Candida Höfer

Candida Höfer likes to hang out in libraries. 

...Further to this, she likes to photograph them too.

"The library... must be easy to access and its doors must be open to all the members of the community who will be able to make free use of it without distinction of race, colour, nationality, age, sex, religion, language, civil status or cultural level" 

... This is the modus operandi that most believe a library to follow.

The modus operandi of Candida Höfer, however, is somewhat different. 

Picking up a camera in 1973, and studying under the photography master Bernd Becher, Höfer's body of work explores large vicinities, from public spaces to private libraries. 

The vastness of Höfer's images resonates within its viewers by presenting a seemingly simple landscape, that exploits the loneliness and incredible beauty of a space left bare. 

Little Lanes and Pink Floral Teacups

Children yet, the tale to hear,

Eager eye and willing ear,

Lovingly shall nestle near

In a Wonderland they lie,

Dreaming as the days go by,

Dreaming as the summers die:

Ever drifting down the stream,

Lingering in the golden gleam,

Life, what is it but a dream?

July 'Top 10'

Samson Adams' name sounds like a super-hero's. Samson Adams is awesome. Samson Adams studies Arts. Samson Adams studies people and the things they do, under his Arts degree. Samson Adams has provided this months 'Top 10' music list:

1.     Tiny Vipers- Dreamer
2.     The Smith Westerns- Be My Girl
3.     Terry Riely- In C
4.     Madvillain- Great Day (Four Tet Remix)
5.     Philip Glass- Knee 5
6.     Low- Word
7.     Grouper- Invisible
8.     Leonard Cohen- The Partisan
9.     Serge Gainsbourg- Melody 

10.   Why?- A Sky for Shoeing Horses Under

Samson Adams describes himself as "not too much".

I feel fine, and so do approx. 11,482,671 others too.

Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar are farmers,

... and their job is to harvest millions of human emotions.

Every 10 minutes, 'a data collection engine automatically scours the internet' and harvests human feelings from a large number of blogs such as LiveJournal, MSN Spaces, MySpace, Blogger, Flickr, Technorati, Feedster, Ice Rocket and Google.

"We Feel Fine scans blog posts for occurrences of the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling"... Once a sentence containing "I feel" or "I am feeling" is found, the system looks backward to the beginning of the sentence, and forward to the end of the sentence, and then saves the full sentence in a database."

... So, if you are feeling a little lonely, head to http://www.wefeelfine.org/index.html to see how many people are feeling lonely at that time too. Its a quick smart way to grab some life affirmation.

I've got a Sixth Sense

When the words ‘sixth sense’ are uttered from anyone’s mouth it immediately evokes a visual of Bruce Willis trying desperately to communicate with his wife, only to learn he is, in fact, dead.

However, the sixth sense that follows is not quite as devastatingly tragic, and has nothing to do with the ability to communicate with ‘the other side’.

Prepare to be confused, concerned and completely bewildered by the genius and sci-fi forward thinking that is exposed in the video provided:

To view more free lectures on a whole range of interesting (and most likely BORING as hell) topics, visit TED Lectures @ http://www.ted.com/

They might be Small but they're pretty Tough

Image courtesy of Michael Ross Photography

Small Tough is made up of five young rockers who have a lot to say and a heap of ambition to live up to. If you're traipsing around the streets of Melbourne and happen to stumble upon one of their live gigs, you'll see that these boys are nothing short of explosive. Mixing the classic combination of guitar, bass, percussion and vocals with the new addition of synth gives this band a fresh flavour that will leave the creamiest taste in your mouth. 

With Ben Efrat on lead vocals, Jarred Hofman on guitar, Ilan Waincymer on drums, Elia Mazor on bass and Dan Rutman on synth, Small Tough promises a night of aggressive musical pleasure that will have your ears screaming for more.

Check out their next show (details provided in image below)

View their myspace and facebook pages at; 

http://www.myspace.com/smalltough 

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Small-Tough/59138243645?ref=ts

L ! M P

Little Independent Melbourne Publishing (aka L ! M P) is a brand new student project created by the brilliant up and coming literary masterminds of the Creative Writing cohort at RMIT University, Melbourne. 

Headed up by Dr Francesca Rendle-Short, and comprising of 21 students from a wide socio-economic background, L ! M P's main objective is to expose its students array of "literary talents" whilst refusing to "adhere to the belief that good writing is synonymous with intellectual wanker-ness". 

This website is a definite must-read if you are looking for a fresh and truthful take on everything and anything that surrounds us in today, tomorrow and yesterday's society.

Check out the L ! M P website @ http://limpwriters.com/

Banking on Banksy

Melbourne town hosts some of the most impressive graffiti the world has ever seen. From the backs of buildings in Fitzroy, to the renowned Hosier Lane in the CBD, people gather from all over the globe to sneak a peek at the some of the world's most exclusive graffiti works. 

At one stage, Melbourne got so proud of its graffiti, that a rare and tiny piece done by the notorious british graffiti artist known as Banksy, was protected by a heavy, state-government planted, plastic sheet. 

... this, some would say, was a major fuck up.

As i walked down the busy pathway of Flinders Lane, I tossed a sideward glance at the back of the building that housed this now 'celebrated' Banksy piece, and to my surprise, what had replaced it was a dripping coat of freshly spilled silver paint, covering Banksy's work, and protected by the same state-government inflicted plastic cover.  

In response to this act I will post a quote from Banksy himself:

"Any advertisement in public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It belongs to you. It's yours to take, re-arrange and re-use. Asking for permission is like asking to keep a rock someone just threw at your head"

... So, in essence, this act of 're-arranging' and 're-using' graffiti pieces around the world is the precise ethos of the craft, and the government's act in trying to preserve Banksy's piece, is actually an act of destroying the very nature of graffiti as we recognize it in today's culture. 

"When the time comes to leave, just walk away quietly and don't make any fuss"

Time for TOAST

TOAST Films is an independent film company created around 5 years ago by two very talented young guys called Andrew Goldsmith and Jeremy Blode. Although their films are short, the content of each individual piece manages to engender an enormous amount of emotion amongst its viewers.

Here are two of their films:

Videotape: 

Rotosmoking:

You can support Andrew and Jeremy by following their youtube channel at; http://www.youtube.com/user/TOASTfi1ms

Diamonds may be a girls best friend, but Beads and Chains are her lovers.

A surefire way of getting a new project off the ground is to contract a serious illness.

This is the case for Carly Warson, a 19 year old architecture student who wasted no time sleeping whilst she had chronic fatigue, and instead, started creating her own jewellery collection.

"Beading" she says "was an easy and creative way to cure my boredom, by keeping me occupied".

This is a modest explanation of the finesse this jewellery displays. The beauty of these unique pieces are a perfect compliment to any outfit.

For all enquiries, you can contact Carly via her mobile: 0439 665 914 / or via email: carlywarson@hotmail.com