Bioterrorism, balloons and la belle France: March 2011

Monday 1 March (6pm) - interesting-looking lecture at the Academy of Science about bioterrorism (who should we fear most: terrorists or scientists?), 6-8pm. http://www.science.org.au/events/publiclectures/fs/ramshaw.html

Thursday 3 March or Saturday 5 March (7pm) - curious but award-winning film about Italian goats at the National Film and Sound Archives. http://nfsa.gov.au/calendar/event/2392-le-quattro-volte/

Thursday 10 March (8pm) - Les Freres: a crazy pair of Japanese pianists playing four-hand jazz and boogie-woogie. http://www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au/what-is-on/event-details.aspx?eventID=5991

From 12 March (crack-o-dawn) - balloon festival! The best (only?) reason to get up at stupid o'clock. http://www.events.act.gov.au/?/canberrafestival/event/317

From 16 March - French film festival at Greater Union Manuka and the National Film and Sound Archives. Lots of Frenchy goodness, including a better than even chance of l'amour on the screen with a big range of romance and romantic comedy. http://www.frenchfilmfestival.org/default.aspx

Friday 18 March (7.30pm) - Lights, Canberra, Action - locally-made short film festival in Garema Place, with (for the first time) a re-screening on 15 April at CSIRO Discovery for those who prefer their films indoors. A great opportunity to see Canberra on screen, which hasn't happened since Hollowmen. http://www.events.act.gov.au/?/canberrafestival/event/32

Rumour mill - A Palace Cinema will be opening in the bottom of the new Nishi development at New Acton. Great to have some more cinema competition, and an alternative in Civic to Dendy for when it's booked out (which seems to happen an awful lot on weekends). Dendy's location may still be the winner for me, though.