So close...

Sometimes I know just how this little guy feels...

Spring has sprung

My backyard is alive with all the little charms of Spring.
Big bright flowers, with little Bees dashing between them, while my cat chases them across the lawn.

Birthday Fun

So it was my birthday this Tuesday, and I managed, despite it being mid-week, to have a little bit of fun.
I worked in the morning and got home to Cody baking an AMAZING cake for me.



Now, the cake looks great from the outside - but it's only once you cut it open do you realize just how amazing it is...



After having some cake and polishing off a bottle of wine I headed to Gerties for dinner and drinks with a few friends. It was an early end given the fact it was a school-night, but I managed to stay out the entire night :)

Before the Sun comes up

Will you remember how it felt?
The slow dance of candlelight on the walls
We shared a moment
That we created together
While the rest of the world was just waking up
Laying there
Swimming in your innocent morning eyes
Can we be crazy for just a little longer?
Isn't it perfect how the memories stay the same
You are home to me

The Resurection

So last week I breathed life back into my Facebook account. And can I just say, that after being off the site for over 3 months, my reintroduction has been grand.

After a discussion with a good friend of mine, I realised that the problems I had with Facebook weren't with the site, but with the way I was using it.
I came to understand that it's alot like the way people discuss firearm deaths. The gun doesn't kill people, the person controlling it kills them. Facebook is a bit like this for me, I was blaming the site for all of the problems I thought it had, but at the end of the day - I'm in charge of the way I use it.

It's silly and almost ignorant to think that I can dig my heels in while the rest of the world continues to change and develop - In the time I was away from facebook I found that the people I still see and talked to regularly were the ones I expected I would, and in some cases there was more effort from some people once I was gone. Just because we survived without it before I don't think was excuse enough to remove myself from it. We survived without electricity and running water too...

I've gone back to Facebook with clear expectations of why I'm there. Purely to keep in touch with friends and family. I'm not wasting time on quizes, I'm not spending hours browsing through random people's pictures, I'm not adding random people, or people I never talk to - it's not a show of all the people I've ever met, but just for the people that are in my life right now.

Strawberry Muffins and Toffee

Today Cody and I decided, was the perfect day for some baking!



I made strawberry muffins and Cody made toffee.



At first I was going to make cookies, but after I made my dough I decided I wanted to make muffins - I managed to transform my cookie dough into some amazing muffin batter with a few extra ingredients.



We decided that the 'monster' themed sprinkles would be perfect for the toffee, and got a little carried away with the red food dye I found in my cupboard.
I'm happy to report that both of our culinary pursuits were a success!









We sat down on the back deck after our baking and had some plunger coffee that tasted like ass, but made up for it with delicious muffins that even the cat liked.

Selfish Altruism?

This week I have been throwing a few ideas about philanthropic pursuits between some of my dear friends. I have decided that despite not having an amazing pool of resources, I'm still capable of doing something to improve the daily lives of Brisbane's homeless.

Homelessness in Australia - This site gives a little insight into the topic of homelessness in Australia

When I see homeless people I usually find myself trying to think of what I would do if I were in their position, and how much I would welcome the smallest gesture of help. Winter this year was particularly cold (Yes, even in Tropical Queensland), alot of Australia's homeless population migrate north in winter to escape the cold weather as best they can.
I was out in the valley a few moths ago, and I was suffering from a nasty flu, and couldn't wait to just get home and have a shower then jump into my bed. There was a woman propped up in a doorway near the Night Owl in Brunswick Street - she had a nasty cough, and only a dirty old blanket between her and the cold. I went into the store and grabbed a couple of packets of Anticol and gave them to her. I know that a gesture like this might not have a profound effect on her in the long term, but I think it's little things like this, that we take for granted, that can collectively make a difference to the quality of a persons life.

I think too many people justify a persons situation based on the idea that 'everything is just' - that they must have done something to deserve to be in such a position, or that they aren't doing anything to get themselves out of it. This really is just a way of avoiding feeling compelled to help out, and stops you from feeling bad when you are walking home to bed, with a full stomach and clean clothes and see somebody slumped on a park bench or looking for a nook to sleep in for the night.

I'm not going to pretend that I will be crusading about the city, making everything ok - I would just like to make it a little better.

After chatting with Sharon (who has offered her time and resources to help get the project up and running) I've decided on two small ideas that I'd like to execute.

1 - Basic toiletries: A toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a bar of soap, a washcloth and deodorant. I'd like to get together a few packs containing these items and distribute them.

2 - Book swap with coffee and tea: I love reading a book and sipping on a cup of tea, and I think that it's a little luxury that really doesn't take much to make happen. I have heard of a project in Melbourne/Sydney in which a person had a huge collection of books, that they loaded in their car and displayed at a designated location in the city on a certain night of the week - people were encouraged to come and grab a book, and when they were done with it, bring it back and swap it for a new one. I'd like to do something similar to this, and offer a warm drink while I'm doing it.

We may not individually have the capacity to make major changes to the situation of homelessness, but a collection of small gestures combined can make life a little more pleasant and bearable.

If you have any ideas or would like to help out in any way, please let me know. I'm aiming to have things up an running by October :)

Home Calling

I've been thinking recently about how much I need to go home and visit my friends, family and my beach.
As some of my friends know, I used to live right on the beach in Nambucca Heads - which really is one of the most amazing beach towns in Australia.



I was lucky enough to have the beach at my back door. Swimming with dolpins before going to school was not at all unusual. The sounds of the surf came through my window rather than from a relaxation CD.

I found these pictures, taken by Clark Little, that made me a little nostalgic about my old home.








Clark Little

Sally Mann

Sally Mann is one of my favourite photographers. She works with black and white images and has recently moved on to collodion photography; which is simply amazing.
I'd seen some of her images floating around before, but when I looked some more of her work I fell in love. She captures such delicate moments.

Bicycle Race

Recently I've been drooling over vintage bicycles.



I really need to invest in one. I'm picturing Sunday afternoon bike rides around New Farm or South Bank - for the first few weeks or so, then having an ornamental bike in the garage....

AmaX&Yzing

I ended up attenting the Big Sound Festival on Wednesday night with Jo and Squincy. Joanna was set on seeing Hungry Kids of Hungary and I had Tim Carroll (which sealed the deal for my attendance).

What a night it turned out to be!

We had dinner at Jo's house - which he dear mother kindly prepared for us, then we headed into the valley via train.

After running all over the valley to various venues and seeing a myriad of amazing artists (The Middle East, Tim Carroll, The Basics and Philidelphia Grand Jury were my highlights) our night ended, where it always should, at Ric's. While at Ric's I was casually stalking Wally De Backer (Gotye) and pounced on him when he was standing beside me at the bar - I think I did a pretty good job of not being overly stalkerish and demanding a lock of hair, I opted for a simple compliment, from which a little conversation and an invitation to his gig on Friday night at X&Y were born (Well, it's not exactly invites only - but he told me to come, and I didn't see anyone else getting a private invite).

Long story short I had an amazing night, which had the three of us arriving home at about 3am. I got a measley 1.5 hours sleep at Jo's before I had to wake up and walk to the train station to retrieve my car - in the FREEZING cold pitch black morning. I started work at 6am you see - it was a devil shift, with a severe lack of sleep and a hangover to boot.

Tonight Sharon is coming over and I'm making her dinner, then Ben, her and I are heading in to Ric's to watch out friend Alex's DJ set at Ric's.

And the cherry on my amazing week was the distinction I received in my stats exam!

Timothy Carroll

I recently stumbled upon an artist, that believe it or not, has been right under my nose here in Brisbane.
Timothy Carroll's debut album 'For Bread and Circuses' has been getting a thrashing from my iPod for the last month or so. Listening to his songs for me, has been almost like playing pass-the-parcel, under each layer for me there has been a new surprise awaiting discovery.




At first I was mesmerized by the calm folk-feel to his music, and his soft, unobtrusive vocals. After listening to the album on repeat for this past month, I've begun to really take away so much more from his poetic lyrics, that flow without seeming forced. His songs touch on so many subjects, from dissolved romance to the destruction of the Indeginous Australian culture and the displacement of those affected.

The song that I find myself seeking out is 'To Frozen Lakes', it seems to gently pull you into a daydream of sorts, once it ends you find yourself almost having to bring your floating thoughts back into the room.

At uni last semester the sociology component of my subject saw me focusing on the plight of the Indigenous Australian, and finding that a figure within the Aboriginal community who has had such a profound impact on the progression of the fight for equal rights was actually a family friend and colleauge of my father. He was one of the only two Aboriginals to participate in the instigation of the Freedom Rides in Australia.

I didn't have a clue that he was so politcally active until I began researcing for assignments and stumbled upon his name associated with a report on the Freedom Rides. I called my dad when I found the article to make sure it was the same man I was thinking of, and dad confirmed it for me.

After discussions with alot of people in regards to the past, present and future of Indigenous Australians, I found that so many people are so uneducated and ignorant as to the consequences that the past is having, and will continue to have on the Aboriginal people.

I seem to have gone off on a tangent, but I can link this aside to a track from Timothy Carroll's album, 'Forgotten Tongues', which I think is so simple, yet entirely capable of telling a story that so many people have failed to communicate.

Forgotten Tongues


She sings her songs,
in forgotten tongues,
for her stolen sons and daughters.
While the thieves that stole her name,
drunk upon the spoils,
accuse her of the same,
and scatter worthless coins.

In the grain of the wood,
I saw what I wanted to see.
Through the lines on your face,
I saw the woman you used to be.
And while the echoes of the crimes
still whisper out in this city.
Now the holder of your songs stands singing in
our streets.

This city of new,
you know she moans and sighs,
with a thousand eyes,
On you.

She’s aching in her bones,
for the stories that she holds.
She’s desperate not to trust,
but careful not to crush.

In the grain of the wood,
I saw what I wanted to see.
Through the lines on your face,
I saw the woman you used to be.
And while the echoes of the crimes
still whisper out in this city.
Now the holder of your songs stands singing in
our streets.

Learn the words you used to loathe,
the words they use as chains.
sign your name in the paper cage,
you know they’ll never change.

In the grain of the wood,
I saw what I wanted to see.
Through the
lines on your face,
I saw the woman you used to be.
And while the echoes of
the crimes still whisper out in this city.
Now the holder of your songs stands
singing in our streets.



Tim will be performing in the Brisbane Festival. Ticktes are a measley $10! So if you're even mildly interested, I would reccommend going along!

Paint my town red

I came upon these pieces of graff-art when I was in The Valley for an evening shoot. It got me thinking why there aren't more dedicated spaces in Brisbane for this kind of expression. Are we too hell-bent on being a squeaky clean city, void of any real character or soul? I'm not sure about everybody else but I like to see interesting things on what would otherwise be a bland wall - imagine if those giant grey walls of QPAC were painted in a wild way, it's strange that an arena for artistic performance and exhibition be so bland and sterile. Understandably this kind of art isn't right for every part of our city, but at the same time it shouldn't be shut away at the end of town in back alleys (or is that the appeal, that it's sought out rather than shoved in your face?)

Quiet Friday Night

It's 9pm on Friday night, and I'm quite happy to be staying in. I had an exam on stats today and don't think that I could really be bothered doing anything other than sitting around, eating pizza and listening to music.

My brother and I went to Portside to see the new Studio Gibli film Ponyo tonight, it was the Japanese edit with subtitles - and was good, but not as stimulating as some of the other Gibli films, it felt like a bit of a 'Little Mermaid' spin-off with some strong environmentalist and feminist undercurrents. The animation was flawless, as expected.

Last week I worked with my friend Elyse to photograph her stylist submission for Sportsgirl. I mentioned it in previous blogs. On Wednesday night we did our last of the shots and I can now post some of the results. The last location we worked on off James Street in the Valley, and there was some fun graffiti to use as a background.

I love Monday

Today is my day off! My first one since last Monday.

I got out of bed early so that I get the most out of the day - I generally sleep in and find that it's 1pm by the time I get around to doing anything, which means the day is drawing closer to its end.

I made myself some coffee and grabbed some yoghurt and a pear and headed for the back deck.
With some soothing Nouvelle Vague playing in the background I'm soaking up some sun and enjoying the olfactorilly stimulating aromas that are floating around my yard at the moment, the Jasmine is in full bloom and my orange tree has blossoms all over it - today has gotten off on the right foot.

Yesterday I rose early to help my friend Elyse with a styling project that she's submitting to Sportsgirl - I played the role of photographer. I was really impreseed with some of the outfits that she put together - they were all so different and versatile, but not lacking their own character and flair. I managed to shoot 3 of the looks she had put together then had to leave for work, we just have 2 left to do. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the proofs and doing a bit of colour enhancement - we shot at a park, so coloured slides etc were our backdrop.

Elyse's Birthday Tea Party

Last Sunday my friend Elyse hosted a Tea Party to celebrate her birthday. I'll let the pictures do the talking - we were encouraged to dress to the theme 'pretty and preppy'.
I enjoyed myself immensely








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Ekka Picnic

Wedneaday was the Royal Queensland Show day (Ekka) - so us lucky Brisbanites had the day off. It's not often that all of my friends all have a day off together, so it's become a regular thing for us to picninc in New Farm Park on any public holiday.

These picnics provide a platform for us to demonstrate out cullinary prowess - generally in the form of sweet and delicious baked goods, this time was no exception.

Je parle français!

Well, I know enough to know exactly when to rip my shirt of when I see Art vs. Science this Friday night - and I have to say that I'm very much looking forward to the show.

My dear friends Sharon and Ben are going to come with me (Sharon was even kind enough to get our tickets because I was away when they went on sale - which is lucky because they sold out) even without having listened to much of their music. Sharon has listened enough to proclaim that their faux french accents are not at all very good.

I have it on good authourity from a friend who has seen them at the Oxfort Art Factory in Sydney numerous times (where they are locals) that they put on a rather amazing show, and have been warned that there will be epic dancing and energy.

Here's a review of the band I found:

"Music met psychology with ART.vs.Science, a band whose songs are crafted according to the studies of human responses to music."

"There is a reason why night clubs play the music they do: it's the right tempo for dancing, it's got hook lines you can sing along to, and a beat steady enough hypnotise. Art vs. Science not only makes the sort of music played in nightclubs; it is one of the few outfits in Australia which can actually play in night clubs - live. No laptops, no backing tracks, just drums, keyboards, synths and three sets of funky hands. "An expression of their long immersion in the dark, seedy recesses of club-electronica", Art vs Science breathe fresh air into the genre, with an immediate, breath-taking live show, and songs that sound pleasing, joy-inducing; as if meticulously designed, element by element, to intensify user stimulation. Art vs. Science plays, people listen. And they *understand*."

Scratched and Stitched 08

I found this video a while after the launch of Scratched and Stitched in Brisbane last year. It was an absolute blast - the designers and their garments were great and the works by local artists that were displayed were brilliant!
I knew that there was some filming going on but only recently found where it ended up.

Olsen

Olsen is my little kitten - She has gone from my little girl to my little lady. She is a furry ball of cute and she is a source of great entertainment, she was also handy in winter as a little hot water bottle in my bed.

Tonight she made a little fort of sheets on the bedroom floor

She used to be teenie weenie