These days I seem to think about How all the changes came about my ways And I wonder if I'll see another highway.

- Nico


port fairy (sat-sun)
-didnt go in to the actual festival as usual - however regretting it? I don't know. Had issues with communications again because so many people were trying to use their phones so it was a bit touch and go, didnt really get to catch up with everyone too much, drank a bit too much, got sunburned, but did have a great swim out in the icy waters. Love the beach at port fairy.

rooftop art space (mon)
-went in to go see the 'Janice Darling' opening, a group of works by Lucy James that plays with the narrative of the life of  Janice Darling, a woman from Jane Fonda's Workout Book. The concept I thought was really fun but the number of works was limited and while the presentation was pretty neat overall I thought the work was weak. I like the look of Lucy James' work but I think my expectations of a larger exhibition (I got the Rooftop Art Space and the gallery space below it confused) are the main cause of the let down.

de ja vu in bundoora (mon)
- caught the bus out with y to La Trobe to see l and his band Sordid Ordeal practice for their upcoming gig. Very blast from the past - It was very 'was I doing this 3 years ago or 3 weeks' kind of moment.

tea in box hill (tues)
- Had tea with f in Box Hill, tried out one of the local restaurants -noodle kingdom. Noodles were good steamed pork buns were sub-par.

david bailey (wed)
-watched great doco on David Bailey, David Bailey:Four Beats to the Bar and No Cheating. Had some really great information I didn't know about him, showed some great views of his work and was a bit of the jump start inspiration I needed for my photography. I think the film captures an artist whom is happy with his achievements but wants nothing more then more time to continue making more art, thus the memento mori recent works that use imagery of skulls and withered flowers.

lunch at el albero's - on st.georges street of brunswick rd (wed)
- had a potato & rosemary pizza before the LOST&FOUND opening at The Library Artspace in Brunswick. Great pizza place, ended up going back later in the evening with new friends. the 'albero' pizza is also delicious.

pint at  the railway hotel on nicholson st (wed)
- had a pint to burn more time before the opening at what one could consider a very australian hotel pub. Old folks playing cards, construction guys off work and a footy-playing bartender with wickedly tight jeans on. Did not so indirectly get called a word not appropriate to print (foreigners moving in & tourists to blame for the overpacked trams) but such is life.

LOST&FOUND (wed)
- overall enjoyed the work, few criticisms here and there.... mostly about the door pieces. I really enjoyed the photographs and their mounting onto the doors - but i disliked their presentation. maybe this was due to reading some curation articles on the way but I felt the mystique of the doors was lost in them being double sided and suspended from the ceiling. without the door frames and suspended as such they ceased to have the possibility and curiosity of 'whats behind the door' that makes doors so appealing. if they had had frames and the illusion of them opening -whether or not they actually could have- or had been mounted onto the wall so you were tempted to open it to see whats behind it - i think the pieces would have been more powerful. obviously this may have been less effective in the horizontal pieces (or more like alice in wonderland).

i'm interested in learning more about the art space and how its run (collective, collaborative, private, funded, etc) and not just because they're calling for entries for shows later in the year.

I made some new friends at the opening and we went for tea at el albero's - hopefully they'll be able to join me and my mates for st. patrick's on saturday.

Finish this entry with a note on anti-americanism, and how tacky it is when it's for stupid things. Politics? Foreign policy? Maybe even interactions with horrid tourists - OK.  however getting in a pet over the avengers/firefly and whatever else comic book crap - lame.

per usual...

I've been up to heaps but have posted none of it, is the anticipation a killer? Frankly i feel like i'm writing to myself on this thing...

so on that note I think I'll change my approach. I'm not saying i'm going to be inconsiderate, but I might be a touch less tactful. So, think more like when I'm actually speaking to someone but in an exciting digital format free of any accent.

win right? or are you considering your exit strategy?

sid vicious played a four-string fender bass guitar and couldn’t sing and everybody hated him except the ones who loved him a ukulele has four strings, but sid did did not play ukulele he did smack and probably killed his girlfriend nancy spungen

- Amanda Palmer [ukelele anthem]

Amanda Palmer at Northcote Social Club on March 6 2012

The other day went to the Northcote Social Club to see Amanda Palmer the Grand Theft Orchestra. It was AMAZING, such a great show. There were also opening performances  which were also really great. I hadn't ever been to an Amanda Palmer or even Dresden Dolls performance before but I really enjoyed it and look forward to the album she's currently working on with the Grand Theft Orchestra here in Melbourne. She's doing heaps of shows at NSC, I advise everyone to try and go see her if they're in town, though they might have just ceased as they've gone into studio to record.

“You can never be overdressed or overeducated.”

- Oscar Wilde

On Friday some mates and I went over to Footscray to check out Steamscape, an exhibition hosted at Post Industrial Design which explores “the steampunk movement through fashion, design, sculpture, painting and much more.” I was only peripherally aware of what ‘steampunk’ is, thankfully I serendipitously met Oscar on the way to the event. As the coordinator of SteamUp, the past steampunk event in Melbourne; Oscar was happy to give me a thorough introduction into what exactly ‘steampunk’ is.

Steampunk is a sub genre-culture of Science Fiction that embodies what life today would be like today if imagined by somebody in the 1800s, or more or less if electricity hadn’t taken off and replaced steam power. Aesthetically it rejects mass production and consumption and focuses on craftsmanship that melds victorian design with mechanics. What I gathered is that it’s much like living life in a Jules Verne novel or inspired film. The sub-genre of science fiction came into prominence in the 1990s and appears to have taken off in Melbourne in the last 5 years.

Steamscape itself was a wonderful introduction into what I find most interesting about cultural movements of all types - the art and aesthetics of it. My friends and I were both surprised at the size of the event and it’s family friendly nature - there were heaps of kids. There was also a lot going on. Complimentary wine and food in the back (great sushi & Devil’s Elbow - a nice drop) with music by The Penny Dreadfuls. There was heaps of mingling and lovely folk dressed to the nines in their own creations or commissioned outfits. Dandyism seemed to be a major component of the work and the event itself. 

There were also performances, which my friends and I unfortunately missed in the midst of our mingling but we heard great things about. The work on display was a good range of pieces and included quite a bit of millinery and haberdashery, and a fashion show. The fashions displayed on the runway were from Clockwork Butterfly. 

They were elaborate and very impressive. In truth though, many of the looks I saw off the runway were just as well put together. Really the entire affair was one of sartorial elegance.

Some of the dandy folk I met included some gentlemen named Dayrl, Sheridan, Sebastian, and of course Oscar. While they all came into the steampunk phenomena through different angles I suspect what keeps them involved is reason to get suited up and look so snazzy, In fact I appreciated many of the get ups I saw and some I managed to photograph.

Steamscape was part of the cultural events L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival which is hosting a range of events this month around town. Notably it’s also the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. I hope to take advantage of a few more events from both and me and some mates are hitting up the Amanda Palmer show tomorrow at the Northcote Social Club. 

Gonna Take Her for a Ride on a Big Jet Plane...

- Angus & Julia Stone

I wanted to rewind back to before I touched down and make a few notes about my 'voyage' back. A trip to Australia from anywhere is a long haul, and I say this with many journeys across and around the Pacific under my belt. You can't shorten the trip past a certain point - but you can try and have an enjoyable one.

Antipodes Map taken from here.

1. Avoid LAX. If I offend you in the next few sentences, apologies- but unless you can make a valid argument to the following point; I don't want to hear it. LAX is a hole. It is a total pain to travel in and out of and most of the stress of negotiating the Pacific regions can be greatly reducing by giving it a wide berth.

2. Don't fly US-based airlines. The crews tend to be surlier, the food falls right into the Palahniuk-ian 'model food kit' observation and they're a complete pain about luggage. And now they don't give you pillows and blankets.

3. Don't bother catching up on semi-new release films before you get on the plane - you have 24+ hours to view them at your leisure. At this point I might even begin advocating leaving your ipod in your baggage and just using the provided music. It's a much larger range then it used to be, you don't have to worry about keeping track of your ipod when your not using it (like when watching inflight movies) and you get the cabin announcements piped in.

I do advocate a libation here and there but be wary - jet lag is directly connected to dehydration. Avoid landing at your destination insanely jet lagged & hung over as a result of over indulgence. Personally, I find a drink at a weird hour of the day at a terminal bar is best. You can stretch your legs, stay awake, be aware of whats around you, and strike up conversations with interesting folk. Plus you're having the best thing to ease you into sleep once you've re-boarded for the next leg of your trip.

And at last I feel I should admit that I do not tend to fly Qantas, rather I fly Air New Zealand. Shocker right? It's not that I haven't enjoyed my Qantas experiences but I just end up flying Air New Zealand for the extended trips because frankly it's cheaper. Now that I'm racking up my frequent flyer miles I'll see where AirNZ can get me domestically too.

I must say I really enjoyed the in-flight safety video:

-which yes, involves: Richard Simmons, the All Blacks, and body painting. 

And I am finding their recent advertisements to be fairly humorous, but maybe I always find hipsters funny?

- they have a few more you can find here.

Now that I've shared that I'll get back on with the present goings on - but really, would you have ever thought to pull up air line safety videos on YouTube? thought not.

- Oh, and yes- Air New Zealand did provide me with a pillow and blanket, thank you very much.

WHOOPS

Had a blonde moment but survived, perhaps without my pride. However exciting article about steam punk and the steam punk art exhibition to follow when I wake up. cheers - c.

(no offense to blondes meant - you full on know what I mean though)