I haven’t blogged for a while, mostly cause I took a ‘leave of absence’ from uni and didn’t feel very inspired to write about anything. That is of course till I had my usual ‘fuck what am I doing with my life’ panic which usually results in me starting yet another university course. However since my hecs bill is well above 60000 grand, I’m instead going to write about all of the incredible creative things and people I’m exposed to (but not in a pants down kind of way) as part of my job. Working for one of the countries most renowned creative events has it’s perks (free food and booze) in that I hear about talented individuals, incredibly cool gadgets and mind blowing experiences I probably wouldn’t have discovered on my own. So as a disclaimed for my new look blog, I’m taking away the black background and sharing what I think is some really fucking cool stuff! I’ll still probably bitch about the media too!
I have been having nostalgia overload of late.
I think it started when I watched an episode of The Cosby Show at my parents place. It was the one when they turn the Huxtable residence into an apartment building to teach Theo a lesson about life, anyway it’s really funny and one of the only ones I remember really well. Since then I have been thrust back in time on a number of occasions; Full House is back on telly, Shaggy played Oh Carolina and Mr Boombastic at Raggamuffin (why I was there is irrelevant!) and sunny boys are back!! This, along with the hideously early 90s haircuts and shorts I’m seeing around Melbourne has made me considering my childhood. It might be the fact that it’s my 10 year high school reunion this year, or it could be that I have realised it's probably about time i started doing grown up things like being responsible (sigh*). Whatever the reason, Nostalgia is a bitch. Sometimes, like right now for instance, it holds you and doesn’t let go, forcing you to recall that crush you had on Michael J Fox and how awesome Sunny Boys were in primary school but that are actually not that great now. Apparently nothing looks or tastes quite the same.
So what does it mean? As you get older is everything shit? Is nothing actually as good as we thought it was? The older you get the more jaded you become?
I haven’t decided yet, but I’ll keep you posted as (like Theo here) I ponder the thought.
Photo Credit: Wallet Pop.com
I’m a twitter stalker and I’m not ashamed of it, actually I’m a little ashamed but that’s beside the point. The point is, I was looking on the magnation twitter feed when some bozo posted about how those magnation people were ‘deluded fools’ because print is dead, apparently.
Amongst this little twitter war I discovered a Guardian article that was relevant to this issue. According to The Digital Content Blog, publishing powerhouses Hearst, Time Inc and Condé Nast are teaming up with iTunes to create online storefronts for their digital publications. Whilst I have already expressed my feelings towards publishers charging for online content, I think this is a brilliant move. Despite the threat it poses to the print medium, iTunes has become a beacon in online usability. Music, film and talkback radio have been ‘saved’ by Apple cause no matter what they produce, consumers will flock in record numbers with iTunes cards in hand to purchase the latest releases.
Take that @print_is_dead, I will no longer be stalking your twitter.
Photo Olivier Zahm, Purple Diary. Felix Gonzales Torres, Untitled 1991 I have mentioned before how much I love Google reader. Apart from it being a great time wasters, it helps me keep up with the wonderfully creative happenings in Melbourne, Berlin, Dubai and New York to name a few.
One of my all time favourite artists is Felix Gonzales Torres. I love him so much that for one of the projects I had to do in art school last year I payed homage to him in the form of a table a chair. Whilst I will be the first to admit that they didn’t work out exactly as planned, actually they were quite shit, it cemented my adoration for the late artist.
Thanks to Google reader I discovered that the new High Line (one of the most amazing new concepts in urban development) in New York City is paying its own version of homage to Felix GT. One if the things he was most well know for was his billboards that were installed in various locations around New York at the height of his career in the 80s and 90s. Gonzales Torress was committed to social issues surrounding gender, politics and sexuality. Documented on the purple journal blog, one of the artists most know billboards has recently been erected behind the Standard hotel in New York City.
Untitled, 1991 appears on a building in 13th street, and anyone unfamiliar with the artist will undoubtedly be wondering what it’s an advertisement for. The image is of an unmade, recently vacated double bead with white, ruffled sheets and the overwhelming presence, or in this case absence, of two lovers.
My apparent aversion to public art (as per my critique of Valhalla) is in no way extended to this billboard. I think we need more of them. In a world where advertisements cloud our vision and find their way into our personal space, it is refreshing to see an image in the public realm which references nothing in particular but which still speaks volumes about life.
This enigmatic artists will continue to be missed!
photo credit: Business WeekOk so I really want an iphone and part of the reason I really want an iphone is I suffer from rampant gadget envy, always have. It started when I was little, first it was Nintendo, then it was super Nintendo then I think I got over the whole video game thing and for a while I was into upgrading my cyber shot cameras. Now it’s about mobile phones, ipods and laptops.
In addition to gadget envy I’m a sucker for packaging and in my opinion, Apple kill it. I still remember the first time I bought myself an ipod. I was in New York walking past the apple store in Soho and I was sick of roaming the city streets listening to nothing but crazies and car horns (although now both of those sounds make me quite nostalgic). I remember taking my new white cube back to the apartment I was staying in and opening it like it was some version of Pandora’s box. Everything was simple, white, clean and neatly packaged and I just loved it. Let us look at how they've evolved.......
photo credit: arstechnica.com
photo credit: farm4.static.flickr.com
An ipod photo and mac book later, the iphone is the new thing (new is a loose term, actually everyone has one) I covet, but optus won’t give me one cause they are mean and I don’t like them and they keep telling me I have to wait, but I don’t think I can wait. I really REALLY want an iphone!!!
