IT WAS impossible not to chuckle at the witty come-ons dreamed up by Twitter users posting under the ''#AusPolValentines'' hashtag yesterday. Federal Member for Fraser Andrew Leigh proposed the hashtag on the weekend on his blog, and got the fun started with, ''If you were a bill, I'd pass you without amendment,'' ''You'll always be my first preference,'' ''Our love is always in surplus,'' and ''It's hard to believe I was ever a swinging voter.'' User Jovianshadow came up with, ''The Senate is red, the House is green, you're the sweetest I've ever seen.'' Alexandra Alex purred, ''You can cross my floor any day.'' Robert Ewing vowed, ''My love for you will never be challenged.'' Helen Tudor declared, ''It may be a hung Parliament, but I'm hung up on you.'' And Benjamin Gage wrote, ''You're my Light on the Hill.'' Awwww. How sweet it is.
Dance for the cause
IF you're a fan of Aretha Franklin and Pink hits that are big on attitude and sass, and wouldn't mind doing a dance to get a message across, here's an event for you. On March 3, Women With Disabilities ACT will have women with disabilities, their family, friends and supporters, busting some moves to Franklin's Respect and Pink's Raise Your Glass, near The Canberra Times fountain in Petrie Plaza from 12.30pm. The flashmob before International Women's Day on March 8 is a bid to raise awareness that 31,000 women in the ACT live with disabilities. The flash mob also marks the end of the 2011-12 Summer of Respect campaign which called for respectful relationships and safety for all women, at all times, in public and in private. It's hoped 70 or so women will take part. To get involved, call 62902166.
For the bambinos
FOR Rita Aiello Martiniello, making sure her eight grandchildren keep embracing the Italian language is a passionate concern. It was for her grandchildren, the eldest aged nine, the youngest a year old, that she wrote The Bambino Books, bi-lingual children's educational books. A book that aims to teach children numbers and animals in Italian and English was launched on the weekend at the Italian Multicultural Centre. Martiniello, 58, a hairdresser of O'Malley, said, ''It's important my grandchildren keep their heritage alive and ensure their roots are never forgotten.'' She came to Australia in 1967, aged 13. She spoke no English and attended evening classes because she dreamed of writing books for her grandkids. She self-published books as gifts for the children in 2006. The book and accompanying DVD launched on the weekend was her first professional book of The Bambino Book series. ''I thought it would benefit young children in the community as well,'' Martiniello said. MLAs Chris Bourke, Steve Doszpot and Vicki Dunne attended the launch and spoke. Dunne demonstrated her own dexterity with foreign languages. ''She spoke in Italian and English. It was lovely,'' Martiniello said. The freshly launched Bambino Book should be in stores by early March.
Opera calls for kids
CALLING talented kids. The Melbourne Opera is assembling a Canberra chorus for its production of George Bizet's Carmen to be performed at the Canberra Theatre on May 12. For this chorus of 15 voices, focused and enthusiastic boys and girls are sought. They should be aged seven to 11, able to act and move well, with clear, tuneful voices. They must also respond to direction well. Children will need to audition in order to be selected and do not need to have undergone vocal training. The opportunity is described as great fun for the kids who will get to take to the stage with professional singers, under the direction of Melbourne-based conductor, Greg Hocking, and theatre director Hugh Halliday, and run around with soldiers and toreadors. Inquiries should be directed to wildvoices@bigpond.com.
BBC's capital error
THE BBC seems to be having an identity crisis with Canberra. On Saturday its website posted a travel story on Sydney's Tio's Cerveceria calling it a ''new addition to the Australian capital's small bar scene''. An alert Canberra Times sub-editor fired off an email pointing out the mistake and was duly thanked for the effort. By Sunday another story appeared in its place titled ''Australia's capital highlights'', and it indeed correctly identified Canberra as the national capital, but then came the backhander as the story began ''Canberra, Australia's capital city, is so obscure that many overseas visitors have never heard of it. The city, an unloved offspring born from a dispute between Sydney and Melbourne, is a meticulously designed, made-to-order metropolis that suffers from some of the same flaws that other purpose-built capitals possess: an over-supply of bureaucrats and students, and a slight under-supply of urban chic.'' Onya Beebs.
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