Mozzeenet

It is worth noting that even minimal access to basic technology can bring benefits to poor and disadvantaged communities. A recent CNN article Wheels of hope bring internet to villagers describes a project providing high-speed, wireless internet access to rural Indian villages via a mobile bicycle-rickshaw service.

The infothela or info-cart, painted like a traditional temple carriage, is light enough to traverse pot-holed roads between villages and includes special provisions like cushioning to protect equipment. The service includes a teacher who provides training on computer skills. Read more »

I’m currently reading The Lover by Marguerite Duras, a book recommended by my creative writing teacher. I must say it is beautifully written, poignant and haunting.

An excerpt from Amazon’s description:

Set in the prewar Indochina of Marguerite Duras’s childhood, this is the haunting tale of a tumultuous affair between an adolescent French girl and her Chinese lover. In spare yet luminous prose, Duras evokes life on the margins of Saigon in the waning days of France’s colonial empire, and its representation in the passionate relationship between two unforgettable outcasts. Read more »

I remember as kids, Mum used to take us to the town library every week and we’d borrow a bagful of books. It was exciting but I bet that library isn’t there anymore.

A fair few people still use public libraries but I believe use has decreased a lot since that time with the proportion of time spent reading books competing with time spent accessing all the other forms of media now available. I think many of us have forgotten the joys of borrowing and returning from a common pool of reading and audio-visual materials. It opens up a whole new range of experiences which we otherwise would not be privy to unless we had money to burn. Read more »