have some fun.

Mountain Biking Mt Stromlo

Sabina choose to get involved in the level riding around the playground including riding over see-saws while I rode up to the top of Mt Stromlo with Australia’s only competitor in mountain biking at the London Olympics Bec Henderson.

What a HOOT!

That’s the best way to put it! We weren’t kitted out like the locals who went fanging past us in their tight lycra on their own custom-built steeds but as a taster of what the Mt Stromlo is like for mountain biking, it’s enough to say if I get back there it would be worth hiring a bike and going out for the day. The course is challenging depending on your skill level and Bec did a great job of looking after us while also giving us the opportunity to have a red hot go relevant to our skill base. The climb up was challenging but achievable for all of us and we didn’t take the most difficult route but coming down was a real thrill and I wished I had my own familiar bike as it would have made the whole experience so much more exhilarating.

Like I said the whole day was stunning. I have to put a plug in for the outstanding organisation of Capital Bike Hire for what must have been weeks of preparation to have every bike in top condition and sized for us before we arrived. We simply walked up, adjusted the saddle height and we were under way, all 45 of us. Now that takes some organising.

Food glorious food (and beer and wine and snacks and…)

Additional to breakfast at Crowne Hotel which was the good but standard business fair, we also ate at several restaurant.

After the mountain biking we lunched at Scope Cafe, next to the ruins of the burnt-out observatory, which also included a small museum of the area and for us some fun games racing each other on stationary bikes.

Feeding the Humans

That evening we were split into two groups and walked the short distance to Thirst Wine Bar for a stunning modern Thai fusion meal. Unlike the other group who were enticed with an overwhelming amount of food and drink, Thirst had more than enough to keep us all happy and we didn’t go home feeling like bloated fatty boombahs.

Often restraint is better than over indulgence, especially now that I’m past middle age.

Lunch on Sunday and our last meal together was at Belluci’s in Dickson and again, like all the others just stunning food, service and wine. For an Italian restaurant this wasn’t the pasta/pizza fare but the more wholesome and wonderful meals you come to expect from a wide range of produce.

If the staff at all the restaurant treat their non-#HumanBrochure customers the same way as they treated us, I would heartily recommend each of them. Unfortunately the poisoned chalice coud be, if they were putting on an sycophantic face for us, they have set the standard and it will be up to them to maintain it. If they don’t, comments on Foursquare and other networks could really hurt the good name they’ve achieved over this week-end.

Summing up. The activities, food and drink was just perfect. We had the all the indulgences of excess but also balanced it with activities to help us get our appetite to enjoy the meals.

Seeing Canberra locally.

On the Saturday afternoon I joined a few of the other ‘Humans’ for a walk up Mt Ainslie to look over the greater Canberra region. For anyone wanting to have a simple bush walk to eventually look over the top of the Australian War Memorial to Parliament House, I would recommend this walk. It’s not hard even with a modest level of fitness and a good way to get out and see the overview of the area to make sense of Canberra.

Touring Canberra with Pig Iron Bob

Sunday morning we broke into teams of six for the ‘Amazing Race’, around Lake Burley Griffin put on by Real Fun. This was an absolute hoot to ride around the lake, tagging with our cameras as we went through the check list of sites and participated in additional challenges. I even had a chance to try out a Segway for the first time and a good way to see what’s around the city enough to want me to return to our nation’s capital for more.

I want to return to Canberra.

If the aim of Australian Capital Tourism was to get me to want to see more of Canberra, they’ve succeeded and I unfortunately didn’t see any of the cultural or historical venues which the other #HumanBrochure streams got to enjoy.

Everywhere in Australia there is something to see but Canberra has something special. As our nation’s capital and designed from the ground up to be so, it also has a unique slant on what it is to be Australian and I need to return to see more of the overview of what Australia is about from the Canberra point of view.

Summing up, what I’m left with is a motivation to return and spend a week exploring all that is available after this trip and I would encourage anyone interested in those aspects of Australia to get yourself to Canberra and take your time to look around and discover what the city has to offer.

As it turns out, Canberra has the galleries and museums but also the vibrant young culture of a new 20/21st Century city. It’s well worth an extended visit.

I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below

 

Maybe our last holiday together, just for being a ‘Human’.

With my daughter Sabina now being 21 years old, this will most probably be the last time just the two of us will get the chance to have a holiday together. And it’s even a bit of a surprise that we should get that chance.

You know how it is… Once we get to adulthood we tend to hang out with peers and holidaying with family like our last holiday together, normally involves others like partners, children and even friends.

But as it happens, as part of the #HumanBrochure promotion for Visit Canberra we get the chance to have an adventure together as Dad and Daughter again but also as adults.

This should be fun

Last August I saw mention on FaceBook of an opportunity to  be one of the lucky ’500 Humans’ to get a free trip to Canberra and spend a week-end of indulgence, courtesy of the providers of the value holiday fare in our nations capital.

I knew if I was going with Sabina there would be no issue with us being on the ‘Adventure Stream’, (Art, Family & Food are the alternatives), as we’re both a little inclined to have some full-on experiences. She did her fist skydive at 14 and I have a couple of thousand jumps, so I know our nature. Chances are we will have some fun but sadly it’s not as indulgent as ballooning over the capital or BASE jumping from the Parliament House flag pole but mountain biking down through Stromlo Forest Park should be a hoot and we can go as hard or not as we like.

There will also be great food and now that she’s all grown up we can enjoy a drink together and enjoy the adult lifestyle, which wasn’t available to her the last time we holidayed together. For that matter I’m looking forward to hearing her thoughts on Canberra. I’ve been there several times over the years but not for a long time and I know she hasn’t been there since very young.

How will Canberra compare to Washington D.C. and New York?

Okay it may not be fair to compare Canberra, stuck in the middle of New South Wales, with Washington, Madrid or even the wilds of Borneo but I’m interested in Sabina’s opinions on the city and any comparisons she makes. Over recent years she’s been to dozens of countries satisfying her wanderlust and I’m sure she’ll have opinions on everything from transport to the beer. Unfortunately I’ll be cramping the style of any ‘young fellas’ who may have an eye on her but bad luck fellas, this time she’s with me!

Stay tuned.

It feels a bit odd sometimes to wander around videoing or tweeting insistently but this week-end is designed for exactly that and hopefully Sabina and I will be able to indulge the social media style of life. Stay tuned to all of our feeds on the social platforms and maybe I’ll even get some podcast content. Best place to start is going to be About.me/IanKath and About.me/SabinaKath. You’ll find all the content on one of the channels there and good smattering of it filtering through to here at Your Story. And you can look on all the platforms using the #HumanBrochure hash tag to see what we’re up to.

Don’t be shy, come and say hello or leave a comment.

 

Passion, skill, determination and slowly move towards success!

Four years on from our discussion on Your Story with Rocco from Metroccolis we once again sit on the roof tops of Berlin just near Mauerpark in the old East Berlin. But this time Stefan as the other half of Metroccolis joins us for coffee and donuts and talk of life as successful mime artists.

Recording on the Roof Tops of Berlin

No longer the starving artists.

Stefan and Rocco are the mime artists that are Metroccolis. A unique mime troupe who are passionate about silent theatre. Now together for 15 years since their school day they are managing to pay a real wage to themselves after many years as the classic startving artists.

In this episode we dig deeper from the previous episode into how things have progressed in the last four years. Now Metroccolis is making the dream happen and can share how they managed to get to where they’re a real business.

The ideas Stefan and Roccos share are gold for all artists. How to move forward with their passion and how to have the best shot at achieving success. Just some of the things they talk of:

• Not taking success for granted
• Importance of a specific unique vision
• Persistance
• Balance of business and art
• Passion for what you love

Their website is Metroccolis.com
Email is mail@Metroccolis.com

Mauerpark from the rooftops of Berlin

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Music is from

The Glitch Mob
“Warrior Concerto” (mp3)
from “We Can Make The World Stop – EP”
(Glass Air)
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More On This Album

Lee Kalt
“American Excess” (mp3)
from “American Excess”
(House Music TV)
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Stream from Rhapsody
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Creating, then helping others with their Indy Movie production!

Creative people never have an issue with the making. That’s their passion and what we talk about here on Your Story. Their issues are to fund and promote their creation. And that means getting attention!

Independent film maker Juliane Block shares these challenges but has additional skills to help her productions. All good information for indy film makers. She also has a cross cultural experience of  film making in Asia and what that’s like.

We all need help.

There are many things all creative people need for success but much of the time these are the skills they’re lacking. For the independent film maker the challenge is to create but also to fund, market and distribute, leaving them with the task of doing it all. So they have to reach for help. With the development of the digital age the task of getting attention has only become more complicated requiring the skills of a new breed of producer in the PMD that we discussed in Episode 58 of Your Story.

Behind & in front of the camera.

In front of camera

Juliane has produced, directed and acted in several short and two feature films both in Germany and in Asia where she lived and worked. She’s is working on her next feature, while using her graphic/industrial design skills to help other film makers with the promotion and funding of their production.

Juliane explains the basics of how crowd-funding works, along with ideas for spin off sales of products using the example of the recent huge success of Iron Sky of what can be done by keeping the fans in the loop all the way through the production cycle. Depending on the production needs the film public aren’t just passive observers any longer but are now involved at all levels of the production.

If you need some help with your production you can contact Juliane at Indiekraut to see some of the different ways of getting an indy film supported.

Director – Lights, Camera, Action.

For more information on Kinks or maybe to organise a house party for the screening of it just contact Juliane via her website and watch the movie trailer for Kinks at Kinksthemovie.com

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Music is from

Liquid Stranger
“Deep Down Below” (mp3)
from “Steel Trap EP”
(Interchill Records)
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More On This Album

Oddisee
“Khartoum” (mp3)
from “Traveling Man”
(Mello Music Group)
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Paxton Fettel
“Stare Forever” (mp3)
from “Dusty Thoughts EP”
(Soul Sheep Music)
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Stefan Mallmann
“Desire for Exercise” (mp3)
from “Night Drive Music, Vol. 2″
(Night Drive Music)
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This is the story of pointes.

It’s not just people who have stories but I had never thought of the importance of Pointe Shoes for a ballet dancer.

 

Imagine waking one morning to discover your sex has changed!

On the last episode of Your Story we heard from Sophie, about her time in Berlin from before “The Wall” came down in 1989 to today.

Sophie at Another Country Books

Today we hear Part 2, a completely different story to what we heard last time, about her amazing story of gender transition and how it all came about and evolved.

Just imagine that!

Imagine waking one day to discover something as fundamental as your gender, which seems to be locked in stone for life, suddenly changing.

Despite the momentum of a lifetime Sophie found herself in this situation and she takes us through how it came about and how she dealt with it along with the reality of what it means to move through transition. This is not the standard story of gender transition that we hear from time to time but a medical condition that has lead to a change but then, as Sophie mentions maybe it was a transition that was always going to happen when the situation was right and the medication was what tip the balance.

Another Country Bookstore

We talk about the reality of what it’s meant for Sophie, both emotionally, mentally and physically. The way it’s impacted her personal and professional relationships along with the continuity of running the business at Another Country Books in Berlin along with family and friends in her greater community. Sophie generously shares with us some incredibly personal aspects of the transgender journey and how living real can be the most import aspect of gender transition.

Website: AnotherCountry.de
Address: Riemannstr, 7, 10961 Berlin, (U7 Gneisenaustr)
Phone: 030/96401160

If you’re in or ever get to Berlin make sure you check out Sophie’s bookstore.

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

Subscribe freely in iTunes by Clicking here.
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Support Your Story by commenting on this episode with one of the social network sites below or writing a review on iTunes.

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Music is from

Stereoglyph
“Comatose” (mp3)
from “Neon City”
(Muti Music)
More On This Album

Vodovoz
“Hottub” (mp3)
from “Mantra”
(Night Drive Music)
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Berlin change & Another Country Books.

From the beginning of her time going back to 1987, Sophie has been part of the culture and changes in  Berlin. Back in the day, Berlin was a divided city with “The Wall”, still very much in evidence.

Sophie in Another Country Book Shop

Sophie tells us about Berlin before the wall came down and what those dying days of the East/West divide were like. What was it like to live in the city that was the most likely starting ground for WW3 and then what was it like to see the end of the Cold War and the fall of the wall and the changes reunification brought to Berlin?

Chatting amongst the books.

While remaining an ex-pat Brit, Sophie has now very much settled as a local in Berlin with her eclectic Another Country English Language Bookshop. A blend of club, reading room, library and book store designed to bring people together, especially those interested in meeting like minded English speakers and travellers.

Each week Sophie puts on a open house dinner for anyone to drop-in and meet other interesting people. On a personal note I can vouch for the wonderful opportunity to meet and chat with people from around the world while enjoying a great value meal, drinking wine and the wonderful German beer. Take the time to check it out if you happen to be in Berlin

Her website is AnotherCountry.de
Address: Riemannstr, 7, 10961 Berlin, (U7 Gneisenaustr)
Phone: 030/96401160

Ian's Birthday bash amongst the books

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

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Music is from

← If you want to record the Life Stories of others, listen to my other podcast at Create Your Life Story.com or on iTunes.

…Or have a look at some other great shows available at LifeStyle Pod Network→

Music is from

Bright Moments
“Travelers” (mp3)
from “Natives”
(LUAKA BOP)
More On This Album

POLIÇA
“Dark Star” (mp3)
from “Give You The Ghost”
(Totally Gross National Product / POLIÇA)
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Using a 350 year old model to create a 50% discounted Peer to Peer insurance scheme.

You hate insurance, I hate insurance, we all hate insurance but we all know, when things go down the toilet, it’s good to have the safety net to help us recover.

Like all of us, Sebastian Herfurth hated insurance also but after deciding he didn’t want to work in law, thought, there had to be a better way for insurance, using the power of modern social networks. This is simply reinventing the forgotten system from the history of insurance of 350 years ago, when friends and colleagues would group together to spread the risk of damages.

Sebastian Herfurth

The reason we don’t like insurance is we’re dealing with a gargantuan, faceless company and we never see benefits unless something goes wrong.

If we’re a good risk we see little benefit.

Sebastian and the team at Friensurance are taking that model of insurance and turning it on its head. If we do the right thing, not to abuse the scheme and make no claims, we’re rewarded with up to a 50% refund of our insurance premium.

This scheme is all about using the opinions and good will of our social network to encourage risk minimisation and avoid people who may defraud the scheme.

It’s simple really…

1. Buy insurance through Friendsurande from a large traditional provider.
2. Group a good risk, social network to share the policies.
3. Claim when needed but not abuse.
4. If no claims are made, receive a refund of 50% at year’s end.

The insurance companies benefit by having low risk individuals keeping an eye on each other for their mutual benefit, resulting in minimised fraud and abuse. That reduces overheads for the companies resulting in refunds to the customers. The companies are generating the same income, it’s just that with Friendsurance there is no need to pass on to the customers the cost of abuse and fraud, resulting in the 50% refund. Bonus

High risk individuals whose social network isn’t interested in supporting them would still have to purchase tradition insurance at the normal 100% cost.

The company website is Friendsurance.de

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Music is from

Dance by Jason Shaw
licensed under a
Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Find out more at Free Music Archive

Eastern Sun
“Northern Vision” (mp3)
from “In Emptiness”
(Ball of Waxx)

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It seems to have taken four weeks for my soul to catch up with me.

I’ve been in Berlin now for four weeks meeting people and spending time settling in to how this city operates. I find it takes time to find my feet in any new environment and understand how the basic functions of life operate. It’s a mix of confusion and excitement, that is both fun and distracting.

Now that the settling is hopefully completed I’m looking forward to seeing how things continue to evolve. I’m slowly developing a network of people who are openly and actively connecting with me and offering assistance both in general ideas of where to go and what to see but also who I could connect with. The open generosity of many of the people here is encouraging and maybe shows something of the personality of the people of Berlin.

This was cold!

I said in 2008 that Berlin is like a run down share house full of university students who are doing some interesting things. With that attitude comes a “we’re all in this together”, attitude. Everyone knows that we can all help each other to help ourselves. That attitude gives this city a vibrancy of purpose to create and build some amazing things, even if the specific direction isn’t clear.

If you want to follow all my content just go to About.me/IanKath or my daily Boos at AudioBoo

Make sure you download from iTunes

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Grabbing opportunities that can’t be found anywhere else.

When you’re young and exploring the world, there are chances for finding yourself wherever you are but the opportunities that present themselves will vary depending on location. Just take a moment to consider how different your life would have been and the opportunities that you took advantage of or missed simply due to where you spent your formative years.

Capturing the spirit of opportunity

In this episode of Your Story we chat to Henry Richards about the opportunities that are presented for him here in Berlin that weren’t available to him in Sydney where he grew up or London where he migrated from.

Henry is at that point in life right now, where he’s formulating the person he’ll become and it’s his current experiences in Berlin that will be part of that.

We chat about how he identifies himself, how Berlin culture allows people like him to be as they wish, to risk presenting in ways that other communities don’t allow and how he sees a future for himself here to continue to grow, study and become who he’ll one day be.

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Akir & R.E.K.S.
“The Good Life” (mp3)
from “Underground Overstood”
(alchemetric)
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The Glitch Mob
“Drive It Like You Stole It” (mp3)
from “Drive It Like You Stole It – Single”
(Glass Air)
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One Guitar for a DJ Mix Party

At a recent Betahaus event in Berlin, the Awesome Foundationawarded 1000€ to innovative musician Robin Sukroso, aka. Rainer, to help further the development of his one man band guitar modification.

Robin Sukroso

Taking the idea of percussive and traditional guitar playing, using the instrument as an input for a midi device, means that virtually any synthesized instrument can be played, looped and feed back into the mix all while performing in the best of the techno clubs here in Berlin.

Three years of development including cutting into his beloved acoustic guitar and now Rainer has his own performance instrument and a prototype to take to manufacturing. Time will tell if we see this as an add on available for musicians to help them with a new style of performing,

If you want to have  an understanding of how his creation works just watch this video…

His website is Robin Sukrosos One Man Band
His email is robinsukroso@googlemail.com

Check-out Rainer’s music on SoundCloud Here

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

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← If you want to record the Life Stories of others, listen to my other podcast at Create Your Life Story.com or on iTunes.

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Could Berlin return to these times 100 years later?

As a walk around the streets of Berlin and talk to people I realise that there are aspects of the culture that reminds me of Berlin’s most avant guard times in the 1920′s. In the area where I’m staying I notice some of the relaxed attitudes that are mentioned in this video.

In this audio I mention this image I’m seeing in the UBahn everywhere. Would your culture be nonplussed to have this as promotional material?

 

Megève’s a stunning place to see Snow and Ice, something I don’t know!

I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be in the Alps in winter. The cold, the snow, the strong biting sun but I’ve never had the chance, until now!

Megève from high up on the slopes

What we call mountains in Australia doesn’t really compare to what is the real alps scattered around the rest of the world. When I finally saw those mountainous rocks piercing the sky on my first visit to Megève in the summer of 1992 for my sister’s wedding I thought to myself, “these are real mountains!” …And as I left I wondered what it would be like in winter.

Now I’ve seen a real winter scene.

Megève at night

Coming from the sub-tropics, a real winter as experienced by most people is something that I’ve always wondered about. Sure I’ve experienced some cold moments in my life but never the ice and snow of the French Alps and all that it entails. It’s far too easy for me to have no idea what to do and how to live in this environment but there is also the fun of seeing for real what I’ve only every seen in film and images.

• My first step when I arrived involved sliding on the ice. (The ground isn’t supposed to be slippery).
• How do the hedges survive under half a metre of snow.
• Amazement of the strength of the building to hold tons of snow on the roofs.
• Icicles forming from dripping water on the gutters.
• Bitting cold that saps the warmth from every exposed or poorly covered part of the body.
• Snow that remains dry and powdery even after days of warm weather.
• Ice that melts (sublimates) to dryness without ever being liquid water.
• How much air is in freshly fallen snow.
• A large mouthful of snow results in very little water to drink.
• Ice is really hard to walk on in leather soled shoes!
• The comfortable inside temperature is no indication of how cold it is outside.
• Ice crystals growing on the snow over the several days of fine weather .

An Alpine Village

Megève is a quintessential French Alpine village with all the cultural aspects that come with that. The people are fiercely proud of their farming heritage even though tourism has developed into a major part of their community. The local produce from cheese to cured meats is of the highest standard and in no time at all you can indulge way too much of the good life.

Mixing it with the Locals

If you’re inclined and can afford it I would whole heartily recommend Megève as a place to visit and enjoy.

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Tycho
“Hours” (mp3)
from “Dive”
(Ghostly International)

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Letting life unfold as it will…

What will happen, will happen and we can do nothing about it because we don’t have any control despite the illusion that we do.

This, to my understanding is the way of life. We live an illusion that we make decisions about all manner of things but the reality is every decision we make is based on the sum total of experiences that we’ve had in our life. At the most fundamental level we are our genetics and our totality of experiences, nothing more. And those two criteria are all that we are and every decision is based on those things. We make our decisions based on this criteria but who are we, if not our genetics and our experiences which drive our decisions?

Todays Your Story Addendum episode is from the departure gate just prior to boarding my flight to Europe.

I’m off on a trip to Europe for 2.5 months. Initially I’ll be in Megève in the French Alps as a guest of my sister and her family then I’ll be heading north to spend a couple of months in Berlin.

Did I make the decision to go?

On My Way to Europe

Well, I may think and feel like I did but the reality is I simply reacted to the situations as they presented themselves with the final upshot being I’m now on my way as I write this somewhere over Indonesia. But more to the point this trip is about creating situations that could provoke opportunity.

In my everyday life I have a routine of situations and people who are a constant with little variation and without breaking away from the status quo I’ll continue to have the same opportunities.

It’s crunch time!

For five years now I’ve been working on Your Story and Create Your Life Story, to learn the skills and develop the sites to where they may be able viable as more than just hobbies. I’ve tried a few things to develop them but to date these things haven’t worked and it’s time to see if there may be some other opportunities that I haven’t considered.

Staying in my home environment will maintain a similar situation to what’s been the case for these last five years but travelling to Europe may, just may, create an environment that is different and present opportunities that I couldn’t find at home.

Everyone who’s had any level of success will be the first to credit the good fortune in their lives that has lead to them becoming who they are (actually that’s the same for all of us, good and bad), and that good fortune could turn up anywhere. It’s just that if you get around, meet more people and be in different situations there is a greater chance of that good fortune turning up.

It isn’t choosing anything!

For me this is just about putting myself out there where opportunity may arise and allowing things to unfold. When we think about it, that’s how life is for all of us.

I don’t know or can’t imagine what may come of this trip. Maybe something, maybe nothing but as I said when I started on this adventure of learning how to podcast I’d rather give a red hot go, than stay in the certainty of routine.

What may come.

I’ve a few ideas for content for Your Story. We may get to revisit some past stories to see how they’ve developed over the last few years and I’m sure we’ll discover a few new stories. I’m hoping to produce both video and audio content and I’ll be putting it out in all the usual channels.

Since my last trip social networks have continued to develop and with the power of my new iPhone 4S along with the video, photo, audio sharing networks there is an opportunity for me to put out a variety of content through multiple channels.

If you want to find all the major social channels that I use go to About.me/IanKath where you can link across to see all that I produce over the next many weeks.

If you have any ideas for people to meet of place to visit in Berlin please let me know using the contacts above.

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

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Some people have a passion for food that goes beyond what most of us have.

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Do you love food?
I mean really love it, in all the different ways that it can mean. The history, the preparation, the eating, the sharing! Or do you just eat food because you have to, as the cooking is more of a task that has to be put up with in order to eat.

Charmaine O'Brien

For some people food is more than just simple sustenance and for Charmaine O’Brien food is far more than just that!

We all eat but it’s rare to find someone who embodies food in more than just the simplest body nurturing way. Occasionally I come across someone who eats, breathes and sleeps food, and recently at the Oral History Association of Australia conference in Melbourne, I had the good fortune to meet and ask Charmaine to come onto the show and tell us about her interest in food, based on the stimulating presentation and menu she prepared for the dinner.

What’s on the menu? – 100 years ago!

It’s not often that we get to taste a historical menu from post colonial, Australian cookbooks and discover that food reproduced from 100+ years ago is not just boiled mutton and lard with damper.

As we discuss on this episode of Your Story, the meal was a wonderful blend of different ingredients that we no longer think of using and a surprise to realise how well the people of Victorian Australia ate, despite the challenges of preparing food without all the modern appliances that we now take for granted.

Presentation @OHAA

Charmaine opened my eyes to how well they ate in the 19th century and some of the reasons for how things have changed over the last 120 years.

Her website is CharmaineObrien.com
Her email is Charmaine@CharmaineObrien.com

When have you meet someone or done something that goes beyond the norm of what most people think of food?

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Music is from

← If you want to record the Life Stories of others, listen to my other podcast at Create Your Life Story.com or on iTunes.
…Or have a look at some other great shows available at LifeStyle Pod Network→

Music is from

Argy
“Peace Of Me feat. POSH! The Prince” (mp3)
from “Fundamentals”
(Ibadan Records)
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David Starfire
“Indian Fever” (mp3)
from “Bombay Beatz”
(Six Degrees Records)
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Tycho
“Hours” (mp3)
from “Dive”
(Ghostly International)

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How does an entrepreneur see the world?

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Are you one of those rare individuals who see the world differently? You see opportunities where others only see problems!
Do you then have the skills to action those opportunities to make something of them? Maybe a business!

Mike Boyd

If you are, maybe you’re what is referred to as an entrepreneur. But the curse of the entrepreneur is seeing too many opportunities and maybe working on so many of them that the efforts are fragmented and none are given the effort that is necessary to make a success of any. Or maybe you don’t have all the skills in place to make a success of your ideas even though you see the opportunity. There are so many components to get right to have a successful business personality.

Today we talk with Mike Boyd who has already started drawing attention to himself as a young “go getter “, making a name as someone who can think and motivate with his enthusiasm for business. We talk about:

• Stating business in childhood
• Multiple businesses through University
• Strategy for finding the passion that all entrepreneurs need
• The importance of giving back to receive
• Rebranding himself to help others

Mike shares what he feels is the different attitude that all entrepreneurs have and gives us a glimpse of how to negotiate all those ideas, to find the single one to put all that enthusiasm into, for the sake of you and all those around you.

His website is MikeBoyd.com.au
Contact via This contact form

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

Subscribe freely in iTunes by Clicking here.

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Support Your Story by commenting on this episode with one of the social network sites below or writing a review on iTunes

← If you want to record the Life Stories of others, listen to my other podcast at Create Your Life Story.com or on iTunes.
…Or have a look at some other great shows available at LifeStyle Pod Network→

Music is from

IceCold by Jason Shaw

is licensed under a Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Paxton Fettel
“Stare Forever” (mp3)
from “Dusty Thoughts EP”
(Soul Sheep Music)
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Interview on GeneaBloggers Blog Talk Radio & Podcast²

It sometimes becomes a deluge but recently I’ve done two interviews.

The first published was with Thomas on GeneaBloggers – BlogTalk Radio about the advantages of recording a life story and how that will become part of the history for future generation.

The second was with Andrew at his podcast review site Podcast² which is all about letting you know what is out there in the world of podcasting and winnowing out the wheat from the chaff. Recently I was interviewed but Andrew about how I got started in podcasting and a bit of the back end story of me and podcasts.

GeneaBloggers

If you want to listen to GeneaBloggers – BlogTalk Radio I’m on from about 5:00 minutes to 25:00 minutes

Some of the topics Thomas and I touched on were:

• My back story
• Ease and cost of modern technology
• Laying down genealogy for the future
• Sharing stories with family
• Audio as a start for other media
• Advantages of recording before it’s a panic
• Leading to others developing an interest

Podcast²

Andrew and I discuss similar topics but get into a little more of the podcasting side of things. If you want to listen to the Podcast² I’m on from about 11:30 minutes in.

Let me know what you think of the interview in the comments below

 

I’m not big into self promotion so I’ll let Adam do it for me!

I like to let the work that I do here at Your Story and over at Create Your Life Story speak for itself. But the way the internet works is that you need to be noticed, shared and recommended or else you disappear into the mire.

Fortunately for me there are people out there who appreciate what I’m attempting and are happy to blow the trumpet for me. One of these is Adam Daniel Mezei who we’ve heard from on Episode 25 and Episode 58 who I regard as a good friend but recently he produced this unprompted video that I thought I’d share with you. Yes it is a huge compliment that I appreciate and am humbled by his comments and if what he is saying is true it only means that I’m producing content of the standard that I strive for. But still I know that I continue to learn and improve

Thanks Adam

 

Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door – NOT!

**BLAM!… Out of nowhere you have the inspiration of a great idea.
You’ve just dreamed up a new and novel way of doing something that everyone will want and now all you have to do is show it to the world for the fame and fortune to be yours. Too easy! Now to make it happen…

How many times have you heard or thought this yourself?

OTTO Espresso

Good ideas are like grains of sand on the beach, very few will ever find their way to an oyster to become a pearl.

Craig Hiron

Craig Hiron has learned the lesson, that there are four main steps to making a raging success, while developing one of the hardest design tasks around in the OTTO Espresso.

• The easiest aspect of any new project is the inspiration, where everyone has a good idea…
• But of the millions of good ideas, few make it to the serious design phase, where the reality of the idea will normally fall by the wayside…
• Leaving few, to move on and deal with the challenges of  manufacturing…
• Then only to be left on the shelf without great marketing.

By the time an idea has been through each part of this process, with sometimes hundreds of thousands of steps, dealing with multiple complication of ideas, people, finance and business, very few ever survive to become a viable success. And then you have to measure success?

The Classic Atomic and the OTTO

Craig tells us of his journey to create, from the inspired classic form of the Atomic Stove Top Cappuccino Maker, something that takes 21st century technologies and creates the ultimate portable cook top espresso maker.

When the OTTO Espresso was released I immediately ordered one because of my love for my Atomic and it’s classic form but also with full regard for the challenges of manufacturing the OTTO. My unboxing video is below.

Craig explains in detail in this episode of Your Story the challenges of finding a product to develop, all the way through the design, manufacturing and marketing process.

Bringing the inspired idea to fruition is is a tale of determination to overcome the pitfalls and a great lesson for anyone interested in product design, manufacturing and marketing.

If you’re a student of industrial design this is a must listen to episode of Your Story.

His website is OttoEspresso.com

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

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Here is my un-boxing video of the OTTO…

Music is from

The Black Seeds
“Sometimes Enough” (mp3)
from “Into the Dojo”
(LOOP)

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The Airmen of Note
“Blues for Mundy” (mp3)
from “Today”
(Altissimo!)
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Every generation thinks that it’s all new and then you see something that comes from the past in the case of this from 1940 reminding us that nothing changes and the same issues are around today as have been part of civilisation for a long time.

**Start and play both videos together, Chaplin video starts 54 seconds in.**

Although The Great Dictator was a film of it’s time this closing speech by Charlie Chaplin is still relevant today as we deal with the infernal War on Terror.

 

Using their pleasure for tango to help others who desperately need it

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We’ve all had the experience where we’ve gained so much value from people or an activity that we feel a need to return something. It called reciprocity  – the desire to do something in return.

Cheryl & John

In this episode of  Your Story we talk to John and Cheryl Lowry about how they have fulfilled this desire in themselves for all the pleasure that they’ve had from being involved in learning and dancing tango. They’ve returned the favour not to the greater tango community but by using that communities desire to dance tango socially as a means of generating income to support disadvantaged children in Argentina by setting up Para Los Niños children’s charity.

Internationally supported

The charity is supported internationally to enable income to be generated through milongas (tango dances) which is then used in Argentina to support many desperately in need children to have what we would call the necessities of life.

Here is an example of one of the Milongas that has been orginised in aid of Para Los Niños.

The charity website for Para Los Niños is paralosninos.net

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

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.

Music is from

Che Papusa
“La Milonga” (mp3)
from “Buenos Aires Tango Dance”
(Suramusic S.R.L)

Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
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Juanjo Hermida and Gabriel Merlino
“Sauvage” (mp3)
from “Tangos En Duo”
(Suramusic S.R.L)

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Buy at eMusic
Stream from Rhapsody
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