Noteboek consists of 4 short experimental films by Evelien Lohbeck, which uses animation to challenge illusions and expectations.
Monthly Archive for April, 2009
“That’s the trouble with words. There’s either never enough or too many”. So confided in me a homeless man, whose only possession was a crumpled book whose cover, and pages, seemed smeared and sealed beyond legibility. He must have been talking about the Sydney Writers Festival, due to start on May 18. For many the annual event appeals for two key reasons. The first, is a chance to hear some amazing insights and live readings from some of the world’s most topical, and respected writers. And the second is to attend workshops and tutorials on how to write better, in what theme, with how many characters, or just, how to start. I attended the closing event for the Festival in ‘08 and thouroughly enjoyed listening and drifting to three very different writing styles and stories. It’s a treat. But perhaps not enough to satisfy the homeless man whose own story evaporated into the angles and lights of a Sydney waking up, as he shuffled onwards, muse tucked to armpit.
Fans of Irish comic Dylan Moran and his portrayal of bitter bookshop owner Bernard Black in the BBC’s Black Books may wish to tune in to Brisbane Powerhouse’s limited season of A Film With Me In It. The dark tale starts with Mark (Mark Doherty, who also wrote the screenplay), who is a money-troubled, out of work actor whose day starts to go bad when his girlfriend Sally discovers that he hasn’t paid the rent for a couple of months. Mark knows that Sally (Amy Huberman) will go and tell the landlord (Keith Allen) as soon as possible. He begins to see his world and his shabby apartment – which also houses his paralysed brother (David Doherty) and dog – start to fall apart at the seams. But his day is about to take a turn for the worse. With nowhere to go and everything to hide, Mark confides in his best mate Pierce (Dylan Moran) and the two begin to concoct a way out of the awful mess around them. A Film With Me In It is showing at Brisbane Powerhouse from 26–30 April.
the brief.
In recognition of the power of visual communication, Greenpeace Australia in collaboration with The University of South Australia, has launched The Greenpeace Design Awards. The brief is to design an A4 poster that delivers the message ‘Be a Part of the Action’. Entries are open until June 15, from when 8 judges will cut the cream from the clutter. Kudos not coins will be bestowed upon the winning entry, which will be considered for use in major Greenpeace Australia Pacific campaigns. Look here and here to start the cogs turning. Good luck!
While wallpaper is experiencing a stylish redux in the home, designer wallpaper is making its way to a computer screen near you. Get rid of boring computer backgrounds forever by book-marking a few handy sites that boast original and creative wallpapers. Kindred Spirits is a joint project between two bloggers who share a love of all things pretty, individual and stylish. Catering to the fashion conscious, the site uses colour schemes according to the latest season’s Pantone colour report. Featuring a range of free artist-designed wallpapers, Kindred Spirit also features a small Q&A with each artist about his or her work. Graphic design fans may wish to look to the Kitsune Noir’s Desktop Wallpaper Project, a wondrous archive of visual matter that features animation, artwork and quirky patterns. The site’s author started the project by writing to all his favourite artists and designers to see if they would contribute a wallpaper design. Releasing one new desktop wallpaper every Wednesday (California time), Kitsune Noir lets you chop and change your computer desktop design just as often.
new additions
In an inner city suburb lies a very special village, full of friendly faces, vibrant bars, restaurants and captivating artists; the description of none- other than West End. In the near future West End will be the home of two new live music venues, bringing in a bit of the old with the new. On the 29th of April, The Drones will be travelling up from Melbourne to open the new Hi- Fi bar. Now in the final stages of construction, The Hi-Fi will replace The Pavillion on Boundary Street, West End. Continue reading ‘new additions’
I would just like to express to everyone reading: back up your hard drives! I have just recently drained every bit of tears and time into trying to recover all of my files from a hard drive that decided to format. As traumatic as this process was, it made me remember how kind some people are to spend their spare time helping you fix your problems. From 120GB, 35GB was recovered. The above photo is one of the files recovered and is from a series of shots I took at the last Tame Impala concert.
Those of you missed the muddy musical love-in of the Byron Bay Blues Festival last weekend may wish to treat yourselves to the Lior concert at Brisbane Powerhouse next Thursday. With his lilting voice and laid-back tunes, the Israeli-born Australian singer-songwriter made a splash on the scene in 2005, with the release of his debut album, Autumn Flow. With a handful of Aria nominations and a lot of radio airtime, Lior’s album went on to become one of the biggest independent albums of the year. His initial success spawned a follow-up live CD. Currently on tour before heading back to the studio for his third album, Lior has teamed up with the Tailem Strong Quartet and shadow puppet masters Stephen Mushin and Anna Parry to create a visually and aurally stunning live show.
are you doing it?
“…and the ones who are, aren’t doing it very well ” (That is the end of the anonymous quote that’s missing from the photo). This is part of the “What Has Architecture Done For You Lately?” exhibition currently at the Toronto Design Exchange. The exhibition explores architecture through perceptions of success, equality, emotion, health, and the environment.
etamilc.
It’s climate backwards. In March this year, the tiny atolls of the Maldive Nation committed to joining “the world carbon club”, those countries who achieve carbon neutrality. Five other countires - New Zealand, Monaco, Costa Rica, Iceland and Norway have also signed up to the UN-backed plan to become zero emitters. For The Maldives, it will take ten years. For Australia, I don’t think the prospect has been publicised. Continue reading ‘etamilc.’
Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Russell is the President of the William V.S. Tubman College of Technology - located in the “City of Harper” in Liberia. Dr. Davis-Russell, having just retired from work in the USA, has chosen to, instead of simply “retiring”, to share her wealth of knowledge and experience from a life in education with a community that desperately needs that assistance.
As a result, Dr. Davis-Russell and her husband have packed up their worldly belongings and moved to Liberia, where they have managed, with the help of a lot of fund raising, to re-build this college of higher education. Continue reading ‘education “building” in Liberia’
Donna Hay’s combination of simple recipes using basic ingredients accompanied by elegant photography really struck a chord with home cooks the world over. With 17 cookbooks to date (translated into 9 different languages), her own bi-monthly magazine (of which she is editor) and a weekly newspaper column, you may wonder what she could possibly do next. Introducing her new range of bake-at-home cupcake, cookie and brownie kits. Each kit is simple to make, has no added artificial colours or preservatives and tastes like real home-baked treats. ‘Triple Choc’ and ‘Choc Chunk’ cookies have real chocolate chunks and are crispy on the outside and soft in the centre as is the ‘Oat and Cranberry’ version that has customers coming back for seconds. The ‘Molten Chocolate Chunk Brownies’ are full of dark, chocolatey gooeyness and taste better than any other brownie I’ve ever made! There are also three different types of cupcakes to suit everyone’s taste and they even come with their own Donna Hay cupcake papers. If you’re to try only one of these kits, make it the brownies – they are seriously good! Continue reading ’sweet treats’
Sometimes it is when we no longer have something, do we realize how much that something meant to us, or in this case meant to those people who were listening. Recently, a community radio station in Liberia, went off the air. Certainly to most of the people reading this blog, the significance of a radio station going “off-air” probably does not seem too important. However, to the daily lives of people in a community and a nation who are still recovering from 14 years of civil war; people with minimal access to news of the community and the nation, this “off-air” period was very significant. The people no longer had the daily reminders of life elsewhere. And in that silence of isolation, when you have no mobile phone, no internet, no television, no newspapers, and no radio, especially when so recently you had no way of knowing if life in your community was to keep on living by the end of the same day, you come to realise how very important the concept of positive media and positive news is to maintaining and creating community strength and personal inspiration.
I’ve been playing around with time lapse videos and also stumbled upon slow motion videos. This beautiful ad for Schweppes was shot with a camera that takes 10,000 frames per second.
Like a day turning almost imperceptibly into night, Polaroid film is slowly fading into oblivion. It was a sad day for photography enthusiasts across the world when, in early 2008, Polaroid announced a landmark decision – it was no longer going to produce Polaroid instant film. With rumours that there is enough film left in the world to last until the dying light of 2009, people have been buying up big in an attempt to stockpile and save the precious film. Following the announcement, and subsequent public outpouring of disbelief and outrage, there has been a resurgence of love and dedication towards the iconic film. One such source of love has come in the form of For The Love of Light blog. Continue reading ‘long live polaroid’
I wanted to share with you a random act of kindness that I witnessed tonight. There was a light snow falling in Toronto, it was cold, and I’m walking down the street when in the distance I see a man coming towards us in a wheelchair. He was seated, both ankles looked like they were in casts, but he was shuffling along with his feet and toes. I noticed his feet were bare and could only imagine that they must be numb against the cold damp concrete. Two young guys walking near us, paused to ask the man - “do you have socks?”. He replied “no” and to that response, one of guys crouches down, begins to take off his shoes and gives his socks to the man in the wheelchair. Not everyone would have asked that question. Not everyone would have made that offer. Maybe to him it was just giving away socks, but it was a beautiful act of kindness that made me smile about the world. Be kind to each other.
Ever see a baby elephant take its first steps?
I never thought I would be ‘awwwing’ at a fish-eye camera that fits in the palm of your hand. It’s just so cute! This SuperHeadz Fisheye camera by Demekin is the first 110 camera with a fisheye lens. It also has a hole at the bottom for a tripod. This is the perfect party camera to have stashed away in your bag ready to start snapping. For some reason, fisheye lenses produce consistently flattering photos that are fun to take and less damaging to friends’ egos when posted on facebook. I’m not sure if they’re available in Australia, but I’m sure you could purchase them online.
Fresh from a sell-out season at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, La La Parlour are embracing the unique performance skills of its members – from burlesque to angle grinding, acrobatics, dance and cabaret – to present a unique, awe-inspiring and visually arresting show. Mixing a tantalising touch of burlesque, circus, aerial acrobatics, sideshow stunts and old-world glamour, La La Parlour’s Garnished is leaping into Brisbane for a limited 3-night season. Combining the humour, physicality and ladylike talents of Kellie Vella and Tigerlil – with guest gent stars Rudi Mineur and Mark Winmill – Garnished promises sparkle, feathers, chorus lines, contortion, aerial high-jinks and beefy sailor boys. With a short season running from April 15–18, check out the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Art for details and tickets.
Image credit: Stills by Hill.
Brisbane is buzzing at the moment with new places to dine out. Some already open, some about to. Doors are now open at Libertine, a new restaurant at the Barracks centre in Paddington. Some may be familiar with the Sydney restaurant of the same name and it’s the same team behind this one. Their French-Vietnamese fusion menu is fabulous. The fact that Lien Yeomans (Green Papaya) helped create it just may have something to do with it. Like the Sydney restaurant, it combines dark timber and deep-red furnishings, moody lighting and gorgeous chandeliers creating a truly seductive atmosphere. Continue reading ‘new brisbane bites’
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