IS BLOGGING THE NEW BLACK?
After launching into this thing with gusto, I have come to a frighteningly grinding halt. But it must be said now that blogging makes me feel fundamentally happy. And satisifed. To a degree where I will actually finish this entry, unlike many others written recently that haven’t made it past the “publish post” button.

However. (And there is always a however). I have suddenly developed some anxieties about this sweet blog o mine. Sure, its been a great life changing experience to publicly post my ramblings. But now I have “friends” blagging on about the blog that I am blogging on. And that makes me positively sick with fear.

Like any first time experience - I find myself wondering if my blog is too vain. Was recent entry too long, too short, too fast, too slow? What can I do to make the reader feel better? Does the reader really care about me? Will the reader still love me in the morning? Will the reader come back for more? And, should I talk dirty? Surely the lighthearted-ness is something that readers can see through and share in my sense of humor no?

But no – communication without context is actually harder than I thought. Its interesting shit to me (that which I muse upon) – but is it to you? I am not seeking any form of approval here. That’s not what this is about. But honestly, living in the techno-savvy world I am in – I can see you readers out there – the ones that spend time here, and keep popping back for more and I get a little kick out of you. But the trouble is – I don’t know who you are. Dont leave me feeling dirty and used. Its like a one night stand and I dont know your name. I cant get no satifaction.

If blogging is the new black. And blagging on blogs about anything blog-worthy is blog-tastic, then I’m going to keep doing what I am doing.

But it would most definitely be cool if you still loved me tomorrow…

DID IT RAIN LAST NIGHT

Just a thought I have been playing with.

Almost a million meanings.

A good name for a song I havent written yet.

IN A NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

Poetry in context. I'm not done with you yet.

I'm passing time, making up rhyme and reason.

Tis the season.

This week is where its at.

Photo by Sony Ericsson W880i

LOVING THIS

I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET

I've been thinking in circles lately

This is where I know I'm found

Not afraid of all the maybe's

Once was lost - no longer around

I walked between the city scapes

To incite something real

The shadows I drowned in all seemed fake

Something I'm beginning to feel

Dont take my hand I dont need it

I can feel you now I can see it

There's nothing like those who mean it

And life is sure what you make it

I'm not done with you yet

I cant take that train

Wont catch that plane

To keep me from going insane

I'm not done with you yet

Our time's not over

And I'm still getting over

The thought of you.

WANT-NEED-DESIRE

These lovely snow washed black Cheap Mondays... amongst other things!

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO I LIKE

Really, there's nothing like a bit of Frank. And though there are probably greater songs of his that deserve recognition, this holds special meaning to me for obvious reasons.

PLEASE DONT STOP

(the music, thinking, doing, being, wanting, wishing, learning, me)

AND TODAY IS…. EARTH DAY

Forget Earth Hour… today we dedicate an entire 24 of them to this special place that we call home.

What more reason to reflect on what life on earth means to you in its bigger jurisdiction.

Today should not be a day to be complacent.

Instead to look to the future, make room in your minds and hearts for change.

Celebrate and bathe in gratitude for all that we have, and for what our future generations will have if we look after our home.

Life is abundant.

The experience of living is transplendent.

Take time to stop and give thanks.

And use your voice to create action – for now, and for the future.

STRANGE THINGS I HAVE DONE IN MY SHORT LIFE THUS FAR

(and other oddities)

Eaten dinner with The Doors (remaining members thereof)

Been in the Big Brother House whilst housemates were inside

Hidden reconnaissance style in the middle of a film set photographing a “tornado”

Adjusted the bra straps of some well endowed ladies for a TV shoot

Built and plastered a wall of tiles and attached a toilet roll for a photo shoot

Pressed the live feed button on the sound mixing desk to allow live broadcast of a concert

Served champagne to Gough Whitlam

Bumped into (literally) Mr Big – Chris Noth

Created a 10 meter high curtain of mixed media tape for arts sake

Escorted a TV personality to the ladies and had to hum lightly to drown out the sound

Been heckled at by Josh Kelley

Snuck backstage at a premier industry event to mingle with the famous emcees

Covered an entire two rooms of about 50 square feet in tin foil

Moved approximately 60 different animals from one shelter to another in a day

Written 4622 words in an effort to say three important ones

Sung in front of 10,000 people, but not in front of my mum – ever

Put my hand into a rabbit hole, only to retrieve two baby rabbits who then became pets

Owned a pet echidna

Been a radio announcer reporting on childrens ski activites

Dated a child star… when they were no longer a child star

THIS MODERN LIFE

This morning I logged into the following websites:

Facebook
Myspace (my two accounts)
Hotmail
Work email
Web Banking
My blog account
My stat report account
My personal email
My editor email
Getty images
My ebay account
You tube

Each one of these places on the www requires a different username and password for logging in. Right now I feel like I should work in the car numberplate industry simply because of the vast amount of number and letter combinations that are stuck away in the recesses of my mind.

Yet another random thought bought to you by the letters A, B and Z and the numbers 22, 176 and 5.

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Shame my personal trainer doesnt like them as much as I do!

ALWAYS WHERE I NEED TO BE

SUMMER IS GONE - BUT I STILL HAVE YOU

A FEW WORDS FROM THE WISE

a very wise man indeed

Think big, brave and new

Be firm with what you believe in, but be flexible enough to recognise you may be wrong

Listen to the person next to you, you may learn something new

Play to your strengths, and allow others to support the few weaknesses

Most of all, just enjoy.

TALK IS CHEAP LATELY

I've been thinking lately about the high costs of communication in the emerging digital era. With the prevalence of text messaging, blogging, myspace, facebook, myface and spacebook (check - they're there) I'm left wondering whether this primarily Gen Y driven digital world we are living in is infact enriching the experience of communication or impoverishing it.

It seems that we have more access to information (and personal information at that) than ever before. We can make contact and be "friends" with almost anyone our hearts desire. But to what degree does this actually facillitate a meaningful and lasting connection? And to what extent can we trust the information we are supplied with when it is user-driven (and thus filtered).

I'm almost certain that a good majority of 'profiles' out there are edited to within an inch of reality. Created to protect individual weaknesses and ugliness from public scrutiny - conversely so to propagate fame, popularity and even profit.

But then, I'm also not a complete pessimist. I actually have faith that, like myself, there are others out there that value reaching out in the prospect of making a meaningful and enduring connection without compromising on the value of the communication, the integrity of the information and maintaining a sense of dignity, self-respect and moderation.

This said, there really is nothing in this world that can facillitate communication better than a person-to-person interaction. A letter written on paper beats a text message or email anyday. Talking rather than IM'ing is just easier to do and doesnt allow for loopholes in understanding, intent, thought and feeling. And looking at a friends holiday photos over a nice dinner and glass of wine far exceeds the experience of clicking through an online album.

OH TOM - STOP BEING SO "VULGAR"

Poor old Tom Ford, he just cant catch a break it seems!

Italy has deemed his latest advertising campaign for his ridiculously hot sunglasses as being "vulgar" and consequently has had all ads pulled from print and labelled "sexually explicit" on Fords website

Personally I think they are fabulous!

TIMBALAND

Contributing to a generation of poor usage of the English Language

Sorry dude. You may very well be an incredibly well-recieved pop singer and producer extraordinaire... but do you have to encourage the youth of today - the leaders of tomorrow, to use the english language so improperly?

While it may be hip and cool to say things like "wit 'chu" and "floss" I really hold some serious concerns for statements such as "can you handle me the way I are"

Enough of my rant for this morning. Turn up the volume and "get jiggy wit it" if you must.

WHERE FOR ART THOU?

Nylon, I have waited very patiently by my mailbox for your imminent arrival this month, but to no avail. Why do you tease me with your pretty cover and stories of my current favorites Clemence Poesy, Anja Rubik and Chloe Sevigny? I know you have already released your May issue and yet I still wait for April with such patience. Where in the world are you?

PS: I still want my T-Shirt and I haven't forgotten about that!

THIS GUY'S GOT TALENT

Tom Cooney Myspace

Tom Cooney Website

AS ONE LOVE AFFAIR COMES TO AN END

so too a new one begins...

IF YOU CAN BELIEVE IT – YOU CAN ACHIEVE IT and associated limitations Now I am all for “The Secret”. In fact, in many more ways than I care to describe, I have personally seen positive proof and support for the theory based on the laws of attraction. But there has to be said, that to some degree, there has to be an absolute limitation threshold at some point. Not speaking to anyone specific here, but sometimes believing is just not enough. We all spend time daydreaming and investing energy into things that we want to achieve in our lives. Heck, I have put into action, plans that were inevitably doomed to fail – however, in doing so, I have been open to all the possible consequences of asking the universe for what it is I desire. This doesn’t mean that there have to be a positive or negative consequence, it simply means that the positive outcome may not be as we imagined it. Take for example, my recent case of mistaken identity. Sorry to harp on about it again folks, but to preserve the sanity and respect the thoughts and feelings of the person that made this mistake, I have chosen to NOT post the 85 remaining comments waiting to be moderated in my inbox for public scrutiny. However, in my recent communication to said person to explain aforementioned circumstances, my point has clearly been missed. Or rather, they choose to overlook the realities of the situation. The simple fact remains – I will never be the outcome she was after. BUT I can say that I hope, as I do for all mankind, that the outcome bought a learning experience and by that, a positive change. What I am trying to get at here is – by all means, I think that we should all dream, and motivate ourselves to a point of actualizing these dreams. But something has to be said for positively pursuing the wrong things in life. Priorities should be abundance – in life, happiness, health, relationships and so forth. But positive pursuit of unhealthy obsessions could potentially lead to heartbreak and disillusion. At what point does one know that they are positively heading down a negative path? I don’t know that I can tell you the answer to that. What I do know is that its all about the ebb and flow, the give and take, the push and pull. To receive is to give and vice versa. Things materialize in ones life when they truly believe with heart and soul that they have given to the world and thus a mutual understanding between world and person combines to achieve. Think about what it is you are asking for. So, use that secret people – but don’t “expect” the results to materialize in the exact manner that you personally prefer. Expect that the results will have a positive consequence regardless of success or failure. To try is to learn.

MARTIN SMITH

In response to conversations with a therapist as a narrative device

Smith’s mechanism for production is quite methodical – even ritualistic. Carefully layering printed text over the chosen image and meticulously cutting into the surface of both layers facilitates the amazingly professional quality of each finished work. As Smith cuts into the photograph he is exercising a societal taboo; destroying printed images that, for some, can be the only visual by-product of life lived, whose value is all more tangible when that life has expired.

When exhibited, these works have a certain fragile aesthetic.

This combined with intimate and sensitive narratives implore the viewer’s full and careful attention, mirroring the value of a photograph as an honoured social artefact more so than a direct account of history. A precious facsimile of the mind’s eye.

Smith’s works on paper meld the visual and narrative, instantly provoking the viewer to find a link between remembering an image and its associations within their own written or spoken experience.

In a move toward three-dimensionality, Smith has swept up the fallen letters from his wall works and given them new birth as a generally familiar artefact of youth. ‘In response to conversations with a therapist as a narrative device’ is covered fully in the discarded letters of the wall works, and portrays the same tattered surface quality of that of a well-loved toy, conjuring up childhood narratives from the familiar confidant to the discarded and redundant.

‘Are you waiting for the darkness daddy’ highlights the same threads of significance of material possessions, which are all inevitably imprinted with memory and lived experience; recording on its surface ideas of worth and use within the owner’s life. The title however could be conveyed in either ominous or naïve ways, leaving the viewer the ability to formulate diverse meaning from the work.

April 23 – May 10, 2008

ryan renshaw gallery

I WANT TO MARRY A PRODUCER

A forwarded email excerpt that I just HAD to post!

By Ted Royer, Executive Creative Director of Droga5 New York

Producers are great. They are my favorite people in advertising. And I want to marry one. Since every single person I've met over the last 15 years works in advertising or some related industry, I've realized that I'm destined to marry an ad person. After a brief panic attack, I thought about producers and felt much better. I want to marry a producer.

I don't want to marry an account services person. Sure, they can take lots of pressure and abuse from the world, and they're organized (a definite prerequisite for my future spouse), but we'd quickly realize that while we share many goals, ultimately, she may not care enough about my goals. And caring about my goals, or at least seeming to, is very important.

I'm not going to marry a traffic person. They propel jobs through the agency and thus are obviously good at getting stuff done. But they cry too much. Or they yell too much. Or they cry while yelling. There is crying and yelling at some point in every marriage. I wish to keep it to the bare minimum in mine.

Marrying another creative seems like a great idea. We would laugh together. We would dream together. We would make amazing plans together. But we wouldn't know how to get any of those plans done or how to actually make anything happen. And then we would blame each other.

I could marry one of my clients. We would have a great initial relationship. She would find me really funny and inventive, but over time, she might begin to doubt my motives and commitment. And she'd be right. Am I bored? Am I ultimately looking to trade up? Am I looking for a newer, fresher challenge? I'd be coy and say no. But the real answer would be... maybe.

No, I want to marry a producer. A producer listens to the most batshit crazy idea and doesn't say yes or no or ask why, but instantly asks "How?" She could talk me out of dumb things with grace and logic, or conversely show me what it's possible to do with virtually nothing. A producer realizes that just as business and creativity need each other, responsibility (her) and irresponsibility (me) do too. A producer wouldn't be afraid of different challenges, no matter what form they took. A producer would be tough, fighting battles I'd neither see nor even know about. A producer would plan for a rainy day and not even tell me she was doing it and then, when it started to rain, she'd say, "It's covered, go over to the food table." A producer would stay up all night partying with me, then make sure what needs to get done gets done, while I sleep. Marrying a producer would allow me to be as self-absorbed, self-indulgent, self-congratulatory, naval-gazing and "creative" as I want to be.

Of course, I could always date someone outside of the industry and see what the rest of the world is like. But that would be weird.

80 FACES IN A 20 MINUTE LUNCH BREAK

Simon Obarzanek at IMA's satellite gallery

Melbourne photographer Simon Obarzanek’s 80 Faces plays into our fascination with faces. For years he made frontal mugshot portraits of young people, male and female, posed against a grey background. Bare-shouldered or in black T-shirts, there was nothing to distinguish them sociologically, except their hairstyles.

The sitters were not a dispassionate scientific sample – Obarzanek photographed faces he found interesting. Black and white, his prints suppress some aspects of difference (colouration: skin, eyes, hair) to emphasise others (proportions of their features).

Always presented in groups, Obarzanek engages us in comparing-and-contrasting his faces. One face is Aryan, another alien. One refined, another vulgar. One man's lips look rudely pasted on. As we discriminate the classic from the quirky, those we like from the crowd, 80 Faces tells us as much about ourselves, about what resonates with us.

http://www.ima.org.au/