Thank you for reading – when I start writing at my new address I will let you know!

Art by Maria Rubinke via Hi Fructose

June 18th I turned twenty-nine years old. Holy crap. I have fought so hard to get my health back on track these last few years – harder than I ever imagined I would have to. It feels good to be here, where I am, today. There truly are no coincidences.

Suffering is justified as long as it becomes the raw material of beauty.”
– Sartre

A dream can be a terrifying fucking thing sometimes.

Three years ago I finally, finally admitted to myself that the nagging feeling that I want to, in some fashion, be a clothing designer, wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. Eight months later, part way through: the healthfail avalanche. Today I pre-enrolled in that same patternmaking course I got part way through in 2010 – I have to do an entry test in a couple of months which will determine whether or not my app. is accepted. The deal from now on: laser focus like never before. Practice, practice, practice.

It was so, so exciting to be back in the Fashion Tech workroom to enrol again today. I was on such a high when I left. And then, a couple of hours later, self-doubt swoops in: Aren’t you too OLD to be doing this? It will be too hard! You are supposed to have a career by now, what is wrong with you? If your dream was meant to be, it would have happened by now!!! To which I say: I am not listening to your shit. No way in hell. The better part of me has walked through enough fire to know she is gonna come out the other side. Might shed a few tears, might bend a little, but I will not break.

Fear, properly harnessed, will shoot your ass to the moon.

Art by Moon, via Supersonic Electronic

SPRING. I crave the first signs that the warmer seasons are heading toward us – these past few weeks it has definitely begun happening. The air is different, the days a little longer, and a few sunny, crisp ones are emerging here and there. Spring is coming! I cannot wait.

Other rad things about the last couple of months:

♥ More yoga, deeper stretches. Bikram here I come.

♥ RJD2 [ Ghostwriter | Smoke and Mirrors | June ]

♥ Crystals! Rose quartz, amethyst, lapis lazuli, citrine, obsidien, clear quartz, turquoise, jasper, tiger’s eye. The next few pieces of jewellery that I’m creating for the shop are gonna be so much fun.

♥ Eating a rad meal with my family at La Boca Loca in Miramar, to farewell my brother and his girlfriend, as they headed overseas, on a philosophy-inspired adventure, for a few months. For dinner I had rad tortilla soup, which they had no qualms about veganizing, with a side of mexican coleslaw; the mojito I downed was also delicious

♥ Layers of lace. Black and pastels.

Batman x Peter Lindbergh, via Iain Claridge

♥ I enjoyed this post I stumbled upon, which comes via Kris Carr’s blog: The Top 10 Things I Wish I Knew Before 30. Good timing to have come across it around the time of my birthday!

♥ Finally having Ash over for dinner! On the menu: Vegan spaghetti & meatballs, with a side of Maia’s awesome spicy broccoli. Nom Nom. It was a stormy night, all the better for lounging around and watching some vintage Addam’s Family and a little Animaniacs.

♥ The people I love that put up with my tendency to fold up into myself now and then.

♥ Edward Snowden, the NSA surveillance whistleblower. A heroic act. It is so, so important that the public be informed of what he has leaked. We need and deserve to know. But do enough of us desire to know…? It is humbling that he is 30 years old, practically the same age as me; puts my problems and challenges in perspective, that’s for damn sure.

“I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions,” but “I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant.”
– Edward Snowden, via the Guardian

April was a very healing month.

I had a lot of moments in the last couple of weeks where I have turned my face toward the sky, closed my eyes and silently said THANK YOU to the universe. Change comes.

Slowly but surely, I have been getting this chronic-pain trapped-nerve business sorted out. There have been doctors, surgeons, x-rays, scans, piles of pills, naturopathy, osteopathy, acupuncture, EFT, energy healing and chiropractic.

At times it has been a very hard, frustrating experience, but in many ways, the health ups and downs I have had over the last three years have been an incredible gift. I have learned how to nourish myself with amazing food. I have learned that I need to be fierce about following my dreams (and also very patient), and that I am hungry for big things.

I knew that the light at the end of this tunnel would begin getting closer eventually and it feels REAL good that the time has come. Yusss. This year I will run back into the arms of sewing. Even get my ass back to Bikram. It is exciting as hell.

For the last month or so, I have been seeing an amazing chiropractor – I came away deflated after my first shot at chiropractic, but when the orthopaedic surgeon I saw recently thought it was worth another shot, I figured I might as well visit a different practice with my fingers crossed and see what happened. It was such a good call!

The first week, I had three separate adjustments (an ‘adjustment’ is the chiropractic euphemism for cracking yer bones ). The few weeks that followed I went in twice weekly, and as of last week I have a weekly appointment. During this time a bunch of rad things having happened, including halving the amount of strong-ass painkillers I need to take, and being able to unglue myself from my hot water bottle. Coupled with continuing to eat empowering food, I am feeling better than ever. Onwards and upwards.

Mia and Vince, via Ffffound

Other awesome things about my April:

Drinking an Emerald City Cocktail while watching Oz the Great & Powerful in 3D with Cam. So much fun. We sat in the supercomfy, reclining seats at Reading and ate up a popcorn storm. I loved the movie: some people get annoyed with the sensory overload of colour and the leaning towards style over substance, but I think: fuck yes. Disney was made for 3D eyeball confections. Pump ’em full, Disney. What I really wanna know is: when do I get to see 3D Chitty Chitty Bang Bang???

The amazing Kris Carr! Kris just celebrated her 10 year cancer anniversary. She is a total star and definitely one of the inspirations behind my clean eating health adventure.

Ciaté‘s soon-to-be-launched Chalkboard Manicure sounds very, very cool. And also reminds me that I need to deal to the chipped mess of purple polish I’ve got on lingering on my nails right now (nail polish can’t handle me – I’m too handsy – if it lasts four days, it’s a miracle).

Street Art Utopia has rounded up 100+ of their favourite 2012 street art photos.

Image via Tumblr

Diana Eng’s laser lace tops are awesome; I want a black version of the All Over Tee so bad. Her fortune cookie coin purse is rad as hell too!

I was excited to stumbled upon Constrvct while bouncing around online recently. It is a really interesting project, still in a public beta stage, that has potential to be very, very cool. Billing themselves as “the world’s first collaborative fashion label”, Constrvct enables people to upload their own images, to be printed digitally on to plain garments that are made to custom size from 3D patterns. Make your own Constrvct or buy from the shop. I’m gonna keep an eye on this one.

Acid Cult is lookin’ fresh thanks to Big Cartel introducing a new, no nonsense & beautiful theme for me to play with.

PUFF PASTRY. There is something about pastry that is deliciously comforting. I wanna wrap everything in pastry right now.

LP Cover Lover: “The World’s Greatest LP Album Covers”. By ‘greatest’ they mean ‘most retro & ridiculous’…

Gabby Bernstein’s short & sweet EFT de-stress tutorial: How to Reduce Stress. It might seem a little woo-woo at first, but tapping (a kind of self-administered acupressure) works for all sorts of things that might be throwing you off your game. It totally helped with the depression challenges I struggled through during my early-mid twenties. It is very easy and can be super effective.

Visual stimulus. I am VFiles bitch right now and it rules. That, coupled with the gravity of Pinterest pulling me further and further in, has kicked me in to aesthetic overdrive.

By Annie Owens, Supersonic Electronic

Being taught diaphragmatic breathing during my first ever session with an energy healer. FUCK YES. A jaw-droppingly effective way of pulling myself back together in moments of stress or doubt. Calming, centring, veil-clearing.

Photographs of abandoned places. I will never see enough of these. This collection is my favourite in a long time: The 33 Most Beautiful Abandoned Places in the World.

The suave brains behind Haute Macabre have their very own perfume! Haute Macabre by Black Phoenix Alchemist Lab, they are taking backorders for the next run right this minute.

Making spreadable vegan mozzerella! A delicious victory! Find the recipe, along with the very tip of the online vegan cheese iceberg, in my post for Kitchen Rebellion – The KR Guide to Vegan Cheese in New Zealand (& Beyond)

The best housewarming gift EVER from my soul sis Lucy. She knows Cam & I so well!

My custom Mortal Gods vest. So fucking rad! I love it to pieces and then some. Heavy-duty studded lapels and a big back patch with Siouxsie in the middle and “fall in love, not in line” in big lavender letters wrapped around it. Check it out:

Kate Moss, photography by Ellen Von Unwerth (Vogue Italia, 1992); via Vfiles

A whole lotta love this January & February. Here is my list of goodness:

Quality not quantity.

My new MAC stash, especially my new lipstick in Russian Red; so matte, so good.

Okay, this list of 25 Clever Ideas to Make Life Easier has some suggestions that made me go ohh. Like amplifying the sound of your mp3 player by placing it in a bowl, baby powder being an awesome post-beach sand remover and making a tray for half a dozen cupcakes by cutting crosses into the lid of a shoe box. Awesome!

Gin cocktails & Reality TV. Me and my girl Maia know how to party.

♥ The Wellington Cup. I got dolled up and went along with my Mum, Dad, brother & his lady. It was a really fun day; my first ever time at Trentham and an excellent excuse to break out a pair of what I like to call my “sitting shoes” because they definitely are not made for much in the way of moving around. My folks are members so I got to hang out in the Member’s Lounge – wood-paneling and traditional airs contrasting wonderfully with the outré headwear and boisterous conversation – which is the perfect spot to hang out: mint seats and a private bar. Hell yeah. I also drank champagne out of a crystal winner’s cup; I don’t know who was more amused, me or the guys who’s celebratory shenanigans I tipsily jumped in on.

Being far enough away from Central that the sirens give way to native birds singing; having a view of the horizon; a big wooden deck that warms in the sunshine. Home.

Ashley Smith, photography by Ellen Von Unworth; via Vfiles

Eating at Pickle (posse time; shared an interesting menu with some of my favourite people, drank a delicious Jarjito*), Bin 44 (family time! First time at this place – the food was nothing to shimmy and shake about, but the service was rad) and Dragonfly (convoy time; fuck I love this restaurant – food, cocktails, service, atmosphere, everything; I feasted on eggplant and accidentally nailed myself to the wall with passionfruit caprioska slushies; superfun)

The stubbornness that is holding my dreams together like superglue.

♥ Spending a week in New Plymouth with Cam at his folks’ place. So, so relaxing. The Taranaki coast is one of my favourite things about this country; it is beautiful in a different way to Wellington’s. Calmer. More powerful somehow. There is a restaurant called Arborio that rustled up an amazing vegan bruschetta with zero hassle and fucking impeccable service. See also: delicious guava daiquiri. If you are ever in the neighbourhood, pay them a visit, your belly will thank you.

Lots more views on Kitchen Rebellion in the new year! Bring it; bring it BIG.

http://blackandwtf.tumblr.com/ YES YES YES.

Dinner at Hede last month, catching up with a couple of friends on holiday from Melbourne**, during which I had my first taste of sake. As far as drinking strong, warm liquor can go down smooth, it went down very smooth… ahem.

* Being a Mojito in a jar
** Part of the ongoing Great Wellington-Melbourne Exodus

Bridget Hall, photography by Ellen Von Unwerth (Vogue UK, 1995); via Vfiles

There are some sweet tutorials in this big ass list of how-tos: The World’s Best Sewing Tutorials over at Alinas Adventures. I am a shameless lover of rad storage options. Shameless.

♥ Catching up with a friend I hadn’t seen in far too long, who introduced me to the beautiful secret that is Hashigo Zake; love her and love that bar. The craftiest of craft beer, good food, sweet & knowledgeable bogan bartenders.

Humanoid Robot Plays Motorhead’s Ace of Spaces. Irresistable.

Reading about Scientology. I can’t get enough of The Crazy right now; it is insane, brutal stuff. I need to get my hands on a copy of Going Clear, the expose published recently; it was written by Lawrence Wright, an investigative journalist who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007.

♥ Xoe Hall! Xoe is one of my favourite local artists; her technicolour, pop-infused work can be seen around town lifting the game of businesses, gracing the walls of galleries, making the street sassier and, more recently, making the wardrobes of Wellington girls way more badass via Mortal Gods.

These are my five favourite pieces from her gallery:

Love Hurts, 2012

Cute Kill, 2012

The Geminis Battle for Sanity, 2012

Pyro Baby, 2012

Glitter docs for Mortal Gods

Check out Xoe’s site, and the Mortal Gods facebook page; there is lotsa crazy goodness to be had. You know you want in on the action! Right now I’m in the midst of arranging for a Mortal Gods Siouxsie Soux vest to be born. Cuz I need one. Hell yeah.

Here’s to an amazing March!

♥ ♥ ♥

To be honest, though, it’s days like this that I really miss working for Cosmic. The parade of wastage gets more over the top each year, and being in the position of selling legal (& safe, actually, media bitches) drugs to people who are gloriously costumed & Council-mandated drunk as hell at 10am was a special kind of WTF/amazing.

It can be a magic weekend, above all because it is a great opportunity to take the piss, and the banter can be fucking hilarious at times; every now and then you’d need to boot someone out of the shop, but mostly err’one is a’ight.

The girls walking around with Pump bottles full of breakfast bourbon always cracked me up – walking emblems of the weekend’s excess, for sure – I mean, at least put something clear in there, ffs! There really is no pretence required over these next two days. It’s like all bets are off – the cops don’t give a fuck over Sevens weekend. The only people who care about the lawless free-for-all are the bunch of unlucky women getting bullied in the street in broad daylight because certain repressed-ass muppets have decided to use the weekend as a license to disguise themselves & behave like pieces of shit. Ahem. Sexual harassment is not supposed to be part of the schtick, motherfuckers.. Seriously. I know Wellington is full of hotties but look, don’t touch.

Other than that… the costumes can be truly priceless; some might have thought that the baby-crotch-Priest scenario was a little on the nose last year, but I thought it was effing brilliant. See also: Lego men, chewbaccas, storm troopers, Jesus bearing an 8-foot cross on wheels, jocks in all kinds of drag, the Inevitable Hair Metallers (see below), the Slut-o-ween bandwagon jumpers, the small town penis metaphors, travellers bemusedly caught up in it all. Epic stuff.

This time around, for the first time since living in this little city, I am not working! If I wanted to experience the madness, I would have to be out amongst it; jesus mofo christ; no behind-a-counter barrier, no sales jive protection. It feels very, very weird to be at home right now. My adjustment strategy involves my brothers homebrew pear cider and adding to my slowly evolving Ultimate Playlist.

—

As it turns out, my across-the-road neighbour and a bunch of his friends are hair metalling it up for the Sevens today. I couldn’t resist: I impromptu-invited myself over for a drink via shouting at them from my balcony, and ended up hangin’ out talking shit about porno & penii while they were post-BBQ chilling/getting ready to go into Central. Glorious.

I even got a signed “gig poster”…

Yes, they got posters printed. Dedicated shit. “Keep it slutty, slut!” may be my favourite signature, ever. We listened to Motley Crue and Black Sabbath. Needless to say, it was awesome.

—

Possibly the only time of year when I can look outside and see my neighbours casually donning leopard print spandex, permed wigs and fake dragon tattoos…

I checked the Dark Arts volume out of Central library recently; two of my favourite artists, Polly Morgan and Liz McGrath are in there and I also discovered a bunch of awesome people whose work hadn’t crossed my path yet. It is a rad book – available here if you can’t resist!

Wendy Cogan Toyoda

Visit her site here.

“I align symbols of the decorative with the cheap, gaudy and luxurious to create an atmosphere of discomfort… I want to raise the question of what it is to be feminine.”
– Wendy Cogan Toyoda, via Juxtapoz Dark Arts (USA, 2009)

James Jean ♥

Visit his site here.

“I think the best paintings of mine are born from the deepest recesses of the mind, from dark and surprising places.”
– James Jean, via this interview with Theresa Ryan

Elizabeth McGrath ♥

I have so much love for this lady! Visit her site here.

““My parents had been instructed to burn everything I owned, including my photos and entire record collection…”
– Elizabeth McGrath, via this interview with Bizarre Magazine

Miss Van ♥

Visit her site here.

“The idea of provocativeness has also a part in my conception of my work. I have always liked painting a sexy doll in an inappropriate place. I want to provoke strong reactions.”
– Miss Van, via EureakArt

Polly Morgan ♥

Visit her site here.

“I find it difficult to say what inspires me. A lot of influences are caught subliminally. The most abstract things can become inspiration.”
– Polly Morgan, via this interview at IdeasTap

Jonathan Viner ♥

Visit his site and shop here.

“I’m really good at making enemys, well not really. I guess what I’m trying to say is to make sure that you watch my back, OK.”
– Jonathan Viner, via this interview at Fecal Face

Greg Simkins ♥

Visit his site & shop here.

“The best piece of advice I have ever gotten was to discover my own voice in my art.”
– Greg Simkins, via this interview at Empty Kingdom

Wellington Library rules, I actually don’t know what I would do without it: cookbooks, fashion design, graphic design, illustration, Bitch, Bust, Frankie, craft, cross stitch, costume. All for free (aside from the fines!).

Other Juxtapoz volumes include Tattoo, Illustration, Handmade and Poster Art. Cosmic has sold all of these at one time or another, so had the chance to check them out well when I was working there. Dark Arts is definitely my favourite – there is something about this flavour of art that I am drawn to more than any other; I guess it what feels the most beautiful to me.

♥ ♥ ♥

Our big fluffy boss-cat, Frankie, died a month ago. She was hit by a car outside the path to our flat, just up the road from the house where she was born five years earlier.

I appreciated her radness every single day and I miss her so, so much. She was a big, badass shining light; she was the boss of our house! I miss her wisdom, her company, her faces. I miss her soft, fluffy grey belly, her all knowing yellow-green eyes and the beautiful shapes she made. If her body was as huge as her personality, she would have crushed that damn car!

Born an Aro cat, died an Aro cat. One week before we moved away. Fate tastes very bitter sometimes. We have ninja-claimed the curb our neighbour buried her in and turned it into a memorial, complete with two native shrubs and an engraved granite plaque.

I like to think that Frankie’s spirit is out there in the ether, chasing birds and playing games with her brother Moridin, who died the same way in late 2009. They were our yin and yang cats; now they can hang together again.

It has been a heart-wrenching time. Our lil cat Penny, who through the trauma of losing her sister, has been so super brave, is helping me keep my shit together. If you’re not a cat person that probably sounds crazy; I’m down with that. Our family is smaller but strong.

Sometimes having the rug pulled from under your feet can bring a sudden clarity to things that have been mulling around in your subconscious, quietly demanding action. This has been one of those times for me. My intuition began to bitchslap me through my grief: I had been throwing my creative energy against a wall.

It was time to let go. So I resigned from my merchandising job; as it played out, what needed to be done was too physical for what I am capable of at the moment; this has been weighing heavy on me, because I love love love visual styling – it’s so much fun and I am awesome at it. But the stockroom stuff – no. Can’t do it.

Also, I can’t sew right now, unless I want to spend days in much worse pain than usual. All of the made-to-order products in my shop are on hiatus. My range of sterling silver pendants are 100% still available, though! I am loving the Khufu necklace right now – check Acid Cult for more offbeat jewellery goodness.

I need to give myself space to heal and stop trying to force it. This gauntlet of health complications is like a test from the universe to see how patient I can be about getting back to Fashion Tech to do the Pattern Design Certificate I have dreams every night about finishing. It has been two years and counting! I had been hoping to enrol for the January class, but I am not ready yet.

So I am taking a deep breath, a let-it-go breath; I am reminding myself that I will triumph in the end.

Frankie passing away, setting aside sewing, quitting my dream retail job, moving across town. The last month has felt like an avalanche of change.

2013, eh? Phew. Bring it on.

Yuanzi Wang’s amazing work @ Lancia

]]> https://lissaorelse.wordpress.com/2012/12/29/frankie-says-relax-rip-saying-goodbye-something-new/feed/ 0 1383 lissaorelse Frizzle Frizzle Metallic Embroidery by Yuanzi Wang https://lissaorelse.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/launch-learn-acid-cult-cool-shit-a-wearable-arts-window/ https://lissaorelse.wordpress.com/2012/10/24/launch-learn-acid-cult-cool-shit-a-wearable-arts-window/#respond Tue, 23 Oct 2012 13:01:15 +0000 http://lissaorelse.wordpress.com/?p=1360 Continue reading →]]>
Image via Ffffound

The last couple of days I have been laid up with some painful leg nonsense – physio, here I come! – which has turned out to have a silver lining in the form of motivating me to get serious about getting my online shop firmly established.

Enough stalling and obsessing over the “is it really good enough” and the “gotta be perfect”. Like Danielle La Porte said: Launch and learn. I am injecting this advice into my brain.

After mmming and ahhing for over a year about the merits of Etsy vs Big Cartel, and letting myself cave to my natural inclination to be an itinerant dabbler by bouncing between the two, I snapped myself out of it and made a decision. Big Cartel. Done.

Quickly followed by a flurry of photo editing, copywriting and listing everything possible.

Acid Cult is up and running in a form that works for me, with new cross stitch designs added to the range of Pennyroyal made to order totes and – finally! – the first four pieces in the Acid Cult range of sterling silver neckwear.

Yesterday I listed the first of the new Pennyroyal brand ‘Bitch Stitch’ range of upcycled clothing. I have wanted clothing in the shop for a long, long time; this is just the beginning! Come hither.

Now I need to connect with some amazing customers and drop my fear of networking. It’s been a bumpy road, but here we are. Momentum, movement, my own crazy way. I’ve just got to keep going. One day at a time, forward with focus.

Radness right now:

♥ My new tattoo; ‘tea time‘ written in beautiful handwriting on the side of my right hand. It is SO CUTE. It might be my favourite so far

♥ Evernote. Fuck. Yes. Helping me keep my sometimes erratic mind on track since I belatedly discovered it earlier in the year. It is the perfect tool for obsessive note-takers.

♥ Reading The Help again.

♥ V Magazine’s From the Desk of Lady Gaga.

♥ Sushi in Civic Square. St. Pierre’s vege snack box = a vegan light lunch for under $5 in Wellington central ♥ thank fuck.

♥ Spring sunshine and nights getting lighter.

♥ My 50th post for
Kitchen Rebellion! KR has had a little mini facelift recently, too.

♥ The Sopranos; Cam & I just watched the whole series for the first time. Now I finally know what all the fuss was about! It’s an amazing show; straight to number two on my list of all-time favourite TV dramas (number one being The Wire).

♥ The WOW window competition. The construction was a nightmare and I ruined the waist of half of the skirt while dressing the mannequin for the final time, resulted in a flurry of impromptu quick-fixing and barely held back tears; on the other hand, I pulled it off with no budget, passersby loved the window, and it’s not every day you get to incorporate Charlize Theron smoking an apple bong into a work-related project. It was an experience, that much I can say.

♥ ♥ ♥

Being back at work is so, so good.

There is a shitload to do and I am amping to get it done; it’s a good feeling. I really love my job; evenmoreso I love the fact that I have been gifted the freedom to fit my merchandising hours around my personal creative projects however works best for me. That is a big, liberating deal. I am a lucky bitch.

When things get stressful, I’ve just got to remind myself that being able to concentrate on visual merchandising in a place as small as Wellington is a very rare thing. Not many people get paid solely to be creative in retail here, which from my obviously biased perspective seems very counterproductive.

Walking into a vividly imagined, cohesive space, there is a completely different energy than walking into somewhere that hasn’t had a dedicated eye keeping things on the right track. It can be the difference between being compelled to look at *everything* and just wanting to give things a quick glance.

Less plonking-on-shelves, more investment-in-aesthetics, I say!

We’ve decided to enter the Cuba Mall shop in the WOW window dressing competition this year and it’s my job to throw it all together. Until today I had been freaking out about the seemingly inevitable, mindfucking complexity of pulling it off with no budget, without doing a tonne of unpaid work, while simultaneously cranking my usual VM gig.

This afternoon I had an epiphany and realised that it doesn’t have to be complicated, it just has to be a bit clever.

Ten minutes later a weight-lifting, evolved nugget of an idea bubbled up from my subconscious; I’ve sketched it out, brainstormed a little and now aim to not spend any more of my time thinking about it until I set foot in the shop tomorrow. I tend to have a problem switching off my at-Cosmic brain and I am going to knock that habit the fuck out, because it is 100% not productive!

The rest of the afternoon is all about the epic playlist I am about to queue and cookin’ some damn pie. Vegan Pie Adventure #2: Curried Lentil Victory is on the horizon.

Bring on spring, I say! I want more crisp mornings and cool sunshine; walking in town today was so invigorating. The atmosphere in Wellington on a wind-free, sunny day is something that never gets old, no matter how cynical I might get about this lil town sometimes.

I think the thing about me-and-Wellington is we need space every now and then; it has been time to start planning a holiday for a while and this week wheels started turning. The plan has evolved into a 3 week holiday split between Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Sydney. Fuck. Yes. I am so excited! I’ve started with the to-do lists already!

Holiday-planning aside, right now I am lovin’…

Femke Hiemstra‘s art.

A friend of mine describing herself as a “house cat” I am so right there with her; home is where it’s at. My life basically revolves around cooking delicious food and hanging out on the couch with Cam.

The Pussy Riot phenomenon. These ladies are awesome. For good measure, here is an interview they did with Vice magazine a few days before their arrest.

Queuing an epic playlist; so satisfying. Currently grooving on Amon Tobin; I always find his music so wildly immersive. You kinda forget that it’s coming in from the outside and hear it in your pores. When an album comes to an end, the emptiness of the silence is always a jolt. You don’t realise how filled up with music the space had become – it just kinda slides in a fits right. Sexy, smoothly erratic. Right this minute, I’m swimming in The Bridge; it’s a kinda jazzy, slippery, film noir summer atmosphere album. Perfect.

I really love Camille Rose Garcia’s work; somehow her Alice In Wonderland illustrations had escaped my attention until recently.

Downloading a bunch of new episodes and movies. TV exists through torrents in my house. The networks and their fiendish advertising can dig their claws in elsewhere.

ONLY THE YOUNG DIE YOUNG. Hat tip for the avalanche of punk rock eye candy and a playlist is made of gold!

It’s not certain yet, but it looks like NZ is finally going to make same sex marriage legal! Last night the Marriage Equality Bill got voted through to the select committee stage. Something like 80% of NZers (and 100% of awesome people) support the Bill; fingers crossed that enough of our MPs finally feel the same way to get it passed into law.

Being back at work this week, after a month of ruptured blood vessel-induced bed rest (ffs!). It feels sooo good to be back doin my thing at Cosmic.

The Little Bird Unbakery. Aucklanders, I am insanely jealous that you live in the same town as this joint. Little Bird chocolate raw organic macaroons are the stuff that dreams are made of. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about them; seriously one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.

Via Ffffound

Crying out some bad news, putting it in perspective then sitting on the deck in the sunshine, looking at the sea. Life is good.

John Locke has been installing these phone booth public libraries around New York City as part of a project called the Department of Urban Betterment. This is such a cool idea.

Have you heard of Network 21? It was a pirate TV channel that broadcast from midnight on Fridays for a few months in mid-80s London. Alexis Petridis talks a little about it here in an article about pirate television. As he points out, the whole exciting affair has made it’s way on to YouTube and includes, among other weird and wonderful clips, live Einsteurzende Neubauten footage, William Burroughs reciting poetry, Genesis P-Orridge & dream machines, excerpts from Andy Warhol’s Trash, and the Rolling Stones in drag.

Teenage Death Cult, Justin Blyth’s collection for Blood Is The New Black; amazing.

Dark hair and a heavy fringe

Yayoi Kusama, via Ffffound