10 books - Go!

In much the same way as the Art Meme circulated on Facebook (that I wrote about here), I recently saw a Book Meme that, as a book lover, really appealed to me. Essentially, the instructions were to list 10 books that had stuck with you. You weren't required to think too deeply, just off the top of your head. I mentally started coming up with my 10 books and thought I'd expand a little on them here.

So, in no particular order, and certainly not a highfaluting list, I present the books that came to mind:

Are you there God? It's me, Margaret. by Judy Blume

I first read this as a 10 or 11 year old and feel like it is almost a right of passage type book that young girls should read as they enter that strange pre-teen adolescent stage - where lots is happening with your body and hormones come into play. Friendships are important and you are sorting through feelings and emotions. When my eldest daughter was approaching puberty I bought it for her and will soon introduce it to my youngest daughter.

A little while ago I found Judy Blume on Twitter, and of course started following her. So many of her books were a part of my youth. It was wonderful to know she was still writing. I love the little tagline she has on her Twitter account as a nod to this book:

Kane & Abel by Jeffrey Archer

I always think of this book as the first grown up 'big' book that I ever read. Google helps me to know that it was 592 pages long, but I probably would have guessed more. It seemed huge at the time, when I was a youngish teen. At the time I read it I had no idea that Cain and Abel were biblical characters (no religious upbringing for me) so didn't make that connection to the title as most would do. The story of rich man and poor man and their intersecting and warring lives, set against the history of the early 20th century, captured my attention, and I know I went on to read the sequel, The Prodigal Daughter, too.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

A very dear friend, who is a dog lover recommended this book to me. We had not long adopted our own golden retriever and she thought I might enjoy the book. What an understatement. I loved it. A unique, told through the eyes of the dog, story that had me enthralled throughout the journey of joys and sorrows. I looked at my own dog differently after reading it. And I don't think Enzo was a golden retriever necessarily, but the cover picture certainly looks like he is.

Outlander / Cross Stitch by Diana Gabaldon

I've already gushed quite a bit about this book in a separate post here but had to include it in this list. I think of it as Outlander now but when I first read it, it was Cross Stitch. This is a book, and a series, that stays with you. I find myself thinking about the characters frequently. It is such a powerful series, with such rich characters. There is so much history cleverly interwoven. I read recently that Diana Gabaldon wanted to write about characters who have a 50 year relationship and that spoke to me. How lovely, to think that  a series is built around the lives of two key characters who celebrate a long marriage and ongoing love and passion. It will take an amazing book to knock this one off as my 'All time favourite book'.

Tandia by Bryce Courtenay

I knew I had to include a Bryce Courtenay book in this list. For many years he would release a book a year, usually in time for Christmas and I would receive it as a gift. I was a total fan, writing to him and gushing all over the letter about how much I loved his books. When I went to a literary dinner to hear him talk and then meet him to have my book signed, he inscribed one 'From your man, Bryce Courtenay' which was a play on the fact that my husband always referred to him as 'Your man'. So when I sat down to think about which book I would include in this list, it came down to two, Tandia, which I've chosen, and April Fool's Day, which was a really wonderful book, and educated me so much about AIDS and the way those with it were treated, back when there was so much fear and innuendo. I chose Tandia though, which is the sequel to The Power of One. I distinctly remember reading it  when I was commuting on the train and crying unabashedly through some of the brutal and heartbreaking scenes. I just couldn't stop reading, tears or not, this story written against the backdrop of South African apartheid.

My Brother Jack by George Johnston

Seems so odd to think a book I HAD TO read is on this list. This was my year 12 English text and I really enjoyed it. I still have my copy with all of the annotations I made throughout it. I must re-read it again. I remember it as an important piece of writing about 20th century Australian history, and relationships, and the way Australians view themselves. I don't remember it as a chore to study this book and my HSC results for English were quite good so I suspect I did okay responding to essay questions about it.

 

Oh! the places you'll go by Dr Seuss

It wasn't that long ago that I learned that this was the last book written by Dr Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) and what a gift he left as his final piece of work. I love it as a book of hope and inspiration, filled with lines of whimsical wisdom. “You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You're on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...” When I completed my studies to be a primary school teacher recently we had a last day gathering of our cohort. I had collected $10 from everyone as a contribution toward a secret gift for themselves. At the appointed time I sat at the front of the room and read this book to our group of new teachers. "Congratulations. Today is your day"..."You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know"  It realistic suggests that it might not be perfect smooth sailing but you can make it happen... "Today is your day... Your mountain is waiting" I then gave everyone a copy of the book and we signed messages to each other in the books. The message I wrote to my peers was "100 years from now, it won't matter how much money you had, what your house was like, or what kind of car you drove, but the world will be a better place because you made a difference in the life of a child."

Uncle Bert's Diary by Herbert F.G. Lefevre

This one is totally biased and nepotistic. I've spent a huge amount of time these past few years, and especially these past few months, typing out my Great Uncle Bert's world war 1 diary. You can read it here. I first read this diary in 1989 when I was studying a a subject at uni called 'Australians at War'. I then wrote an essay about 'mateship', which, as a word has modern origins. Back in the first world war they referred to each other as 'pals' rather than 'mates', but word usage evolves I guess. My lecturer gave me a 'First' for the essay, which I think these days is a High Distinction. But enough about me. This diary is remarkable. It is a detailed, daily account of Bert's war experience, from enlistment, through training, travel across the seas, time in Egypt, Italy and England and then on the front line in France. His writing is awesome and as his great niece I am incredibly proud, and now honoured, to be bringing it to a wider audience. I hope to shortly be finished typing so I can send it to print. If you want the link to the start of the diary, you can click here. If you'd like to buy a copy of the printed version message me here.

The Wave by Morton Rhue

Another book from my school years that I HAD TO read for English, or perhaps for Social Studies. This book absolutely fascinated me and I recently read it again. It is such a thought provoking book and as a fictionalisation of a real class experiment it demonstrates how people can become indoctrinated. It has powerful messages of bullying, leadership, peer pressure, family and individual vs community. This is a book that really makes you think and reflect. The fact that so few of the students were able to see the dangers of what was occurring in the school is quite frighteningly symbolic of the larger narrative that the author is trying to demonstrate about how The Nazi's were able to rise to power in the 1930s.

The Scrapbook: a novel of friendship and love by Peggy B Baker

This is my easy read book for the list. For ten years I was a Creative Memories consultant. Creative Memories has gone by the wayside now, but during the early 2000s it was at the forefront of the scrapbooking industry and introduced many, many people, mostly women, to scrapbooking. From the minute I was introduced to scrapbooking I knew it was for me. I love photos, I love stories, I love craft. For me, being able to integrate all three in one hobby was a dream come true. I was immersed in it. I made dozens of albums for my family and as gifts for special people in my life. A US friend met this author and had her sign her book and sent it to me as a gift. This book truly is about friendship and love. It's simply told, with scrapbooking as a backdrop to the story. I purchased several copies of the book to gift to friends and family, who, like me, love reading and scrapbooking. As the back blurb states, "Scrapbooks tell the stories about our girlsfriends, our children, our parents, our boyfriends, and our husbands. This novel celebrates the art of scrapbooking and our memories of those who have touched our lives."

So, there you have it. My list of 10 books. Please share yours. I love a good book recommendation and I'm curious about the story behind people's book choices. Since I started writing this post I've come up with more books I could have included, so, I suspect if I did it again, my list might be different, but here it is for this moment in time.

Wounds

I have a wound. On my back; my lower back, where you bend and twist. It hurts. I’ve spent two days in bed and two days sitting because moving hurts, getting up hurts, sitting down hurts. Basically I am in pain a fair bit of the time. It started as a mole. I had it scraped by a skin specialist two weeks ago and that left me with an open wound the size of a one cent coin. Pathology came back. Not melanoma, but not nice either. He wanted to take more skin around it. My own GP was able to do it so I went to her. She cut around it and then had to pull the skin together to stitch it. At one stage she needed the nurse to hold the skin together while she stitched so my body was fighting against the idea that it was joining in this way. I have 9 stitches.

This all happened on Monday. On Tuesday the dressing was a little blood soaked so my husband offered to change it for me. I leant against the bench so the skin was as smooth as possible on my back for the new dressing. He started to pull at the old dressing. It didn’t hurt but it was an odd sensation. Suddenly though, I started to sweat profusely, yet I felt cold. Then I felt sick. “Get me some water”, “No, get a bucket… I’m going to be sick” “No, don’t put a blanket on me, don’t touch me.” He placed a chair next to me and I slid into it. I was holding my head over the bucket, convinced I would vomit. Then, very slowly my hearing seemed to be going. I could feel it drifting away, like I was moving but not moving. Everything felt far away. When would this stop? I wondered how this would end. Was I having a heart attack? At what point should I tell him to call an ambulance. Then slowly the radio came in range again. I could hear. I could hear him, his worried voice and calming strokes on my back…and I was present again. Did that really happen? My t-shirt was spotted with perspiration. My skin was clammy. Somehow I made my way to the bedroom and lay flat on the bed. The dressing was half off by this stage and with the support of the bed under me he was able to continue changing it.

I was reflecting on all of this this morning. I asked my daughter to help me dry my feet and put my shoes and socks on. My son asked to look at my back and recoiled, as he does, when he spotted a little blood on the bandage. He was gentle when he hugged me goodbye. My elder daughter enquired as to whether I could drive. They understand I’m a little incapacitated at the moment. My husband, bless him, is running around like a chook with his head cut off…doing almost everything in our household while I sit or lie, trying to will my wound to heal and not pull apart every time I move.

And the reason I was reflecting on this was because I’ve spent the week grieving for Robin Williams; a man I didn’t know personally, but a man who touched my life through his many gifts. I’ve thought a lot about mental illness in the days since he died. I know I’m very, very inadequately equipped to understand. Robin Williams didn’t have a wound on his body with a blood soaked bandage. He had a wound in his brain. No-one could see it. It makes it so much harder to understand. 

Last night during the news my 10 year old daughter asked me questions that seemed difficult. I didn’t shy away from them but it reinforced to me that our society responds to mental illness differently to other illness, not necessarily intentionally, mostly through lack of understanding. If he'd died accidentally, or as a result of a physical illness, the questions, still difficult, would have had more straightforward answers.

Why did Robin Williams die? He was very sick. It was called depression and it affects the brain. It made him think things about himself and other people.

Why do people get it? I don’t know.

Can you take medicine for depression? Sometimes.

Did Robin Williams take medicine? I don’t know.

Is the illness why he died? Yes, it probably was.

But they just said he hung himself… I know... the illness…. sometimes makes people…. do things….

I want her to know we can talk about it and people who have depression can be helped. Just as my back will improve in time, people with depression can get better. I want the conversation to be about hope. But sometimes the wound is so bad, or so deep, or so unfixable, that just like the worst melanoma, they don’t recover. And that’s perhaps why Robin Williams didn’t get better.

Lots of people are writing about mental illness at the moment, and I’m glad. I want to know what I can do and what we as a society can do. Yes we can listen, and many of us do and are more than willing to. I’m 99% sure I’ve said some things that are wrong. Not intentionally. I want to help. I want to understand. 

I’m sure someone with a mental illness could write those first few paragraphs I wrote above about my back wound, but about their mental wound. Would people be as understanding of their need to lay in bed, not move, be incapacitated? I think perhaps our society doesn’t accept that a dark, hidden, brain wound can be just as bad, or oftentimes worse, than a bloody, visible wound. I'm more than willing to tell you I'm sitting here in bed because I have a bloody, back wound. If I was sitting here suffering with depression would I tell you that? I don't know... Would I? The very fact that I question myself on that tells me that somewhere in my consciousness is a thought about not being open about mental illness. I seem to know that many people would choose not to share, because sharing means exposing something that our society has attached a stigma to. How do we shake that? How do we change that?

I'm not sure how to end this piece of writing. I feel pretty useless while desperate to help. I’m searching for something; some education program, some answer, some guidance, some way of breaking down society's way of thinking about mental illness; a way of thinking that is driven by fear... fear in so many guises. Fear we might hurt, or get hurt, fear because we don't understand, fear we might catch it or fear we might make it worse.

I don’t have a mental illness. I hope I never do, just as I hope I never have physical illness. But I want those who do to feel that they can lay their wounds open, and know that we’ll try to help them… if we can. We as a society need to be willing to do so. We need to stop this from being something that is hidden. We need to be fearless.

Loving something before you've even laid eyes on it

About 15 years ago I read a book called 'Cross Stitch'... I probably should say, I devoured it. A friend had recommended it and left it on my doorstep one day. I can pin point the approximate timing because I was on maternity leave after having had my eldest daughter, who is now 15. I then went on to read the second (Dragonfly in Amber), third (Voyager), and fourth (Drums of Autumn), books in the series. I had fallen in love with Diana Gabaldon's historical, time travel, romance, action series. It's a genre-less series. Booksellers tend to pop it on the romance shelves but it is so much more than that. True, woven through all the books in the series is a love story between the two main characters, Claire and Jamie. I guess it's a tad spoiler-ish to tell you that their story runs through the series...on several occasions one or both of them come close to dying, but the series is still going, so I guess you now know they make it. Sorry about that. (#NotSorry)

I soon discovered that the first book was called 'Outlander' in the US. When it was released to the UK, Australia and New Zealand market they made a few changes...cut out some scenes, changed words, fixed up some date anomalies and changed the title. I'll never understand why they changed the name. Cross Stitch brings up images of sewing, but it was explained as crossing in time...i.e. the time travel element to the story.

I learned that Diana Gabaldon was writing a 5th book in the series and that the series would probably end with a 6th book...a double trilogy. Leading up to the release of the 5th book (The Fiery Cross) I re-read the entire series so I could read the new book with everything fresh in my mind. It was released late in 2001. I did this again when the 6th book (A Breath of Snow and Ashes) came out (2005)! I have never done this with any other book or series. I'm an avid reader and like anyone who loves reading I have a pile a mile high of books I want to read, yet with this series I have read the books multiple times. The first many, many times. Incidentally, the 6th book wasn't the end, and Diana Gabaldon continues to write. She's just completed the 8th and has indicated that there are more to come.

About a year ago I heard that the first book was to be made into a TV series. Fantasy casting of the characters has occurred for years and years by the many different fan groups online and now it was a real thing. Ron D Moore of Battlestar Galactica fame was involved and Diana Gabaldon was incredibly positive about the adaptation. Fan groups fretted and fussed over the casting choices as they were announced. It was very exciting when it was announced an Australian partner, Foxtel's SoHo, had signed to screen the Starz series.

Whatever happened, I knew I would love the adaptation. I was a signed up, card carrying fan. They would have had to have cast Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber to have disappointed me. So, as the launch date drew nearer I started seeing clips and interviews. I watched all the interviews from the San Diego Comic Con, I read the reviews, I devoured every single thing I could find. Just over a week ago I saw that SoHo were planning to screen episode 1 for fans selected from a competition. I entered in a variety of ways and succeeded in winning tickets via Random House. (Thank you thank you)

I invited a friend who I used to work with to go with me. We had shared many 'Jamie & Claire' chats when we had realised we were both fans of the series. She was equally excited. Our drive to Richmond in pouring rain was filled with anticipation. As soon as we arrived we saw other fans. They were clutching "pocket Jamie's", eyes wide with excitement. I had started to realise just how widespread the fandom of this series was and just how much we all loved this book series...and it was about to come to life before our very eyes.
It's hard for me to review the episode without gushing. I'm not an unbiased viewer. I loved it before I saw it. As the opening credits rolled my eyes welled with tears. I could hardly believe this was happening. My favourite book had living breathing characters up on the screen. It was amazing.

Since seeing that episode, and being sworn to secrecy, then following online groups where US viewers were discussing their first viewing I've seen a glimpse into a global fan following like nothing I've seen before. Small details have been discussed to within an inch of their life. Things like character features, Jamie's hair colour, Claire's eye colour, the sound of their voices, the way they look at each other, Claire's first husband Frank, THAT scene in the castle, her watch, her belt, her dress, her hair, the Gaelic, the cussing, the voiceover, the gunshot, the music.... I can't ever remember following such an intense dissection of a television show...but these were fans of the book, who had read every sentence and chapter, usually multiple times. Maybe fans of Game of Thrones, or other book to TV adaptations have done the same.

So, the thing is. I love it...and I want you to love it too. In fact I want everyone to love it so much that Starz signs on for a second season, and then a third etc etc... And if you want me at 8.30 on a Thursday evening for the next 8 weeks... I'll be busy back in 1743!

Easter Art School Holiday Project

I'm currently trying to develop my Teacher portfolio. It's one of those projects that I have a ton of ideas for, but most of them are still in my head and I'm struggling to get them down onto paper, or the computer. In the midst of that it is school holidays and I'd like to do some fun stuff with my kids. So.....

Miss10 and I decided to create a piece of art using Easter egg wrappers. It's something I've wanted to do for ages and also something that I think would be fun, and engaging for kids in a classroom around Easter time. It also fits with a reuse theme, so rather than throwing away the wrappers, you make something fun and visually stimulating. (This is my link to the cross curriculum priority of 'Sustainability' in the Australian Curriculum) :)

Here is the result of several hours of our time... Miss10, being a hoarder like her Mum, had previously saved wrappers and stored them in her craft box, so we had a great stash to start with. She came up with the idea of a rainbow and given the selection of colours we had it seemed a perfect subject matter.

We started by arranging them in colour order.

We did a rough sketch of our rainbow design, including a pot and a cloud.

We then started sticking the colours down using a collage technique.

 Then came our cloud

 and our pot

and some grass

and a couple of chicks, who we made slightly 3D by packing them with some offcuts.

And finally, some gold for our pot

Now, to add to the educational element (and art in itself is a wonderfully crucial aspect of education) I decided to have Miss10 write a poem to accompany the art piece.

Cinquain poetry was introduced to me at uni recently so we googled that and found the main rules for writing this sort of poetry. Essentially, it should have 5 lines.
The first should have 2 syllables
The second should have 4 syllables
The third should have 6 syllables
The fourth shoud have 8 syllables and
The fifth (and final) should have 2 syllables.

Furthermore, each line can follow a format of:
Subject
Description
Action
Feeling
Conclusion

With these general principles, Miss10 came up with a poem to accompany our art:

Easter
Rainbow of hope
Into the clouds it goes
Birds chirping at the colourful
Rainbow

Here are the rough drafts

Here is the finished masterpiece:

Integrating art and poetry means I have ticked off on a couple of aspects of Ausvels (level 5 for this purpose since that is the year my daughter is in), including:

English (Writing - literacy):
Plan, draft and publish imaginative, informative and persuasive print and multimodal texts, choosing textstructures, language features, images and sound appropriate to purpose and audience (ACELY1704)
The Arts (working toward level 6, Creating and Making)
At Level 6, students independently and collaboratively experiment with and apply a range of skills, techniques and processes using a range of media, materials, equipment and technologies to plan, develop, refine, make and present arts works. They investigate a range of sources to generate ideas and manipulate arts elements, principles and/or conventions in a range of arts disciplines and forms as they explore the potential of ideas

So, my fun activity with my daughter has resulted in something I can possibly include in my Teacher Portfolio. Win - win... and as I continue with my work, she is searching for a second art project to work on, and already talking about writing a Haiku to go with that one!

Ned Kelly...Transcribing lyrics 'What else is New?'

I'm up to my neck in a 6 part music and art project that I've based on Ned Kelly. It's been hanging over my head for awhile now and I'm trying to finish it off...
Part of the project requires students to listen to a couple of different songs about Ned Kelly. I selected a song from the rock opera 'Ned Kelly' by Reg Livermore and Patrick Flynn that was performed in the 1970's. I chose it was a little bit different and would expose the students to a different genre...

Anyway, as I'm busy grabbing lyrics online for the other songs I realised that I could not find the lyrics anywhere for 'What else is new?' from this musical.

I've now listened to the song more times than I care to remember in order to transcribe the lyrics for the appendix to my assignment... I'm going to put them here for two reasons...
1) in case any other crazy person in the future wants them and does a google search....
and
2) in case some helpful reader might want to help me get them right... a couple of sections are tricky for me to pick up and I don't think I have them right.

So, if you are randomly surfing the internet this Saturday night and would like a mini project to help me...

Here is a link to Reg Livermore's website where he discusses the musical.

Here is a link to the YouTube performance (audio only with a slide show of various paraphernalia)

and here is my first draft of the lyrics:

What else is new?
by Reg Livermore and Patrick Flynn
performed by Jon English & cast

Once upon a time there were these English landlords

Grinding Irish faces over tea and muffins

Holy nora

We dawdled in

And watched their broad smiles waxing thin

Once upon a time there were these greedy squatters

Sitting on a hundred pounds of Brisbane waters

But jesus we aimed our shots

We hit the squatters where they squat

Once upon a time there was this hellfire preacher

Singing how Ned Kelly was a loathsome creature

Holy Moses, was pulled out his hair

he forgave him then and there

So, what else is new?

We’re only passing through

Dan and Steve and Joe and Edward bang bang Kelly sure

When the sun goes west

And we’re laid to rest

Do remember we

were fighting for your liberty.

Once upon a time there were these crime reporters.

Writing how the public should lock up their daughters.

Well Cor blimey,

In rode the gang

And how those herald angels sang.

So, what else is new?

We’re only passing through

Dan and Steve and Joe and Edward bang bang Kelly sure

When the sun goes west

And we’re laid to rest

Do remember we

were fighting for your liberty.

Once upon a time there were these prison warders

Standing with their creases straight and shouting orders

Blimey we took our cue

And it was bye bye baby blue

The law and order game

By any other name

May not smell sweet as a rose

To some who would poke in their nose

But blimey

I am large it’s fine

If you step out of line

So, what else is new?

We’ll all have days to rue

Before we stand before Jesus

All of us All of us

So pick up your icy smiles and wrestling program

Will it be long before this show is over?

Mother Mary we’re on to you?

Your evil plans

How do you do?

Time goes on I guess

One more Ned, one less

Makes no difference now

But anyway, let’s stay around

No, it’s nothing new

We’re only passing through

Dan and Steve and Joe

Come out and watch us as we go.

Thanks :)

White Night Melbourne

On Saturday February 22, 2014 we joined 500,000 of our closest friends in the heart of Melbourne and attended the White Night Festival. It was amazing. I don't think we quite knew what to expect as we drove into Melbourne, pondering where we might park and where we might start our explorations.
As it turned out we were able to park near the Queen Vic market and then wandered down to the State Library. We instantly knew this was huge. There were people everywhere. We had our 12 year old and 10 year old with us and felt like we should have written our phone numbers on their arm in the event we were separated. The art work on the exterior of the library was fantastic. It was still dusk so not pitch black as yet but the effect was quite amazing.
We saw a queue forming and decided to join it and see what was happening inside the library. Working out where the queue started and where there were just people milling was a challenge but eventually we seemed to be moving in the right direction and though it seemed like it would be a lengthy wait it wasn't too bad. Walking into the domed centre of the library was eye opening. The musical accompaniment seemed perfect. Projections of familiar viruses where all around us, moving with an eerie presence, but fascinating all the same. While we stood and photographed and took in the various displays we saw HIV virus, common cold, human papilloma, herpes virus, gastro...these snake like virus cells crept and wove around the room. It was captivating...along with the statistics of numbers in the room likely to have the different viruses.
After leaving the library we decided to make our way down Swanston Street. It was going to be slow going! Every little while we'd approach a busker and the crowd would slow to an absolute crawl. If the busker was on the right we'd have to make our way to the left and vice versa... When you were eventually past these musical and comedic interludes it felt like a breath of fresh air as you had a little patch of space without body on body contact with strangers. But as we moved past them we got caught up in their act, bopping along to their rhythmic tunes, or trying to listen to their voices projecting a performance. The kids were a little frustrated at not being able to see the acts, but we could certainly hear them. One particular act seemed to be moving right alongside us. They had flashing neon signs and boom boxes on their shoulders. Their boom boxes seemed to be on the same frequency, all playing familiar songs. We weren't standing and watching an act, we felt part of it...part of the rhythm of the festival as it evolved around us.
On reaching Bourke Street we took a small detour. We could hear jazz tunes and made our way into the mall. Great sounds were coming from the stage and we crept in behind the band.
We were all hungry and it felt like we needed to get off the street to sit and enjoy a meal so made our way into Pancake Parlour...a winner for the kids, and absolutely buzzing with the crowds. I'd like to say we had tried something more exotic than pancakes but it was not to be so.
Before long we were back out into the street, the crowd seemed thicker if possible. We grabbed a hold of each other to make our way through and back toward Swanston Street. In an amazing coincidence we bumped into a work colleague of my husband. 500,000 people roaming the streets in dense crowds and here was a familiar face! It was amazing.
The walk toward Flinders Street was slow. We stopped to admire a balloon busker, who seemed to manipulate balloon animals without even looking. We were keen to get to Flinders Street Station...one step...pause, wait, move to the side, another step, smile, push to the side... eventually we made it and wow, it was spectacular. Yes, the crowds were annoying, but in another way they made it. We knew we were a part of the biggest crowd we had experienced in Melbourne. It seemed to be a part of the experience, if only they'd all sit down so I could get a clear photo of the station without heads in it!
We had fun taking selfies with the lights behind and ooh and aah-ing as the art work changed but we knew the kids were beat. It was a fabulous environment...a real festival of people as much as art and music and we did feel like we'd absorbed it and experienced something unique...but the kids were weary so we made our way to the train to loop it around to Melbourne Central and then a walk to our car for the journey home.
As much as the crowds were a part of it, my main suggestions would be:

• Spread out into the surrounding streets... I know the footprint was expanded in 2014 from 2013 but expand further and wider. 
• Encourage traders to trade. Seeing some businesses closed seemed like such a lost opportunity for them.
• Make public transport free. People need to move about and infrequent visitors to Melbourne, such as ourselves, don't want to be fussing over a myki machine for a 2 station trip.
• Increase train services on the inner lines...keep the loop going regularly, especially in the hours leading up to midnight.
• Make it clear in the brochures exactly what some things are... Many items had a name but no other information. We didn't know if we were going to see art or music or something else altogether.

I missed a ton of things I'd heard about that I would like to have seen...the tattooed city, the purple rain, the synchronised swimmers...and they're mostly the high profile ones... I'm sure we missed a ton of things with lesser known features but just as entertaining and enthralling.
Here's a link to the official website. They're already talking about 2015 so it seems it will be back :)
White Night Melbourne

State Library of Victoria

 Inside State Library of Victoria

"Virus One Billion Times"

 The crowds in Swanston Street

 A jazz band in Bourke Street

Balloon busking in Swanston Street

 Flinders Street Station