Friday 24 April 2009

Miso Madness Pt whatever

Ok ... MISO strikes again!!

Here comes Wendy's Parade!!

Ok ... presenting Wendy's science experiment:

Sartorialism Downunder

Ok ... I have been meaning to post this ever since P alerted me to the fact that the simply wonderful Sartorialist is winging his way over to melbourne and sydney to snap our fashionable streets and their denizens! I was going to say something silly but as his father recently passed away, I will only say this: I'm not sure where exactly he's going to be ... but lets do Australia proud ... time to wig out in fash-un!! all of this week ... and WERK It!! when you're out on the streets ... just in case!!
Here's some inspiration for you (courtesy of http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/)

Thursday 23 April 2009

Take a picture - It'll last longer

Ok .. there's always something creative going on over at www.jeansnow.net.

Snap Motion??? Anyone??
In other groundbreaking news, I've just been tapped on the shoulder and quietly informed that one of my clients is feeling neglected ... I hope they complain coz there simply aren't enough hours in the day!!
Oh and this is why I would turn Psycho stalker for Hugh Jackman ... you are still my No 1:
On being asked about the standard "gay rumour", this is what Hughesy had to say:
“I’d be happy to go and deny it, because I’m not [gay]. But by denying it, I’m saying there is something shameful about it, and there isn’t anything shameful. The questions about sexuality I find more here in America than anywhere else, because it’s a big hang-up and defines what people think about themselves and others. It’s not a big issue in Australia.”
Bless!!!

Tuesday 21 April 2009

JB You've done it again!! And again ... and again ... and again

OK ... maybe this could work ... with the advent of digital downloads ... does this mean that the price of physical CD stock currently wasting rent in the back catalogues of the larger chain(s) will plummet to ridiculously affordable levels??

I think there was a little bit of that when I ransacked the sale bins today and took full advantage of their further 20% off orange sticker special offer!!
For the princely sum of $50, I came away with the following delights:
(i) Jay Jay Johanson: Tattoo
Ok his voice is not to everyone's taste ... its a slightly precious nerdy falsetto ... and this is 18th street lounge lite and a little dated ... but melodies are strong with that european taint of melancholia ... perfect for autumn.


(ii) Long Range - Madness and Me
Phil Hartnoll of the Orbital and his new venture ... pretty much what you expect of a techno stalwart facing a dance scene that has evolved and morphed into electro and dub ... but at $4 I'm not complaining ... decent enough fare.


(iii) Dengue Fever - Escape from Dragon House
Amazing blend of vintage Cambodian pop and old skool indie rock ... it works and works really well ... this is a definite recommend!


(iv) trans am - surrender to the night
 
Remember when everyone was into krautrock ... relive those heady po-faced days!


(v) Chas Jankel - My Occupation
  
One of Ian Dury's blockheads, this best of wonderfully remastered with the biggest sound is pure white soul discofunk ... I remember when Ai no Corrida was constantly on the airwaves ... this is my disco!!

 

(vi) to rococo rot - abc123
Minimal german techno ... as only the germans can do ... strangely addictive ... but also a little dated.

(vii) Leila - blood looms and blooms

Ok biggest score of all!!! I love this album .. and now I have my own copy - check out my little capsule review under my fave list for 2008.

FOOOOOOKKKKKIINNNNNN HELLLLL!!!!

FUCK I HATE CARELESS DRIVERS ESPECIALLY WHEN I RUN INTO THEM BECAUSE THEY DON'T GIVE WAY WHEN I AM ALREADY IN A ROUNDABOUT!!!!
 
To top it all of ... FOBs do not have insurance!!! And I'm pretty sure they've given me a false address because I stupidly did not write it down when I looked at their license!!!
 
And true to form, they try to convince me to let them fix the darn thing ... yeah right!!!
 
So I have made a claim and fingers crossed this will all go relatively smoothly. One plus is that nearest access centre is within walking distance, minus is I will have to gird my lazy arse loins and walk the 15 min trek to the station to catch my train! Still I was planning on getting some exercise.
 
But my threadless order arrived and JB had a 20% off orange sticker sale ... but more of that in another post.

Two little Piggies

Ok ... this is a no pic post ..
 
Just barely survived a weekend of nearly bacchalanian proportions ... well not quite but its started Friday night with a pig out at the Station Hotel. The Angus still rocks my world ... but my tummy rebelled when it came to sweets ...
 
Spent saturday slow cooking a curry using the last batch of halal lamb cuts that we bought some time ago ... this time my tummy took to the streets and rioted in protest with spot fires and thrown rocks ... i.e. I simply could not digest such a heavy meal so soon after another the night before ... I felt like that was a clamp round my chest, and then another one round the lower part of my belly, slowly squeezing the section in between ... whatever was stuck underneath was going to have to come out one route or another ... unfortunately it extruded up my gut out of my mouth ... pretty!!!
 
Then whilst sane minded peops would have said lets give the tum tum a bit of a rest, lunatics like myself head down to Vic market on Sunday to the latin festival and systematically inhales the entire gamut of south american cuisine in the space of a very quick hour and a half ... tamales, quesideias, argentinian bbq, meat with beans and corn, empanadas ... and to top it all of, having unsuccessfully queued twice for churros only to be told they had run out .. we headed down to Sabroso for a plate of the darn things and a glass of Sangria ...
 
(ps tummy survived and lived to tell the tale)

Esprit de Corps!

Ok ... thanks to the sartorial largesse of my label obsessed friend CC, I now own a pair of Esprit shoes that have uncharacteristically been made in Italy.

 
I remember when Esprit was a must stop on any fashion lover's longsuffering trek in the 80s. We craved to be on the mailing list, receiving those jaunty crayon coloured cards in the mail announcing a new line or a midnight halloween sale. We salivated at the thought of the bargain bin at sale time and was positively frothing in the knowledge that our best friend N at the time could afford one of their denim jackets ... which I'm sure he dutifully stuck with safety pins and popstar buttons!!
 
Anyhoo ... I wouldn't be caught dead in Esprit now!!! How the times have changed. But these are made in Italy .. and lets face it ... are pretty cool.
 
 

Wednesday 15 April 2009

The Last Hurrah!

Ok .. was the weather on the long weekend Melbourne's last hurrah ... feels like it as a mini gale blows outside complete with icy droplets of piercing rain.
 
I dearly hope not. I'm pining for those crisp Autumn mornings ... rugged up on a pavement somewhere sipping coffee.
 
The long weekend was not long enough as it never is. We spent the 4 2 extra days respite doing the proverbial sweet FA! We did go and see J & CC's new flat which is stunning!!! Pity this is only a stop gap rental property until they find something more permanent. I think they would buy this apartment in a flash if the opportunity presented itself.
 
It has so many quirky little touches including this massive tiled plinth of a bathroom sink that is certainly higher than most, and positively dwarfs everyone who stands in front of it except for J of course. His conference in Bangkok maybe cancelled, so their trip to Thailand and Laos may not go ahead. Which is a shame becoz I think they were really looking forward to a bit of R & R after the stresses of finding a place to rent and moving. We had dinner at this new Vietnamese joint called FaiFo, next to Ving Kye (sshhh don't let them know! apparently) which was not bad at all!!! And so cheap. We had a pork intestine salad, beef in claypot (least successful), spring rolls which came with a whole prawn inside the pastry, crab meat with vermicelli (we loved it so much we ordered a second one), fish with ginger and spring onions in claypot (beautiful) and fried rice with salt fish and chicken. Anyhoo, FF was there and she was telling us how in her family, mum is yellow and dad is red, so any discussions on politics are banned at the dinner table. I'm actually heartened by the fact that there still is some form of activism in that region, evidence of a social and political conscience that hasn't been entirely stamped out under the defense of cultural difference.
 
 
I ramble!! We also took a drive down an expensive piece of coast just for shits and giggles!!! Some people really know how to live!! Thats all I have to say on the subject. Oh and I have experienced how its like to live on the other side of the tracks but shit like this still gives me a thrill. In Black Rock there's a 2 storey house that fronts the coast road, so it has million dollar views to say the least and the convenience of being able to literally jump the road into the sea. However, this house also has a glass bordered balcony that covers the front of the house and snakes round the back. This is however no ordinary balcony ... it is not a really a balcony at all ... it is in fact a Pool!!!!
 
Sadly all I got to do was walk around a beach made up of shells and stones and wierdarse volcanic features ... hence black rock ... I'm guessing.
 
 
To round off the weekend we had a bbQ with K & M and also S & G and co in the cutest little park in Pascoe Vale. Can I be real here for a moment peops ... I'm tired of playing happy families ... but M was adorable reading Maurice Sendak's Where the wild things grow to the little tyke ... oh yes the hollyqood juggernaut is already making inroads into your household!!
 
 
Ooh and apparently N told our other little fav J to go away when he was playing with his bestie A ... oh J!!! I know exactly how you must feel ... story of my life ... I was the loner on the playground ... or worst yet I gave up joining in and hung around the adults ... hhmmmm!! We are soooo putting a stop to that one!! Hehe.
 
We still think you're kewl!!
 
 
PS ... I've been a little thrown by my gradually developing middle age paunch! I expected it to start growing a lot lower than it actually is?? I thought I would have to go up a trouser size, but I don't!! I do have to watch my tops though because the paunch starts expanding round about the second and third buttons ... oh and of course my flabby arms push everything else out or proportion with the end result that nothing fits ... AT ALL!!! 

Thursday 9 April 2009

Weisse nicht ohne schwarz existieren

Ok ... so didn't I mention that it was a weekend devoted to the arts and food? No? Well let me try your patience a little bit longer. Back in the early days of this humble blog, I mentioned the Top Arts exhibition (at Ian Potter Fed Square) in a post ... we have pretty much been to every one since. They're good value, entry is free and its a pleasant way to spend an afternoon soaking in all that creativity and talent and being duly inspired and provoked. These are the young creatives of the future, names to watch out for!!
 
Me and M were very much taken byJim Gurr's 14 minute video entry called Kunst Film. It was a loving homage to early German Expressionist cinema, with filmic nods in terms of style, content and editing. We actually sat through 2 runs of the thing ... we loved it that much. Its amazing what can be achieved on a budget, I think the constraints make the final product that much more satisfying ... definitely a name to watch out for!
stills from Jum Gurr's Kunst Film
 
Here are some of our other favourites:
 
* Jason Edwards take on consumerism and the environment - his earthenware sculpture of Pure white Ipod Video:
 
 
* Katie Kelso's Harriet - I particularly love the dega-esque touches here, the pastel highlights and that sort of curved perspective ... impressive!
 
 
 * Rania Tabet's Orange Juice ... in the making - there were a whole series of these kitchenalia paintings which are so much better in real life. we love the effect of the reflections on the shiny surfaces of these kitchen fittings and utensils ... reminds me of those Koon paintings.
 
 
* Rhys Griffiths' A thousand Years of Darkness - I'm not overtly fond of digitally maipulated pictures in art ... but these are strangely appealing ... I do love looking at the luminescence of jellyfish at the aquarium ... which is what these remind me of ... and I'm reading alot of books on faerie at the moment ... and these look like changelings caught in jars ...
 
 
* Rhys Parkinson's Kevin ... this is so good because its done in colour pencil!!! (damn I wish I could draw)
 
 

Wednesday 8 April 2009

Desal ... no sell!!

Ok ... whats a drink amongst friends?? ... a bloody good time thats what!

We met the lovely P after his stint manning the ikebana store at the floral whatsit for drinks at Southpaw.

I've always wanted to go here ever since I walked past the white picket fence and fake green turf on the footpath outside.

Its Gertrude Street after all, THE street in Melbourne at the mo. And it is a cute little joint with quite a wierd mix of people, as befitting fitzroy really. You've got your crazies, your stylies, your hobohemians, your stinkies and even your hip hoppity hoppies ... there's also the hostess rocking it in a 60s monochrome licorice allsorts dress complete with beret and red heels ... and then there's us!!



We whiled away the hours on red wine and red wine alone ... sampling a fantastic sangiovese and you guessed it ... a temperanillo:


We were meant to go round the corner and try to get into Gigibaba's but I don't think it would have been wise of me to peel myself of the pvc stool and attempt any form of physical exertion ... as it is I believe we left at exactly the right time!!

We did end up ordering some nibblies at Southpaw itself, including some yummy sausage rolls, some vege tart thingeys, blinis with smoked salmon!! and chips wrapped in newspaper. Our new friend R had a vego rice dish with apricots and yoghurt and shizz like that ... couldn't really tell in the light but I gather it was yummy.


And we are skating round the elephant in the room dear reader(s) ... but we musn't let details get in the way of a good time!!

Substation

Ok ... knowing that we would be out drinking later on Saturday night, we decided to have a quick snack at the Antipasti over at Yazza's.


Coffee ain't that great here which is annoying, but the arrancini ball and ham and cheese in turkish bread that we shared were exactly what the doctor ordered. I like doing the grocery shopping here because this deli is great, there's the meat shack a couple of doors away where youc an score a hefty aged beef fillet for about $40 total .. and the eye candy ... both the 2 legged kind and the 4 legged furry variety. Its not exactly our local but quite often on our way ...

We chanced upon the Williamstown Festival Art Prize Exhibition being held at The Substation in Newport coinciding with a monthly arts and crafts market ... and it was the perfect way to spend a couple of relaxing hours before heading out to meet P and R for drinkies at South Paw.

Substation - 1 Market Street Newport

These old buildings of industry are always the prefect foil for an art exhibition, something about all that brick, concrete and large windows, elements in themselves that are of artistic note ... I was tempted to explore the surrounds rather than the art works themselves ... and I'm sure M was inwardly hyperventilating at all the stairways leading off and away from the beaten path ...



The very first piece we encountered as we walked in was Amaia Iturri's Convinced Pacifist. Blindfolded bearded man in animated comicbook brushstrokes on linen ... the combination of muted pinks, blues and purples aestheticly pleasing .. my mind registered terrorist ... why? because of the artist's name? because of the beard and the blindfold? Because of the word pacifist? I knew I was in for an interesting time.


Here are some of our favourites:

Suzie Bourne's photo called Alfresco Dining. M was so taken by this that he is comtemplating buying one of the 8 prints available. I'm not actively encouraging this as its really time to tighten the belts at the moment. But the whimsy of it with the Melbourne skyline in the hazy background is very appealing ... and it would look so good in the house. (sorry no pic!)

We also loved Patrick Delbosc's whimsical blue dog ... we would love this in the garden ... peaking out of the ferns under the magnolia tree!


Julie Collins & Derek John's scupltural "Shared Journey" offered strong colour and texture .... although P was puzzled at first as to what he was looking at on the iphone.


There was whimsy amongst the wares ...

Amanda Hills Carp ... plastic bag fish arranged as sculptural installation ($90 each but!!!)


Liz Walker's Junk Mail - envelopes fashioned out of discarded corrugated iron:


Apart from the Bourne photo, M was also taken by Louise Skacej's Brain Patterned Heart:



2 vietnamese artists certainly caught our eyes:

Trinh Vu's light fixture called Sacred Season -


And an amazing video installation of morphing japanese tattooes by Phi Van Nguyen.

Kirsten Perry's ink sketch called stroke really made me wish I could draw ... and also that i had the money to collect ... this would have certainly been a purchase!


Ditto for Veronica Kent's print called The Young Spaniard - I have exactly the spot for this ...


And I took a photo of this light block because its called "Like Spinning Plates" - by the Contextual Villains:

I can keep boring you with more examples and unfortunately I can't encourage you to go as the prizes have been awarded and the exhibit is now closed. But you can still look out for the monthly art markets for a chance to view the space.


Oh and surely I wouldn't have dropped a radiohead reference without belabouring the point ... so enjoy:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...