Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Interview with Rachel Smith on CG

Rachel Smith


Rachel Smith is an architecture graduate, artist and photographer. She was originally based in the UK and after she graduated from architecture six months ago, decided to travel to Sydney to get out of her comfort zone and explore new horizons. Interview: http://www.chaosgeneration.com/rachel_smith.htm.
Gallery coming soon...

Ice Hotel, Sweden talk - Feb 2, Sydney

Ice Hotel

Lucas Ihlein and Stuart Harrison will present an illustrated lecture of their trip to Sweden last December, where they were part of the team that built the Ice Hotel.

Details:
"sydney" (that's the name of the venue)
302 cleveland st surry hills nsw
Thursday Feb 2nd 2006 6.30pm

a "habibi jim" event!
some photos: http://flickr.com/photos/shlice and
http://www.officialsydney.com

Saturday, January 28, 2006

Greek food in Sydney

SMH article (07/04) titled: 'Hellenistic behaviour' which lists Greek chef Peter Conistis' (Omega restaurant) pick of places to visit for great greek food, wines, souvlaki, cakes, delis and more.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/27/1090693946979.html

Mealbox

Mealbox is a Japanese-style dining-table with chairs that can all be packed in a box by Igland design. Igland design consists of Norwegian husband and wife team of Alet and Dag Igland. They combine "traditional Scandinavian wood with high-tech materials to create products that are visually strong, yet simple in appearance."

Mealbox: http://iglanddesign.orgdot.com/pub/iglanddesign/2005_4_27_11.7.19.shtml?cat=products

W: http://iglanddesign.orgdot.com/index.shtml

First sighted on the Liquid Treat enewsletter: http://www.liquidtreat.com/LiquidTreat/Door/28512

Friday, January 27, 2006

Asian gallery braces for a sad ending

The Asia-Pacific Documentary Film Festival will probably be the last exhibition to be held at Gallery 4a due to lack of funding,says gallery curator Binghui Huangfu.

"A collaboration between the centre and the Performance Space, the Asia-Pacific Documentary Film Festival includes documentary and video works by 25 artists from Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Huangfu emphasises that the works are by artists, not filmmakers."

"The difference between filmmakers making documentaries and artists making documentaries is that there is a different point of view," she says. "For an artist, the subject matter is more undefined, along less clear lines. The filmmaker always has a very clear direction and clear message. Artists give the audience more room to reinterpret their work."

The exhibition includes works such as the Filipino artist Avic Ilagan's video about the repatriation of Filipino domestic workers from Hong Kong; the Sydney artist Robert Nery's 90-minute video about Catholicism in the Philippines including a nails-and-all re-enactment of the crucifixion; and Wang Jianwei's documentary about Chinese living in half-finished luxury apartments abandoned by developers. Jobless and forced off their rural land, one squatter family runs a pig farm inside the building. Another resident uses his space as a place to stow stolen goods."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/asian-gallery-braces-for-a-sad-ending/2006/01/26/1138066922183.html

Blokes pull in the bids on eBay

You can bid on spending a weekend Feb 18 and 19 with 4 guys from Balmain, Sydney.

You and a friend will be guaranteed "some beers, some snags, some good conversation and a hell of a lot of laughs... We'll be your best mates - instantly! You won't have to try and impress us. We don't even care who you are. And you'll get to experience the thrills and spills of hanging out with 4 good blokes in a relaxing, sun-filled environment..." There may even be a celebrity guest from the UK coming as well!

The SMH published at 12.54pm today said the bids had reached over $3000. Just checked at 11.53pm and the current bid is $6100.

SMH article: http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/blokey-weekend-bids-reach-2450/2006/01/27/1138319426355.html

Ebay link: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5659935599&ssPageName=MERCOSI-VI-ROSI-PR4-PCN-BIX

UN lends backing to the $100 laptop

"The United Nations on Thursday lent its support to a project which aims to ship inexpensive, hand-cranked laptops to school-aged children worldwide...

Negroponte (chairman of One Laptop per child) wants to start shipping the cheap laptop ($US100), which is to have wireless network access and a hand-crank to provide electricity, later this year. The aim is to have governments or donors buy them and give full ownership to the children.

Negroponte, who is also chairman of the MIT Media Lab, has said he expects to sell 1 million of them to Brazil, Thailand, Egypt and Nigeria.

The laptop is expected to run on an open-source operating system, such as Linux..."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/un-lends-backing-to-the-100-laptop/2006/01/27/1138066930836.html

Robot for hire

Article in the SMH reporting on how on Japanese employment agency will send out a Hello Kitty Robo 'temp' for under $A580 a month. This robotic receptionist is "capable of sensing a visitor's presence, greeting him or her and holding simple conversations..."

"In an unrelated robotic development, Sony announced that is was pulling the plug on its robotic dog AIBO this week in a restructuring bid aimed at revive the fortunes of its robotic development unit.

The robot, which retails for about $2650, uses artificial intelligence to entertain and communicate with its owner. It can dance, play music, respond to commands, talk and create its own blog entries that can be transferred online.

Sony said production of the robotic pooch would cease in March and AIBO enthusiasts expressed their sadness on a number of related forums."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/robot-for-hire/2006/01/27/1138319422806.html

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Cafe Giulia

Cafe GiuliaCafe Giulia

Cafe Giulia has a great casual, relaxed vibe. A lot of the staff seem to be art students. The food is great, and the prices are very reasonable. Pasta, steak sandwiches etc around $9.

Where: 92 Abercrombie St Chippendale. ph 02 9698 4424

W: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaosgeneration/sets/72057594052098072/

Yous cube seats



Came across the Yous recycled billboard bags homepage. They also sell ottomans, or cube seats.

W: http://www.yous.com.au/

Street art in St Peters



There's some new street art in May Lane, St Peters. It seems that Graphic Art Mount commission artists to do the street art. The artwork changes every few weeks.

W: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaosgeneration/sets/72057594052087913/

Graphic Art Mount http://www.graphicartmount.com.au

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Invest and rent: the new home solution

Article in the SMH about young people buying an investment property rather than buying their first home to live in. "Many young people are choosing to live at home, or rent a share house with friends in the inner city, and then invest in a cheaper property further out in the suburbs..."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/18/1137553651177.html

The Future Is Now! - architecture conference 6-9 April


Image: Armin Hess project

Keynote speakers include: Coop Himmelb(l)au from Austria, Rural Studio from the U.S., and Delugan Meissl from Vienna. Stephen Varady is the conference creative director.

W: http://www.architecture.com.au/thefutureisnow

Property price breakers

Article in SMH on how property prices in some areas along the east coast of Australia has dropped 10-20%. These properties tend to be in the 'less known' coastal towns.

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/cover-story/coast-watch/2006/01/13/1137118954940.html

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Haul bags

Haul bags made from recycled billboards

Haul bags are made from old billboards or truck inner tubes.

Designer Scott Kilmartin says: "We source old billboards 'skins' from advertising agencies and the pixelated graphics on each skin, means that no two bags are ever the same". The swing tag will even tell you the billboard your bag was built from.

W: http://www.haul.com.au/

New Masters: New Glass exhibition - 19 Jan-18 Feb


Clare Belfrage, Shifting Line Series, 2005, Blown Glass with Cane Drawing, Acid Etched, Tallest 45cm H

"Sabbia gallery's first January masters exhibition, which will become an annual event includes the work of some of Australia's foremost artists working in glass, including Giles Bettison, Scott Chaseling, Ben Edols & Kathy Elliott, Gerry King and Kirstie Rea. Come an experience the finest Australia has to offer."

W: http://www.sabbiagallery.com

St George Open Air Cinema - till 16 Feb, Sydney

The Open Air Cinema is at Mrs Macquaries Point, adjacent to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney. Enjoy Sydney at night by watching a film outdoors. Films showing include: Brokeback Mountain, Memoirs of a Geisha, Cinderella Man and more.

W: http://www.stgeorge.com.au/openair

Foster and Partners' new library in Berlin

"The Philology Library, at the Free University in Berlin--one of the firm's greenest schemes to date--represents years of research into the use of active and passive technologies for more energy-efficient buildings..."

W: http://www.metropolismag.com/cda/story.php?artid=1745

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Paddington Bear

The BBC website features an interview with Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond.

"Elevenses with Mr Paddington bear
Paddington, the marmalade-munching bear from Darkest Peru, may be nearly 50 but he's still popular, appearing on postage stamps and with a new adventure on the way. On his 80th birthday, creator Michael Bond reveals why the bear with the very hard stare has endured..."

W: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4608774.stm

Making a Million homepage

UK university student Alex Tew (21yrs) brainstormed how to make a million dollars to pay his overdraft and uni fees. He came up with the idea of creating a homepage and selling pixel space on that page with links to advertisers websites. He has made $999,000 from the page so far.

BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4585026.stm

SMH: http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/making-a-million-dot-com/2005/12/30/1135915692410.html

W: http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/

Keith and Sharon's travel blog

Keith is a travel contributor to CG. He and his wife Sharon are on the road, in the air again from 14 Dec 2005 to 8 Feb 2006. Their travel itinerary covers Hong Kong, Paris, London, Madrid, Rio, Motevideo, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Bolivia, Peru, Lima, LA, and then back to Sydney.

You can read about their travel adventures and see the photos they've taken at the travelpod website.

W: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/ksmc04/rtw-0506/tpod.html

Citrus



Went out for a bit of dessert tonight in Newtown. Citrus had this nut tiramisu on offer $6.50. The menu says it's only available Fri, Sat and Sun nights. It was really yummy with ice-cream (extra 50c).

Where: 227 King St Newtown, phone: (02) 9557 3582

Minus Five - ice bar in Sydney

There's an ice bar near the Opera House. The SMH says that it's $30 a drink and you're only allowed to stay in the bar for 30 minutes, otherwise you probably get too cold.

Where: Shop 18, 2 Opera Quays, Sydney, Phone (02) 9251 0311

W: http://www.smh.com.au/news/bar-reviews/minus-five/2005/12/22/1135032119884.html

Friday, January 6, 2006

Pancake shop, Sussex St, Chinatown - Jan 5

Pancake shop, Sussex st, chinatown

Walking along Sussex St at 8pm and I see a new pancake shop open. There are two windows with the door in the middle. On the left side, they were cooking up profiterole type pancakes in the window, and on the right hand side, they were making savoury pancakes. They poured a thin layer of batter onto the metal bench, put shrimps/prawns mixture onto that and then waited for it to cook up before serving. People were waiting in the street, smoking, talking and waiting for their order to come through. Very theatrical.

Pitt St mall, Sydney - Jan 5

Pitt St Mall, Sydney

Went to town to have a look around. The sales are still on and there's lots of people checking them out. Some people are back at work as well. Saw some suits running around.

Pitt St mall still has the Christmas star decorations up. It was a much cooler, rainy day. Much prefer this weather to the extremely hot weather of New Year's Day.

Sydney Festival 2006 - Jan 7-26

Sydney Festival 2006

The Sydney Festival includes theatre, music, dance, free outdoor events, vidual arts and more.

W: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au

Flickerfest 2006 -Jan 6-15, Sydney

Flickerfest 2006

Flickerfest 15th International Short Film Festival 2006.
Bondi Pavilion, Bondi Beach, Sydney, Australia
6-15 January, touring nationally January- March.
Box office: 02 9365 6888

W: http://www.flickerfest.com.au

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

Wellington trip



Went to Wellington, NZ over the Christmas break. Caught up with family, friends, had lots to eat. It's a very community oriented place. Everyone supports one another and knows what others are up to. People tend to just drop in to someone's house for a visit and there's always freshly baked cakes and biscuits and a fresh pot of tea on offer.

Love the vibe and pace of Wellington. It's a more relaxed, slower pace and you don't have to drive very far to get anywhere - 5-10 minutes is the norm. Plus you drive along the road, and wind around the mountainous terrain, and you see houses set against the mountains with lots of trees in covering the landscape. It really is a pretty romantic, magical place.

I never seem to have enough time to really go into tourist mode and just visit lots of places and take heaps of photos. But I did manage to take some photos around town.

W: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chaosgeneration/sets/1747602/

Chubby checks out

"David Aaronovitch sweats his way throught the second and final instalment of his time at fat camp.

In yesterday's excerpt, David Aaronovitch checked his belly into a luxurious suite at the Pritikin Longevity Centre and Spa in an attempt to turn around his spiralling weight problem..."

Article in SMH outlining some of the principles of the Pritikin diet.

W: http://smh.com.au/articles/2005/12/20/1135032001130.html

Searing preview of greenhouse life

"Sydney can expect more of the searing temperatures that fanned fires, stopped trains, disrupted air travel and blacked out suburbs on New Year's Day, according to CSIRO global warming projections.

On average, Sydney experiences temperatures above 35 degrees three days a year. That could double by 2030 and rise to as many as 18 days by 2070..."

W: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/02/1136050394364.html

Sydney reached 45 degrees on New Year's Day. It was really, really hot!