This image struck me the first time I saw it. If the colour, focus, balance and use of paint in the backdrop are anything to go by, the actual performance will be special. Bangarra Dance Theatre brings their latest production, True Stories to Brisbane for a limited season between the 7th and 16th of June at the Playhouse. The production features two works, X300 and Emeret Lu, by two female choreographers, Frances Rings and Elma Kris. I haven’t been to a Bangarra production and if word of mouth is anything to go by, I am looking forward to experiencing their unique display of theatre. The title of this post, is understood to mean ‘Listen up’ and is of the Gungalidda people’s language from the Doomij area near Cape York.
Monthly Archive for May, 2007
goodidja.
An amazing insight into the future of viewing photography and places around the world.
Highlighting the diverse and wonderful talents of our local designers, the inaugural Brisbane Indesign saw thousands of people flocking to showrooms throughout the inner city suburbs on Saturday 26 May. Among the many treats that awaited those hungry for a design smorgasbord were music, dancing, food, furniture, celebration, innovation, shuttle busses and butterflies.
As part of QPAC’s Out of the Box program in 2004, I went to see a play in the hushed dark crimson murmurings of the Lyric Theatre. It was quite the experience. Completely void of a spoken narrative or actors voice, it conveyed the tale of a little girl who has a bad day. In her journey through a world that doesn’t seem to make much sense, she is trailed by a simple, singular red leaf, which symbolises a sign, a way and a hope. Written by Shaun Tan, The Red Tree was adapted for Out of the Box and performed to a captivated audience whose hearts, minds and dreams all identified with the little girl who was asking the question, “Why?” Acclaimed and criticised around the world (as it supposes that children have down days), Shaun’s work is often referred to as children’s books for adults. Continue reading ‘the child in all of us.’
The basic idea behind concertina doors, slinkys, accordion pianos, and paper fans is being used in Molo’s Soft range to create a flexible, transforming and ingenious range of seats, tables, lighting and wall partitions. The Paper SoftSeating is quite astounding because it is entirely made out of paper, yet is durable enough for an adult to sit, stand and jump on it without causing structural damage. The lounges compress for storage, are flame-retardant and are 100% recyclable. Molo have even extended this folding idea to ‘Softhousing” as solution for homeless shelters. Intended to fit in existing buildings, ‘Softhousing’ are entire folding, expandable single rooms that can be pulled out and pushed back when needed. Continue reading ‘fold me up’
This is an update on my previous posts on the Davies Park Protection Group (DPPG) and their tireless efforts in seeking clarity from the Brisbane City Council about the future development of the park and the management of the beautiful but diseased trees overshadowing the area.
A public forum was held by the DPPG on 24 April with the aim of addressing the responsible, progressive tree and facilities management in the park; security of tenure for South’s Rugby Club which is located in the park; security for the popular Green Flea Market; and ongoing public consultation for the Brisbane City Council master plan for Davies Park. A DPPG member tells me that the group was buoyed by the 170 people who attended the forum, but unfortunately core issues were not addressed and seemed to be dismissed through council spin and rhetoric. Continue reading ‘whispers from the west - part 3′
human rights arts and film festival
New Zealand has one, United States of America has many, and South Africa, India and Latin America share one – now it’s Australia’s turn to get on the human rights film festival bandwagon. The inaugural Human Rights Arts and Film Festival will be launched in Melbourne in November 2007 and film and documentary entries are being called for submission before 31 August. The $5000 of awards and prizes is a little exciting but the real bonus is the opportunity to contribute to the discussion about freedom of expression, the right to livelihood, the right to life, liberty and security, and basic human rights in Australia. The four-day festival will be held in the last week of November so if you’re keen to raise public awareness of human rights in a peaceful and positive way, head to Melbourne at this time to watch new films, view art exhibitions, dance to music and applaud theatrical performances by local and international artists all doing their bit to champion human rights.
If you don’t already have plans this weekend, I’d highly recommend getting down to the Brisbane Powerhouse to enjoy one of the many brilliant flicks on offer during The 8th Annual Brisbane Queer Film Festival. Starting this Friday, the festival runs for seven days and offers an eclectic and very unique selection of films from classic cult flicks to more contemporary films such as Fat Girls. As a massive Bowie fan, my pick would definitely be the 80s vampire horror classic The Hunger (pictured). The Hunger is a cult classic that deserves to be seen in all its gory glory on the big screen. Deneuve is Miriam, a beautiful centuries old vampire living in Manhattan. When her lover John (David Bowie), begins the accelerated process of ageing, Miriam turns her attentions to Dr Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon), a scientist who is researching pre-mature ageing. Miriam has chosen Sarah to be her next lover. Enticing Sarah to her house, Miriam plays Delibes Lakmé on the piano and takes Sarah to bed in what is the most famous seduction scene in lesbian film history. Unfortunately for me I will have to try and find this gem at the video store as I wont be around this weekend. So if you happen have some spare time up your sleeve, grab a friend and some popcorn and indulge in Bowie’s brilliance on the big screen, or one of the many other great films on offer.
I’m a big fan of experience design - the choices in visual and physical design and language which catch your eye and affect your movement within any physical environment. With Melbourne, Australia’s capital of cool cafes and with so much potential in the streets of Brisbane, it’s good to walk into one in the home town that redefines the customer experience. Take Simply Espresso for example. From the outside it looks like any other cafe; a little area out the front for fresh air, coffee machine (without separating front desk) and main seating area inside. It’s not until you realise you’re watching fresh avocado being cut up in front of you, lean strips of bacon being placed on the grill and Tim’s (the owner) friends dropping in, that you realise you’re actually sitting in someone’s kitchen. If a half-naked bloke with unruly hair happened to emerge and take a scull from the orange juice, you might not even blink. Such is the experience at Simply Espresso, 15a Gladstone Rd, Highgate Hill. With an outlook over the city, which was separated by a curtain of rain this morning, you can see why a steady stream of people like to ‘drop’ in, say g’day and enjoy a coffee or three.
There was a time when I patiently stayed up listening to the radio, waiting to see which band took out the coveted number 1 spot on the charts. It never really crossed my mind how the figures were crunched - the top spot simply proclaimed the ‘best’ band. Now I stay away from commercial radio and have replaced my ignorance of the music industry with a healthy scepticism. However, I have recently discovered a chart system that has reinvigorated my countdown interest. It is called, refreshingly, the AIR Charts. Compiled by the (non-profit) Australian Independent Record Labels Association (AIR), these weekly lists feature only Australian artists and strike out those signed by multinational record companies. This week, Silverchair take out number 1 on the AIR Independent Label Chart, however, because they do not distribute independently, they don’t make it onto the AIR 100% Indy Chart, where The John Butler Trio are on top. Independence can pay off, it seems. Meanwhile, on other charts around Australia, many different artists claim the prime position including Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, The Rocketsmiths and The Groundfloor. Who’s the best? Perhaps that’s only half the question.
Now that we are living in the email age, the only thing I ever find in my letterbox is bills. This frankly makes me disinclined to even bother checking the mail most weeks. Gone are the days when I would hold out hope for some exciting surprise to appear in the post. But I have recently discovered Postcrossing. The goal of Postcrossing is to allow people to receive postcards from all over the world, for free. Well, almost. If you send a postcard, you’ll receive at least one back, from a random postcrosser somewhere in the world. Why? Because it’s nice to receive stuff by mail! If you add to that, the surprise factor of receiving postcards from different places all over the world, you can turn your mailbox into a little surprise box, instead of a little box of disappointment. I’ve only just signed up and can’t wait to start receiving postcards, but before I can receive a card, I have to send one. I’ve been sent the details of who to send my postcard to, now I just need to figure out what to write. What do I say to a nine year old boy in Finland whose interests include cars and trucks?
New Zealanders have a lot to boast about. Whether it’s their Lord-Of-the-Rings landscape, their progressive politics or their All Blacks, you can count on Kiwis expressing their national pride at any given opportunity. Whilst the grass is indisputably greener over there, the celebrated Aussie-Kiwi rivalry is more a source of bad jokes than a serious competition. Regardless, in my book they’d win outright for one reason. Having just returned from Aotearoa, it’s impossible not to compare the greater prevalence of Maori culture in everyday life there with that of Aboriginal culture here. The reasons for this are no doubt complicated and contested, and the comparison probably somewhat inappropriate. Nevertheless, it simply exposes the shameful fact that we have not valued Aboriginal culture enough. That is why festivals like The Dreaming are so important. I’ll be going next weekend to enjoy one of Australia’s most comprehensive celebrations of Indigenous arts. And with an impressive programme of music, dance, film, forums, speakers, galleries, workshops, comedy, theatre and ceremony, I’ll definitely be telling my Kiwi friends all about it.
As the climate-neutral trend gains more and more momentum, the latest big gun to join industry leaders pressing for climate action is media mogul Rupert Murdoch. As CEO of News Corporation, the media empire that encompasses Fox News, 20th Century Fox, HarperCollins, MySpace.com, and dozens of newspapers in Australia, the U.K., the U.S., and beyond, this is big news. Rupert’s plan to address climate change includes not only a pledge to reduce the company’s emissions but also a vow to weave climate messaging into the content and programming of News Corp.’s many holdings. The hope is that the hundreds of millions of people who watch his TV channels and read his newspapers will be persuaded to join the cause. And if recent trends are anything to go by, he will get his wish. Everything and everyone from music festivals to entire communities are going green. One example of this is The Ecovillage at Currumbin. This inspiring group is doing their bit to promote sustainable living and are paving the way for future residential developments to be eco-friendly too. Having already garnered several awards including Queensland’s Best Small Residential Subdivision and Best Ecologically Sustainable Development, The Ecovillage is a prime example of how we could, and should, be living. So, hats off to the big guns, and the little guns - let’s hope more people are inspired to follow suit.
write here
As part of Hobart’s Ten Days on the Island festival, artists Justy Phillips and James Newitt used the CBD as a backdrop to 27 billboard public art installations. The Write/Here project explored the question - “What does this place mean to you?”. Each red billboard in the project included text written by a Hobart resident. The text was selected from across the community including from recent Middle East and West Africa refugees, prison inmates, clients at nursing homes, college students, the Aboriginal community; and anonymous submissions from the general public. The intriguing snippets of text are a personal response to life in Hobart and hints at many intimate stories about people and the city itself. Continue reading ‘write here’
I was feeling a little peeved with the world. Sunday, up early and into the car with a home-made chillout disc. Soon across the border where the grass really is greener. Past slick ecovillages to the impossibly lush Tweed Coast. All banana trees and sugar cane. Caravans skirt the beaches. Mount Warning has its head in the clouds. First stop is Pottsville, a beach to myself, a moment to be still. Uninterrupted horizon. My toes clench cool sand. A crab shimmies out of its hole. Waves kick and fall and spray. Let go expectations, gripes, anxieties. Gentle rain falls. I don’t want to move. I let it wet me. The raincloud soon passes and the sun returns. I call into a general store in a one-street town and ask for a sandwich. The girl cheerfully directs me to the next town. In the garden at the Moo Moo Cafe a big velvety-winged butterfly flaps by. I read a quirky parable about cows, corporations and styles of government and laugh out loud. A big country lunch arrives. My milkshake is fluffy and cool with scoops of icecream. A sheep bleats. Can I move here? I’m on a road with no speed limit. It curls and nature smells flood the car. I check out a print-making exhibition. The sun falls behind the mountains and oozes butterscotch into the river.
From the Daily Mail: Psychologists claim that results in English and maths tests are linked to the length of fingers. Pupils with longer ring fingers are said to be more likely to excel in numeracy while those with shorter ring fingers tend to be more adept at literacy. Scientists believe the trends can be explained by the levels of testosterone and oestrogen that children are exposed to in the womb. The sex hormones are thought to govern brain development as well as finger length. Mark Brosnan, who led the study at the University of Bath, said: “Testosterone has been argued to promote development of the areas of the brain which are often associated with spatial and mathematical skills. “Oestrogen is thought to do the same in the areas of the brain which are often associated with verbal ability. “Interestingly, these hormones are also thought to have a say in the relative lengths of our index and ring fingers. We can use measurements of these fingers as a way of gauging the relative exposure to these two hormones in the womb. “And, as we have shown through this study, we can also use them to predict ability in the key areas of numeracy and literacy.”
Continue reading ‘it’s all in your hands’
I’ve found a new religion, well at least a guru that has me flying high with not a care in the world. Okay, so my new guide isn’t quite the Dalai Lama, but at certain times, my sage is my only saviour. You see, nothing is worse for me than boarding a long haul flight only to find myself stuck in a seat that drains away all my travel excitement and leaves me dreading the next 24 hours. I tense up at the thought of being positioned right near the toilets or squeezed into the middle seat where claustrophobia and the overwhelming sense of ‘no escape’ niggles my every (or lack thereof) movement. For these reasons and more, Seat Guru is my new best friend. It is the ultimate source for airplane seating, in-flight amenities and airline information. I religiously pay a visit to Seat Guru to ascertain the best seats in the sky and use that knowledge at check-in. Here I can request the ideal position or at the very least ensure I’m nowhere near my feared seats. All you need to know is the Airline you are flying with (eg. Qantas) as well as the type of plane (eg. Boeing 747-400 3 Class). From there a detailed seat map graphic appears with in-depth seat specific comments denoting seats with limited recline, reduced legroom, and mis-aligned windows. Continue reading ‘flying high’
Somehow, in pursuit of my dreams, I inadvertently swapped espressos for express buses and midweek martinis for megaplexes. My move to the ‘burbs as a house-sitter temporarily killed my lifestyle, but the free rent helped pad my pockets as I hatched my escape from my corporate career. It also gave me temporary guardianship of a needy poodle, absent cat and three loudmouth birds (I couldn’t work out whether their various antics meant they dug my music or detested it). A handful of house-sitting websites exist to pair willing house minders with absent owners. It costs between $50 and $300 to register as a house-sitter for a year – not bad when you consider the potential rent savings. House sits can range from a few days to a few months, with the average lasting from two to four weeks. Terms are negotiable, though the obvious perks are free rent for the minder and live-in security and/or pet-minding for the owner. The sitter usually pays for utilities and fulfils the gamut of domestic duties. So, is it worth it? I’ve had plenty of offers, but not all suitable for me. I’m still waiting for the call about the cute hinterland cottage with an open fireplace and a deck overlooking the rainforest! But in the tight rental market it can work out well if you have somewhere to kit down in between sits and a ‘try anything once’ attitude.
