All these things that I've done

I got soul but I'm not a soldier -The Killers, All these things that I've done

Usually the lyrics posted on my header relates to the topic of the post. This one doesn't. The only reason I'm quoting the Killers is I woke up this morning with those words ringing in my head. (many thanks to brother for exposing me to their great album) For those who know the song, it's when the gospel singers start chanting with Brandon Flowers "I got soul but I'm not a soldier..." ....over and over again. It was ringing. In my head. Over and over. This morning. Pretty funky.
'I'm actually really curious if they were real gospel singers or just the band members going crazy...'

Melbourne was fun. I have a new obsession with jellyfish. I must say that obsession with blowfish was merely a fling....only lasted for....say, 2 weeks? Jellyfish are fantastic. Such fascinating creatures. 94% water, they don't have a heart, a brain or any bones. They're just a whole bunch of muscle fibers...weaved together intricately. They only have one opening- a mouth, so whatever goes in it, comes out the same way. Imagine spitting out your shit.
I mean, I guess you can say they are about as fascinating as floating plastic bags. But really...the poisonous tentacles, the fluency of movement... and it's hypnotic capabilities. (lookintomyeyes, lookintomyeyes...)

These shots were taken from the Melbourne Aquarium. I spent most of my time fixated on the jellyfish display. The red digital-mirob looking one is actually of juvenile jellyfish....meaning thousands and thousands of tiny miniature jellyfish just swirling around at an amazing speed. It's tricky doing photos with these displays as there was hardly any lighting and overexposure would have resulted in blurriness from all the movement, so a balance had to be reached.

Jellyfish are great. I mean, getting stung by that big swarm of bluebottles last year (Valentines Day) wasn't fun. And nearly passing out waiting for the ambulance to come, was even less fun.
But I forgive them, simply because they are such beautiful thingibobs.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

You're dangerous cause your honest, you're dangerous cause you don't know what you want. - U2, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

This may be tricky. But I'll try...

Movie: The Da Vinci Code.
Director: Ron Howard
Who's in it: Tom Hanks (That guy who acted in every other film), Audrey Tautou (That Amelie chick), Ian McKellen (Gandalf/Magneto), Jean Reno (Ronin, Leon, Pink Panther!)

My views. From the perspective of one who has read thebook.

To be honest, I wasn't too satisfied. But perhaps I hyped it up too much. It was gripping, and definitely entertaining. But it was too.....safe. And like a lot of things (in the arts) that are safe, they end up being forgettable. You may say...SAFE?! It was questioning the basis of Christianity! (But hasn't the book done that already). I guess what I'm saying is it just seemed that the script was re-written over and over again just to make sure they wouldn't end up overtly offending anyone. I just don't think you should try too hard to be nice when you set out to be naughty. Besides, it's a piece of fiction. It's a 'What If', not a 'This is What Happened'. The whole hoo ha about the book/movie being offensive in my opinion, was unecessary. But that's just me.
Then again, I never really had much faith in Ron Howard. Ian McKellen was good in this though. He always is. I can't wait to watch XMen3!!!! And I've always loved Jean Reno as an actor, but in this, he was mediocre, which is sad. For me.
I would give it a 6.9 out of 10. I also think the movie was a bit overstuffed.
I'm craving to discuss overlaps between book/movie but I'm afraid of spoiling it for those who haven't watched it. The classic line of the night though would have to be Roger's "So I.M Pei was in it all as well!" (I.M Pei - architect of the Louvre Museum, Paris).

What did everyone else think? (Besides, 'It was scary'! (Clara))

Floating Garbage bags for company

I realize I haven't blogged for awhile. For the past 2 weeks (before last weekend), work has been keeping me occupied. I thought It would be worth sharing with everyone what I've been working on, for those who don't see me at uni, and who aren't already sick of my project! :) Also I want this project documented in this blog.

We had to do something, make something. An installation or a device that explored a theme and topic concerning suburbia.

My investigation was to instil playfulness, fun and a little imperfection in to the sterile, monotonous and structured suburban housing area. What I ended up doing was filling up 28 multi-coloured garbage bags with helium and releasing them along a little street south of Kellyville called 'Perfection Avenue'.

Here are the photos, which I think speak for the whole project...


'On Sunday, 7th May 2006, 28 coloured garbage bags were floating, fleeting, drifting along Perfection Avenue, Kellyville Ridge. It is not something you would expect to see in the perfect suburban housing area, but for one day, Perfection Avenue was brightened up and turned magical by an array of upside down garbage bags.'