I recently had a discussion with a mate about the difference between sunset and sunrise from the perspective of light. If you were placed in a completely foreign environment and were not aware of the time, would there be any characteristics of light that would lead you to assume (or know) that it was morning or evening? If we simply sat and watched, we would see it getting lighter or darker. So we came up with a little experiment to test our powers of perception. I have created a gallery of sunrise and sunset images that I have shot over the years. There are 16 images in total, have a look at each one and see if you can tell if it’s morning or evening. Enjoy!
the best things in life are free
If the hip pocket is pinching a little, there’s no need to stay in on a Saturday night because QPAC are providing some of the best free gigs in town. Nights Outside is a series of free, all ages gigs that showcase the best in local and national sounds. Some past line-ups have included Tex Perkins, Yves Klein Blue and Sparkadia. This Saturday night, check out Brisbane favourites and Triple J Unearthed artists, The John Steel Singers, who will be supported by The Gallant and Yeo and The Fresh Goods. Known for their quirky pop-driven tunes, laced with brass instruments and up-beat guitar riffs and fresh from supporting The Polyphonic Spree and touring with Yves Klein Blue on the Blue Steel Tour, they are pausing for the free QPAC gig before bouncing off around Australia supporting The Grates in October. Phew. So catch them while you can.
For those of you who enjoyed skating documentary Dogtown and Z-Boyz, a documentary about the pioneering 1970’s Zephyr Skate Team, then you might want to hunt down a copy of Deathbowl to Downtown. This movie goes deeper than just skating to unite a documentary with an insightful and artful exploration of skateboarding and its culture. On one level it’s about street skating, but it’s also a chronological perspective of the sport’s history from the parks and pools of the 70s, ramp skating in the 80s, to its street ascendancy of the 90s – as seen from a New York perspective. In this movie, New York City with it’s history, varying cultural precincts and electric atmosphere, is cast as one of the main characters, and whilst the evolution of skating is depicted throughout the film, so too is the Continue reading ‘deathbowl to downtown’
Darcy Stratford, 34
What do you do? I own Fabrik Hair in The Valley. What are you wearing today? Nobody jeans, Onitsuka Tiger shoes and a jumper from Ultra Suite. Describe your style? Today, very relaxed. Where is your favourite place? Barcelona in Spain, and also Brisbane. What is the best advice you have ever received? I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ‘Make sure you put sunscreen on your head’! Who is your rolemodel? Myself and my sister because we’re both hard workers. Would you say that you are eco-friendly? Definitely, I always try to make an effort to be eco-friendly in the business, around the house, and just generally. I don’t go crazy about it but at the same time I do make an effort. Which website has caught your eye recently? I’m addicted to YouTube at the moment – I can’t get off it!
Every year we can read about the top 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example are transforming the world - thanks to Time Magazine. Which makes me wonder about those persons who have the drive, ability, inspiration and intention to transform the world, but may be unable to given the circumstances they were born into. Who is the world missing out on - because of the current failures of society?
Continue reading ‘Future Inspiration’
Languid Latin jazz as it should be, the sounds of The Sahib Shihab Quintet conjures up the smooth ambience of a 1950s cocktail party. Iconic saxophonist Sahib Shihad (born Edward Gregory), leads his genius quintet through 36 minutes of delicate jazz stylings that make you feel naked without a martini in hand. From gentle bossa nova to more upbeat samba, Seeds is an enjoyable auditory journey led by a jazz master who learned his trade playing alongside the legendary likes of Thelonius Monk, Dizzy Gillespie and Quincy Jones.
Since last Friday, myself and other members of the map team (Alice and Mikki) have been partaking in the 100-mile diet. Today is the end of week one. Three more weeks to go. So far, it has reaffirmed my love for cooking. This diet makes you cook. If you don’t cook – you don’t eat. The only thing I’m really missing is a form of bread. But we will be learning how to make artisan bread soon from the lovely Angela at Food Connect. I’ve managed to make pizza dough with flour from Kialla Pure Foods (available at Wray Organic), eggs and water. My next challenge is gnocchi – to be made out of potatoes I bought from the Kelvin Grove Markets, which were grown in Greenbank, flour (Kialla) and local eggs, which are relatively easy to find. What I am finding from the diet, is that it lends itself to making Italian food. But coming from a diet that consisted largely of Asian food, I’m finding it tough living without noodles, rice and soy sauce. Continue reading ‘100-mile diet: end of week one’
map’s premiere screening of waltz with bashir
An old friend tells Ari Folman about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs – every night the same number of beasts. After thinking it might be connected to his part in the Israeli Army mission during the 1982 Lebanon War, the two men conclude that it’s not. Baffled by this recurring dream, Ari decides to interview old friends and comrades from around the world, to discover the truth about that time and himself. Nominated for ‘Best Animated Feature’ at the Oscars, Waltz With Bashir, directed by Ari Folman, is a gripping documentary about one man’s quest to discover the truth. Waltz With Bashir opens on September 11. For your chance to attend map magazine’s premiere screening at Dendy George Street on Wednesday August 20 @ 6:45 pm email alice@mapmagazine.com.au before Tuesday the 19th of August.
100-mile wine
When we first took on the challenge of the 100-mile diet, a lot of people asked important questions such as, “what about bread?”, “what about chocolate?” and “what about alcohol?”, which gave us pause for thought. We’ve been steadily trying to research and re-create important staples such as bread (and are yet to find local chocolate) but we have tracked down some local alcohol – in fact there’s many local wineries (and even a local distillery) that create award-winning alcoholic beverages from local fruit. Queensland’s biggest vineyard is Clovely Estate, a family owned and run business based in the South Burnett Valley. Spread over 175 hectares of grapes, the vineyard produces a wide variety of fruit-driven wines, including chardonnay, semillon and shiraz. The best part is Continue reading ‘100-mile wine’
Ras el Hanout is a spice blend that I can no longer do without in my kitchen, two years ago I had never even heard of it! It originated in Morocco and each spice merchant blends their own unique recipe. Made from up to 30 different herbs, spices and roots, these recipes have been handed down through generations. Translated it means ‘top of the shop’ referring to the calibre of the spices used to make the blend. Containing such a variety of spices means that a merchant’s Ras el Hanout is a great indication on the overall quality of the vendour. A top grade Ras el Hanout indicates a top grade vendour. Standard ingredients seem to be paprika, cardamom, clove, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, mace, nutmeg, peppercorn, and turmeric. Depending on the blend though you may also find cubeb-berries, grains of paradise, dill seeds, saffron, orris root and galangal and many others.To make a spiced cous cous or rice dish, just add ½ a teaspoon of Ras el Hanout per cup. Add some into a lamb burger mix or use in tagine dishes with chicken or lamb. My favourite dish is a chicken, green olive and preserved lemon tagine served with plain rice.
The past two years have been big, to say the least, for Brisbane’s indie-music scene. The Grates and Yves Klein Blue have been touring the world and the nation and spreading Brisbane’s musical love, whilst The Gin Club continues to receive five-star reviews for its mix of rock, pop, folk, blues and country. To mark this accomplishment and to recognise Brisbane’s unsung heroes, Before Hollywood, a Brisbane-based music blog about Brisbane music, decided it was time to shine a little light on the up-and-coming and established names of the city’s music scene. So, they created Stranded, which features tracks from Gin Club, Yeo and The Fresh Goods, Little Scout, The John Steel Singers and Tragic Athletic. Before Hollywood extend an invitation to all those fans of Brisbane’s indie-music scene to attend Stranded’s launch on Friday August 15 at The Zoo. The compilation (three discs) will be available for sale at only $15 with all proceeds going to the Red Cross’ soon to be established Centre For Young People in the Fortitude Valley. Continue reading ’stranded will launch at the zoo this friday’
Passionate and smart people are sexy. Passionate, smart and environmentally-minded people are hot! EarthFirst.com have put out their list of the 25 Hottest Guys and Girls in Green. The Guys List. The Girls List. Its a bit too easy to say some actors and celebrities are the hottest guys and girls, but look past that and it’s a list of some amazing people (including some people I bet you already have crushes on).
bright sparks unite.
As reported here on Street Editors in July, the annual Brightest Young Minds (BYM) Summit was held in Sydney, hosting 100 of the nation’s emerging leaders in creativity, technology, science, humanities, media and other sectors. Their task was to innovate and collaborate to develop eight new social innovation concepts in five exhausting days, with these ideas pitched to fellow delegates, sponsors and investors on the final night.
For some of these delegates, one of the more important items on the agenda is to raise funds for the BYM Foundation so it can continue its good work in sponsoring all delegates to attend the summit. So they have rallied together to offer their most valuable asset: the power of 10 bright young minds consulting for 10 hours each to the highest bidder. Offering this package through eBay, they are targeting anyone wanting to inject a bit of creativity into a business idea, attract a new generation of enthusiastic employees or help someone kick-start their own social entrepreneurship venture; all money raised in this venture will go back to the BYM Foundation.
If bidding on E-bay isn’t your style, but you would like to support Australia’s new generation of leaders, you can make a secure contribution online, or register to find out more about next year’s summit.
One of the many delights of travel, for those who enjoy simple pleasures, is that moment when you stumble across an unassuming bookstore tucked away in a charismatic pocket of a foreign metropolis. The kind of place where, from the moment the bell above the doorway delicately announces your arrival, you enter a wonderful world of imagination, illustration and thousands of pages just waiting to be turned. Such a nook beckons you to linger for hours on end, the day’s itinerary swept away by the promise of imaginative fodder, and it’s one you return to with fondness upon each visit back to that same city. When in Paris, it might be The Red Wheelbarrow; in Tokyo, Shibuya Publishing Booksellers or Cow Books; in Brussels, Posada. But when in Singapore, it’s BooksActually where travellers go to rest their weary feet and excercise the depths of their imaginations. Continue reading ‘a traveller’s delight’
map magazine has finally created a facebook account and will endeavour to keep you uptodate on things that are happening in the land of map. Your all welcome to join and for this incredibly special and exciting event we will be sending out prizes for the lucky few who join at random times. Thanks to Morgs at Urban Grind for pushing us along.
A nearly translucent squid glows in reds and purples. There are nearly 300 different species of squid, found in oceans worldwide. Beautiful.
100-mile map
Thank you for the well wishes for our 100-mile diet adventure! For those who are really keen on the finer details, here is a map outlining the exact area from which we must source our food for a month. While some may say we’re unlucky that almost half our area is composed of the ocean, I say we’re pretty lucky with all the amazing food producing regions that lay within our area. With our subtropical climate and expanse of farmlands, we’re in a much better position than we would be in most other countries, despite the fact that we’re in the middle of winter! Can you imagine trying the 100-mile diet during the middle of winter in Sweden?
watch where you walk
Joakim Oscarsson, is a Swedish designer exploring ideas of products that are highly interactive with the people and the environments in which they occupy. The ideas in his folio are unbuilt, but still intriguing nonetheless. One such idea is “Growth” which is an interactive interior designed to encourage more people to use the stairs for some everyday exercise. The idea is that each time someone uses the stairs a new branch of leaves appears on an electronic wallpaper. Together people contribute to the growth of a beautiful blooming entrance, and at the same time the growth of their own health. As new branches randomly appears and old ones slowly fades away and a forever changing pattern on the wall would be made. As part of Brisbane City Council’s Inhabit program, there is currently an artwork at the GPO (the shortcut between Queen and Elizabeth Street) which works on a similar idea around people’s walking behaviour and interactive projections. Continue reading ‘watch where you walk’
Established in 1990, the Duchy Originals brand was a by-product of HRH The Prince of Wales’ successful decision to convert the Royal Duchy Home Farm in Gloucestershire to organic farming methods in 1986. At a time when people were demanding cheaper, more convenient foods and generally not very concerned with where their food was coming from, HRH had hoped to promote the environmental and commercial benefits of organic farming and to help protect and sustain the countryside and wildlife. His foresight proved extremely successful and there are now over 200 organic products in the range, all quintessentially British and of exceptional quality. Providing these valuable rural jobs for the local community not only preserves the environment but also traditional skills and heritage. Above all of this, all profits made from sales go directly to the The Princes’ Charities Foundation with over £6 million donated since they first started making a profit in 1999. My favourites are the Butterscotch Shortbread, Strawberry & Mint Cordial and the Traditional Lemon Curd.
