Would you say no to a four-day work week? You might have heard recently that American state Utah has initiated a four-day work week in the aim of saving the environment. Governor Jon Huntsman extended government-department hours from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm from Monday–Thursday to a very receptive crowd. The ‘Working 4 Utah’ initiative will be critically evaluated following a one-year period to allow for any necessary adjustments in the future. Continue reading ‘three-day weekends’
The latest film to be co-produced by Participant Media’s Jeff Skoll (producer of An Inconvenient Truth) is The Soloist, an inspiring tale based on the true story of Nathaniel Ayers. Nathaniel (Jamie Foxx) is a homeless musician who dropped out of prestigious music school Julliard due to untreated schizophrenia. Living in Skid Row in Los Angeles, Nathaniel continues his passion for music by plucking out Beethoven on a two-stringed violin. When he meets journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey, Jnr) by chance, a great friendship forms between the two. A film definitely worth seeing for anyone in need of inspiration.
map magazine proudly supports Brisbane Festival: Following triumphant tours of Asia, the USA and Europe, Brisbane Festival 2009 is proud to present Taiwan’s, Cloud Gate Dance Theatre performing its celebrated work Moon Water. Accompanied by Bach’s Six Suites for solo cello, Moon Water combines meditation, tai chi, martial arts and Chinese opera movement with modern dance, resulting in a stunning and spiritual theatrical work of art. The Daily Telegraph, UK, describes Moon Water as “A dream of a show, one of the most ravishing things I’ve seen in a theatre, an experience of beauty.” Moon Water is showing at the Playhouse, QPAC from Tuesday 29 September to Friday 2 October. Book now via qtix 136 246 or www.brisbanefestival.com.au for details.
For anyone looking for a way to spice up their Saturday this weekend, intriguing and controversial American photographer Taryn Simon will be giving a lecture at GoMA at 12 midday (prior to the opening of her exhibition at IMA), which is well worth attending. Inspired by conspiracies and secret sites in Iraq, Taryn decided to uncover the secret sites of her own country. Her subjects are confronting and compelling and touch on vast areas of interest, including science, government, nature, security and religion. Images that will shock you include those of an inbred white tiger, cadavers rotting in a ‘forensic park’ and a young woman ready to undergo hymenoplasty surgery. Shot over a four-year period, mostly with a large-format view camera, the images are sometimes ghostly, creepy, strange and cinematic. Each image is accompanied by text that’s integral to the photo. In examining what is integral to America’s foundation, mythology, and daily functioning, this exhibition provides an eerie perspective on the American mindset. Image: Taryn Simon Nuclear Waste Encapsulation and Storage Facility, Cherenkov Radiation, Hanford Site, U.S. Department of Energy, Southeastern Washington State.
Once upon a time, I bought a brand new bed. I was naively wooed by the readymade boudoirs set up in the bed factory and thrilled by the different-shaped pieces that were delivered to my door. The heady lure of bubble wrap sent me into a domestic frenzy. I was also mildly giddy with the vision I had of myself effortlessly erecting my bed over a blissful bottle of red while listening to Radio National.
Yet four hours in, on a balmy November evening, unable to risk benefiting from a ceiling fan for fear of an accidental clash with my bedhead; I was now more than flummoxed with the task before me. The instructions were blatantly wrong; the flimsy chipboard was cumbersome at best for one to negotiate solo; and the salesman downright lied when he said you didn’t need any tools to assemble my new nest. Continue reading ‘the mirage of the pret-a-porter life’
In tribute to the iconic Pantone colour swatches, Basheer Graphic Books created its own Pantone rainbow. Spanning eight metres long and composed of 5,000 different colours, this rainbow might cause a few more difficulties to compose a song in its honour.
Have you been working on that sci-fi romantic comedy for years, and haven’t got it to an audience bigger than your significant other? Well now is the time to get your script or treatment professionally developed by a panel of industry experts – and best of all, it’s completely free! QPIX – Queensland’s leading film industry development program is on a mission to unearth local talent with the best scripts and treatments to be developed for professional commercial film and TV markets. Last year’s program saw 3 features, 10 short dramas, and 5 documentaries go into development – so for all budding screen-writers out there, this is your moment! Applications close Monday 31st of August, so no time to waste!
map magazine proudly supports Brisbane Festival: See Tim Robbin’s acclaimed theatre ensemble The Actors’ Gang present The Trial of the Catonsville Nine at Brisbane Festival 2009 from Thursday 24 to Sunday 27 September. This acclaimed script by poet priest Daniel Berrigan reincarnates the dramatic 1968 trial of two catholic priests and seven fellow catholic activists who committed an act of civil disobedience. Protesting the Vietnam War, The Catonsville Nine walked into a selective service office, burning hundreds of draft files with home-made napalm. The subsequent trial and publicity galvanized the anti-war movement. While condemned as criminals in a court of law, they were hailed as patriots in the streets. For bookings go to Powertix 07 3358 8600 or visit brisbanefestival.com.au.
New Zealand. It’s big, it’s cold, it’s got great beer, sensational bouldering, mountains to climb, reflections in lakes, musical bus stops, wonderful peeps, many sheep(s), and a whole lot of good times!
Check out my latest adventure from the land of the cuzzie bro…
I’m not sure why Calvin Harris needed 15 bikini-clad models to make this film clip. Nevertheless, it’s still clever. For Calvin Harris’ new single ‘For the Weekend’, 34 touch pads were painted with conductive ink and connected to a computer via some clever electronics. The performers stand on the pads, and touch hands to complete a circuit and trigger a sound. The different combinations of pads trigger the different sounds needed to complete the track.
Whispers of exciting news for the Brisbane food scene this week! Word is there’s a daily produce market planned for the John Reid pavilion at the RNA showgrounds. If you’ve ever visited Melbourne’s Queen Victoria markets, you’ll understand the excitement.
It has been eleven long and torturous years, for most of which we have been floundering in a barren wasteland of Charlie Sheen sitcoms and an endless smorgasbord of reality TV tripe, but “the show about nothing” is set for the reunion of all reunions. We heard the rumours some months ago, but now photographic evidence that Larry David and the Seinfeld crew – Jerry Seinfeld, Michael Richards, Jason Alexander and Julia Louis-Dreyfus – have reteamed for an episode of David’s sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. It will be the first time the entire cast will be seen together on screen since the 1998 finale of the show. Seinfeld was a cultural phenomenon that has spawned many imitations, but none have ever come close to recreating the hilarious, petty injustices of life. We can only wait with baited breath to see what gold the team will treat us with when the Curb episode screens in September. Stay tuned!
Regarded by his peers for his unique photographic aesthetic and minimalist sensibilities, photographer Boone Speed has found himself in some places most people have never heard of during his career. Boone’s photographs have been the subject of editorial and commercial campaigns, ranging from travel essays and action sports stories, to intimate portraiture and fine art. His ability to rock climb has seen him being singled out by companies such as Patagonia, Nike, National Geographic Adventure and Nixon to help them tell and sell some stories. Boone’s ability to capture nature and adventure sports is incredible. In each photograph he manages to focus on either the sport or the setting and provide each element with the same sense of greatness; the sportsperson and nature are equally as mesmerising in each of Boone’s images. For a glimpse into the life of a photographer with action-packed working days visit Feature Shoot.
The lower Bay TTC subway station in Toronto was transformed into an interactive installation and party venue last week by local artist Justin Broadbent. Absolut vodka commissioned Broadbent, 28, to interpret the phrase, “In an Absolut world, opportunities always pop up.” The platform and each parked subway car had it’s own theme. There was a red one with chandeliers, a green one that was a literal jungle of plants, and one with a “Love Is…” love note vending machine (pictured). My love note read “yesterday I talked to the universe and it told me that you were “really important”. I said “but they are so small” and the universe replied “small is my favourite thing. xox”. OK, so maybe it was all just some shameless marketing for Absolut, but “Love Is…” (to my urban planner heart) a fun use of urban space that at least can make people rethink and see the untapped creativity and potential of places.
Oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off) stars as a man living alone in the devasted world of 2055. He looks back at archive footage from 2007 and asks “Why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?” The Age of Stupid is a 90-minute film about climate change, set in the future, which premiered in the UK in March, 2009. It will make its debut in Australia over the next few days, depending on what city you live in. For those living in Brisbane, The Age of Stupid premieres at Balmoral Cineplex on Thursday August 20. This is the first drama about climate change to hit the big screen and it’s had rave reviews from activists and politicians. The year 2055 isn’t too far away. If you want to see what your children and you might be living through later in life, watch this movie. Check the website for all movie premiere times and locations.
Some great news this week, the world’s largest food chain, McDonalds has recently announced that they are moving towards using only free-range eggs in their restaurants. They purchase over 70 million eggs per year. In even more good news, supermarket giant Woolworths has also just announced that they will halve the number of caged egg brands on their shelves by 2010. A move as a result of customer trends they say. As a strong supporter of free-range organic eggs, I’m all for this move forward. I need to stress however that while free-range chooks are without doubt better than caged birds, the term ‘free-range’ is a fairly loose and varied one. It seems that a number of free-range accreditation organisations exist, each with their own definition of the word. Take a look at this table on Choice website for an easy to compare table listing the standards of some of the different free-range and certified organic governing bodies in Australia (and interestingly Europe). To finish, here’s an interesting fact I learnt today from my friendly local butcher - hormones have not been legally used in Australian chicken or egg production since the 1960’s. I now feel pretty silly for thinking that this was a point of difference when purchasing poultry advertised as hormone-free! Does your butcher advertise their poultry as hormone free?
Mama’s homemade apple pie just got a bit techy. The recipe and instructions can be found via Evil Mad Scientist.
The antidote for shaking off the shackles of winter is to get outside and be active – and the best remedy is running. No fancy equipment, you can do it anywhere, anytime; it sculpts your body and clears your mind – and it doesn’t cost you a thing. To run is to be free, and right now, it’s running season! Set some goals and you will be amazed out how quickly you reach them, if the health benefits to get you hooked, then the endorphins most certainly will. Challenge yourself by signing up to one of the many fun runs that are coming up over the next few months. As Oprah Winfrey said “Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.”
In Queensland Theatre Company’s latest production, Ninety, William (Kym Gyngell) is an actor about to hit the big time. He agrees to meet with his ex-wife Isabel for an hour and a half of his valuable time. During this time she is determined to convince him that they are still in love. Isabel is desperate to reignite their passion, but the only hitch is that William is about to marry an actress called Vera. Showing at the Cremorne Theatre until September 5, Ninety is the fresh production by playwright Joanna Murray-Smith (The Female of the Species), which shows that sometimes you can be more in love than you might realise, or less than you care to admit.
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