Fleur Elise Noble. It’s the kind of dreamy name that inspires perfume labels. After an animated phone conversation with Fleur, 24, I decide her signature scent would splash words like ‘ethereal’ and playful’, ‘real and honest’ all over the perfumery floor. Take a peek at her filmic theatre work (www.fleurelisenoble.com) and you’ll see for yourself these characteristics in her puppets, sketches, performances and projections. Last year Fleur was awarded ‘Best in Show’ in Brisbane Festival’s Under the Radar program – a curated fringe-theatre festival that celebrates new work by emerging, mid-career and experimental artists (www.brisbanefestival.com.au/undertheradar). Now, with a busy program of festival shows and a world tour newly on the cards, she thinks she just might be living her greatest achievement at this very moment …
Continue reading ‘live dreamer – fleur noble’
Some people are sure of their destined career from the moment they can talk; others simply fall into it, discovering their passion out of necessity rather than pursuit. For the man now known by many as the world’s greatest living chef, Spaniard Ferran Adriá, it was the latter. At the age of 18, after studying economics, he took a job as a dishwasher in order to earn some quick cash to pay for a party-fuelled holiday in Ibiza. But soon he had graduated from sinks to salads, and when his compulsory service in the Spanish Navy gave him the opportunity to become head chef of a kitchen, Ferran’s passion was well-and-truly ignited. While on leave from the military, he applied for a one-month traineeship at elBulli – then a French haute cuisine-inspired restaurant – in Cala Montjoi, about 160 km north of Barcelona. Immediately his talents began to bloom and Ferran was offered the position of line chef. Soon after he was appointed one of the restaurant’s head chefs, assuming the helm autonomously in 1987. But it wasn’t until 1990, when he became co-owner of elBulli, that Ferran began to focus all of his passion and creativity into his culinary work, and the gastronomic wizardry that has seen him revolutionise the art of cooking began to take place.
Continue reading ‘international dreamer – ferran adria’
Australians – being adventurous, wide-eyed types – sometimes wish they were European simply for the chance to hop, skip or Eurotrain their way in and out of different cultures. Thanks to keen foodie, journalist and entrepreneur Maeve O’Meara, a rich world of cultures has been revealed to us within easy reach and without a bout of jet lag. Maeve’s Gourmet Safaris and Gorgeous Safaris, along with her television series Food Safari, discover the unsung heroes and heroines of the national food scene and connect them on a personal level with their consumers – all in the name of discovering new cuisine. Of course, there’s a big world out there so she also explores Greece, Mexico, Vietnam and other hot spots. If success is measured in bringing joy to people, Maeve believes she’s on the right track. Continue reading ‘national dreamer – maeve o’meara’
An old run-down shack of a house sat meekly on a Fortitude Valley backstreet, rarely given a second thought by the multitude of cars that passed it by each day. To most, it was an eyesore belonging to a cranky old man who would never relinquish ownership. But to one dreamer, it was the site that would one day be home to a glorious feat of design – a 21-room boutique hotel where the beauty was in the details, with a rooftop bar that would glitter under the night stars, alive with laughter, energy and indulgent cocktails. The dreamer was local entrepreneur Damian Griffiths. And the hotel, which took up residence in 2008, was Limes Hotel – Australia’s first member of the coveted Design Hotels group, and a world-class addition to Brisbane’s landscape.
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Have you seen the official White House flickr stream? A nice glimpse behind the scenes into a presidency clearly marked with a bit of playfulness … (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).
If you haven’t given this innovative site by Brisbane’s Native Digital and Wotnews a spin, give it a whirl and allow the grid to deliver music to your ears you would otherwise never have heard. While an online music chart is nothing new, Hunted’s offering seamlessly blends a unique social media content aggregation functionality, behind one of the most attractive, and easiest to use interfaces. Having recently launched a Hunted Twitter chart, hearing what other people are hearing, is never more than a few clicks away.
It’s been a big 7 days in the planet’s history. While one of the most loved lies shrouded in mystery, another, as equally revered, is basking in bright, renewable sunlight. In a historic vote approving the Clean Energy and Security Act, Barak Obama has revealed a new America to the world. This bill sets the stage for the dawn of the clean energy future. While imperfect, it sets forth a set of goals America must achieve — and exceed. The bill’s most important achievement is setting the United States on a path to reduce carbon emissions some 80 percent by 2050, a signal accomplishment necessary to preserve the planet for future generations. But this event pales in comparison to the Obama’s vegetable garden, the first since Eleanor Roosevelt planted one in honour of America’s victory in World War II. It’s refreshing to see a leader, leading isn’t it?
Finalists have been announced for the Queensland Short Film competition and the top ten filmmakers who have made the cut look set to deliver a diverse and engaging range of topics in their fifteen minute masterpieces. War, blackjack, self-discovery and a murder mystery are just a few of the themes explored by the talented crop of Queensland film buffs. Brisbane-based screen industry training centre QPIX is well represented with 6 of the 10 films selected coming from QPIX filmmakers. Screenings of the top ten films will be held August 8 to coincide with the Brisbane International Film Festival. If you find yourself feeling inspired and compelled to explore a future in film, QPIX run a number of short courses throughout the year which develops and assists in the production of film and TV content.
Jonathan Harris, co-creator of We Feel Fine, has just launched his latest project – The Sputnik Observatory. In Jonathan’s own words, “it’s the result of a two-year collaboration with New York-based Sputnik, Inc., an organization that documents contemporary culture through intimate video interviews with hundreds of leading thinkers in the arts, sciences and technology, covering a wide range of topics. The central premise of the Sputnik project is that everything is connected to everything else, and that topics and ideas that may seem fringe and even heretical to the mainstream world are in fact being investigated by leading thinkers working in fields as diverse as quantum physics, mathematics, neuroscience, biology, economics, architecture, digital art, video games, computer science and music. Sputnik is dedicated to bringing these crucial ideas from the fringes of thought out into the limelight, so that the world can begin to understand them.
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Everyone’s making eco bag these days, but the environmental credentials of green bags aren’t very clear cut. TBWA’s tongue-in-cheek range of Eco Bags are a breath of fresh air and a reminder that appearing ‘green’ isn’t the same as acting green.
Long before “Big Brother” was a reality TV-show; it was introduced into the wider vernacular by revolutionary author George Orwell, and this month we celebrate the sixty year anniversary of his timeless classic, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Without a doubt, Orwell’s work is one of the most influential and socially significant novels of the modern era. First published in 1949, it tells the tale of protagonist Winton Smith living in a dystopian world, where Big Brother, the Thought-Police and incessant propaganda have eroded any hope of collective freedom for the citizens of fictional super-continent “Oceania”. Orwell’s themes are manifold, and his bleak prediction of a world ruled by fear and oppression served as a timely reminder to the potential tyranny of state authority. Continue reading ‘big brother turns 60′
“Deadline” is a stop-motion film by Bang-yao Liu, at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Also watch how they made it here.
It’s often easy to lose perspective, but a visit to the World Press Photo Exhibition at the Powerhouse will serve as a profound and ultimately grounding experience. The 52nd annual event showcases the very best of photojournalism around the world, capturing the state of the world in 2008. The Beijing Olympics, crippling poverty, and the beauty of nature feature prominently, as does the state of the world economy, all played out as a visual tragedy. Flying the Aussie flag is Mark Dadswell, who won second prize in the Sports Action Singles category by capturing the agony and the ecstasy of Usain Bolt as he won the 200m men’s final at the Olympics. The calibre of the imagery and the confronting social issues make this exhibition one not to miss.
Designed by the Dutch firm West 8, the Simcoe St Wave Deck just recently opened at the Toronto Habourfront. This wooden deck mimics the graceful curves of water, and the shape naturally entices people to run, climb, sit and slide. It adds a fun flair to what otherwise could have been a normal footpath. Continue reading ‘wave deck’
It is hard for a sighted person to imagine what it is like to be blind. The innovative and award winning children’s book “The Black Book of Colour’ invites readers to explore what it’s like to read with their fingertips by using black raised line art against black pages to illustrate the story. The descriptive, sensory text, such as “yellow tastes like mustard, but is as soft as a baby chick’s feathers” is featured in both printed text and Braille. This beautiful and clever book makes me think how colour is such a powerful design element to almost everything, and I’ve always been intrigued about how the colour is our rooms, our clothes or other things can make us feel better or different. Today, pink is making me happy. I think pink tastes like your kiss, and is as sweet and fluffy as fairy floss.
James is 25, fresh out of art school and utterly lost. His best friend Emma is stuck in a dead-end job, might be pregnant, and thinks she’s in love with James. The trouble is James is gay. Then again, there’s always the married man with the comb-over at Emma’s work … Simon and Gary are also looking to James for love. But James reckons Simon is just a kid and Gary’s old enough to be his father. Everyone obsesses about passing life’s use-by date as they drift through the coffee shops, bars and apartments of Brisbane. Richard Jordan’s award-winning new play is a heartfelt slice of sex in our very own city. Forget about Generation X – this is all about Generation Why? See Queensland Theatre Company’s latest work, 25 Down, playing at Bille Brown Studio until July 4, 2009. Buy your tickets here.
DJ Derek describes himself as a late-night person. He also a fan of real ale and is renowned for having visited every Weatherspoons pub in the UK. Although he is 68, Derek does not feel out of place when he takes the stage to mix reggae music in front of thousands of young revellers at gigs such as Glastonbury Festival and The Big Chill. His love for reggae and music evolved out of spending much of his adulthood soaked in the culture of the West Indian immigrants that arrived in England in the late 1950s and 1960s and his rise to fame in underground British music circles hasn’t always been easy. This charismatic senior has more ‘street cred’ than most British DJs and he has an encyclopaedic appreciation of music to keep him level with current music trends and infusing them with those of yesteryear. The world would be dull without interesting characters like Derek, and when you stumble across one you can’t help but smile. 
This short documentary about DJ Derek was compiled by Jamie Foord and Russell Smith.
For those who miss the soothing rhythm of watching a game of tennis …
Josh Pyke and Andrew Denton think Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ will be number one in Triple J’s Hottest 100 of All Time. Rosie Beaton thinks Muse’s ‘Invincible’ will top the charts. And Missy Higgins thinks Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way’ will perform well. Just what is the best song of all time? It’s really hard to decide, but surely the songs that have defined generations will be front-runners. Those that come to mind include Nirvana’s ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ – the winner of the Hottest 100 of All Time from 1998, ‘Alive’ by Pearl Jam, ‘Paranoid Android’ by Radiohead and hot favourite ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ by Joy Division. You’re allowed to vote up to 10 times for your favourite song, so at least you don’t have to narrow it down to one song. If you vote, you go into the running to in a trip to the Reading Festival in the UK. And remember you can vote for anything from iconic Beatles songs to Peter Combe classics, it’s up to you!
