The usefulness of old books

Just wondering if anyone read the article in the Life & Style supplement of the Sydney Morning Herald on 18 June... a rather interesting article about Nicholas Jones, a Salvadore Dali-looking book sculptor. He makes sculptures out of old books, and some of them a very attractive looking!

www.bibliopath.org

Spaghetti with olive and herb

Here's a great recipe from 'Olives' by Bhavna Khanna...

3/4 cup green olives, pitted

2 garlic cloves, chopped.

1 handful fresh mint leaves, chopped

1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup pecorino cheese, grated plus extra shavings for serving

1 cup olive oil

400g spaghetti

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cup pine nuts, toasted

Rinse and drain the olives then pulse in a food processor with the garlic, mint, parsley, cheese and oil until roughly chopped. Season with pepper.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking water.

Return the pasta to the pan, add the pesto, toasted pine nuts and enough of the cooking water to form a smooth sauce. Serve topped with shaved pecorino cheese.

Enjoy!

'Olives' by Bhavna Khanna is available from Green Olive Press (www.greenolivepress.com) and is a limited edition, hand-bound recipe complete with illustrations.

Olives launch

Here are some pictures from the launch of Olives by Bhavna Khanna. Enjoy!

How to build your online brand for next to nothing

I recently participated in a webinar presented by Paul Wallbank called 'How to build your online brand for next to nothing', part of the NSW Government Micro Business Week.

Despite the few technical hiccups and the appalling sound quality, I was able to glean a few tips and thought I'd share them with you here...

• Use as many social media networking sites as possible: Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs (Paul recommended Blogger as it can also be sued as a website management tool)
• Develop an online profile - and regularly update it
• There are lots of free web hosting services out there, all varying in quality. Getting Aussie Business provides very basic website templates free of charge so could be an ideal place to start if you are a little short of cash
• Think about the key words you use to describe your product or service - these are picked up by search engines and determine how highly your site is ranked
• Register your business with Google places
• Submit your business details to True Local, Yellow Pages and other directory
• Develop a company LinkedIn profile page
• Keep your personal and professional pages separate if possible - or make sure you moderate what goes on the pages. Potential customers may not want to see you dancing on tables at your best friend's stag do
• Register for Google alerts and keep up to date with developments in your industry
• Add toggles to your website for Blog Digger, Ice Rocket, Four Square, Twitalyser and Technorati, for example

Of all of the points that Paul raised during the seminar, keeping your content updated and current is the most important. The more active a website is, the higher it is ranked.

Successful fundraising applications...

The quality of writing is obviously very important when it comes to applying for funding from charitable trusts and foundations, and being able to convey a project or concept in simply terms is a skill in itself. However, there is more to a successful application that just the words.

When applying for a grant, you need to:

1. Plan
2. Develop clear processes
3. Develop well-defined projects
4. Research

And you need to do all of this before the writing begins!

Interview with Olives author, Bhavna Khanna

Listen to 'Olives' author, Bhavna Khanna being interviewed by Green Olive Press's Communications Manager, Sonia Popat.

Bhavna spills the beans on her culinary influences and what inspires her to paint.

Olives is a hand-bound recipe book written and illustrated by Bhavna Khanna and limited to only 150 copies.

Purchase your copy from the Green Olive Press website (www.grenolivepress.com) for only $46.20 including postage and packing.

Keep Calm and Carry On - The story behind the video

I just love this...

DesignObserver (@DesignObserver)
30/05/11 1:18 AM
Big hit yesterday: Keep Calm and Carry On: Story Behind the Poster. Video. http://bit.ly/mBBB6D

Note: password "keepcalm" is needed.