Mereki Beach.

summer playlist.

2011-07-20T17:12:00.001-07:00

i like you, unicorn girl.

2011-07-19T23:14:00.002-07:00

Beginners. Watch this...honestly, watch. this.

2011-07-19T23:14:00.001-07:00

i just stumbled upon this and fell. into. the. love.

2011-07-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

Fireflies on the Water (2002) by Yayoi Kasuma.

2011-06-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

2011-06-23T19:32:00.001-07:00

Yayoi Kusama said about her 1954 painting titled Flower (D.S.P.S),

One day I was looking at the red flower patterns of the tablecloth on a table, and when I looked up I saw the same pattern covering the ceiling, the windows and the walls, and finally all over the room, my body and the universe. I felt as if I had begun to self-obliterate, to revolve in the infinity of endless time and the absoluteness of space, and be reduced to nothingness. As I realized it was actually happening and not just in my imagination, I was frightened. I knew I had to run away lest I should be deprived of my life by the spell of the red flowers. I ran desperately up the stairs. The steps below me began to fall apart and I fell down the stairs straining my ankle.^[

newdaynewdaynewdaynewdaynewdaynewdaynewday !!

2011-06-15T10:40:00.000-07:00

2011-06-15T10:38:00.001-07:00

To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it.” — Osho

2011-06-13T10:45:00.000-07:00

hey new york, wanna be mates?

2011-06-12T21:45:00.001-07:00

so. beautiful.

2011-06-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

you are a dot... you are a dot... i am a dot.

2011-04-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

thank you Emma-Jo. xx

2011-04-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

want.

2011-04-06T14:30:00.001-07:00

by eric guth.

2011-04-06T14:17:00.002-07:00

2011-04-06T14:17:00.001-07:00

L+T: What is the most beautiful sound you can think of?
GP: The sound of rain on the roof of my parents’ conservatory or the kettle boiling.

my bestie made this. i like it a lot.

2011-03-23T09:07:00.001-07:00

Cape Cruisers from Ashleigh Marie Parker on Vimeo.

JAAKKO MATTILA.

2011-02-26T17:58:00.001-08:00

L.A.yyyy.

2011-02-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

City of Angels.

2011-02-02T12:29:00.000-08:00

This place gets a bad wrap. i don't get it. SO much cool shit EVERYWHERE and we've been doing a good job of taste testing. Here are some bar's+cafe's, mostly in the East, that i highly recommend frequenting if you find yourself Stateside and LA LA Land-ing.

Shortstop
Gold Room ($4 special - beer+tequilla)
Thirsty Crow
Cha Cha Lounge
The Red Lion
Chango's (tofu sandwich)
Fix & Intelligentsia (goooood coffee)
M-Cafe
Footsies
Barragans
The Dresden
The White Horse
Goodluck Club
Millies (breakfast)
Pho Cafe
BEER BAR (new!)
The Rainbow Room (if you're feeling metal)

NYE. LA.

2011-02-02T11:49:00.001-08:00

First night in Los Angeles and we end up at this house party in Santa Monica. Bangin'.

Boulder, Colorado.

2011-02-02T10:48:00.000-08:00

i love skype.

2011-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:00

2011-02-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

Mac Harris.

fuck. i want to be part of this family. (love you mum).

2011-01-31T21:44:00.000-08:00

Today.

2011-01-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

My bestie and i were trying to find job's in Los Feliz when we stumbled upon the utterly adorable store New High Mart on Vermont. If you live close by and have the opportunity to visit, please do yourself a favour. The shop marries so perfectly technical/ outdoorsy with exotic off beat treats from around the globe. So much fresh and so much colour. Delicious. The owner was also pretty lovely- i told him that my friend and i had just made wishes on dandelions and he declared his love for finding them blowing about and hoped one would find it's way into his store. I told him i'd do what i could.

Anyways, whilst there i fell in love with this flag necklace and am now in love with the blog of the necklace creator. Check out the Scout-Holiday blog. Cute as.

2011-01-07T10:37:00.000-08:00

2011-01-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

i am in LA.

2011-01-02T16:48:00.001-08:00

stoked.

Breakfast on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

2010-12-15T14:54:00.000-08:00

There was free coffee, fruit loaf, juices, macadamia butter and plenty of fresh grass to laze about on. It felt like breakfast in a harp-filled sky. Delicious.

breakfast in the sky. from Mereki Beach on Vimeo.

honestly.

2010-12-15T00:20:00.001-08:00

and then there's this...

2010-12-15T00:00:00.000-08:00

arguably my favourite film clip ever. ever. he invites you into the cosmos! this is one hundred dollars.

non sequitur clips, my favourite.

2010-12-14T23:35:00.000-08:00

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Heaven Can Wait from Charlotte Gainsbourg on Vimeo.

RONNIE FLOTSAM.

2010-12-08T19:39:00.000-08:00

OOOhhhhhhh MY DAYS... i've just discovered my new favourite artist.

Happens to be a very good friend of mine with talent and heart to boot.

Pure GENIUS.

The cute train is coming... CUTE CUTE!

Check him out here - http://ronnieflotsam.com/

Hate to quote Miranda Kerr but...

2010-11-25T15:56:00.001-08:00

"everything you're searching for can be found within you."

Snap.

hibernian house, Sydney - where i've been bunking lately.

2010-10-18T05:17:00.000-07:00

luna park (for the ANTM final- and what a final it was).

2010-10-18T05:12:00.000-07:00

Michael Roads via Mama Bear.

2010-10-12T23:00:00.001-07:00

"Question; "What is My Purpose?"

The answer to that is very simple. Be the love that you are. Be the "real you" expressing with a focus from the immortal Being you are.

Anything with a beginning and ending is all part of the illusion.Bodies,careers,relationships, all come and go.

The world does not need saving. "Mother Earth" is one heck of a lady and will save herself, but, eventually, even our planet will go.

How much fame and fortune we've accumulated or how many "toys" we have, in the grand scope of things, is less than meaningless.

How much knowledge we have in our heads again, in the end, meaningless.

But what we have in our hearts - the Love we have in our hearts - is our "calling card" that broadcasts into the universe and stays with us throughout eternity, embracing and elevating all life.

We're here to return to Love, to remember who we are, to remember that part of us that has no beginning, has no end.

That is our sole/soul purpose!"

first aid kit.

2010-09-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

saw these two swedish teens play a private show at 'somewhere' gallery in surrey hills last night.

it was the most beautiful performance i have seen in a very long time.

as in...i cried. ha. super embarrassing as i attended the show solo.

but seriously, if you get a chance to witness this first hand, DO SO.

mmm i can smell cookies right now. what luck.

i went a bit crazy...

2010-09-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

making origami lately.

flynn william wisdom clarke.

2010-09-08T22:20:00.000-07:00

on the 30th of July 2010 i became an aunty.

this is him with my sister's fiance. i took the picture the day flynn was born.

i've never been a 'baby person' but i definitely melted when i met this little guy.

to quote my mum 'i love him so much and falling in love like that is just so amazing.'

i love this photo.

how's your weekend?

2010-09-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

i was lucky enough to feature on one of my favourite blogs this week.

Check out the site here --> 'how's your weekend?'

it's fairly adorable.

2010-09-04T22:51:00.000-07:00

currently residing Sydney-side. In a few words it has so far been like this:

long brunch's. city lights. cheap chinese. lychee juice. westfield. sleazy clubs. free champagne. dance-floors. good coffee. good conversation. old friends. friendly fresh faces. hustle. massages. watermelon. walking. dreaming.

our old boat.

2010-08-25T22:43:00.001-07:00

road-trip to grandma-ma's.

2010-08-24T04:56:00.001-07:00

medicine cards.

2010-08-24T04:34:00.000-07:00

last night i pulled the moose.

"Help me to honour the gifts i can give, and recognize my worthiness long as i live."

noosa winter.

2010-08-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

fairly excited.

2010-08-23T22:31:00.000-07:00

to see this in person on the side of PS 11 in NYC in mere months.

the giant mural was created by artists Os Gemeos and Futura.

pretty cute in his flag pants.

2010-08-23T03:05:00.000-07:00

Rub your eyes

Now go again

Touch the lids

Feel the skin

Lick your lips

Taste their nothing

Salty nor sweet

Hard, dry meat

Tummy heavy

With woes and why’s

Hips ready

For mores and my’s

Dream not of future

Linger not in past

Try and stay present

With all that will last.

home.

2010-08-23T03:00:00.000-07:00

Mum: The moon went into Scorpio at 10:15 last night which is about when I lost it. It’s funny I like being married to a Scorpio so much

Me: Not always. Ha

Mum: No, always, I always love being married to him, even when we do the argy bargy stuff

Me: What's the 'argy bargy' stuff?

Mum: You know, ‘oh what did you bloody do that for’, etc,

I even like that.

i look up.

2010-08-23T01:41:00.000-07:00

cuties.

2010-07-08T21:06:00.002-07:00

2x sisters + 1x cousin = 3x adorable.

2010-07-08T21:06:00.001-07:00

'she drove very fast, but she didn't drive fast as if she meant to break the law. She drove fast as if it were her given right. There was a difference and i appreciated it.' - Bukowski.

fruity.

2010-06-21T23:23:00.001-07:00

why did no one ever tell me about lemonade fruit? it's only the most delectable thing to pick off a tree, ever. So succulent, so tasty! i thought my mum was tricking me into eating a sweet lemon, exaggerating as she does, 'yeah mum, i'll eat the fanta fruit, hold on, just gonna grab a piece of creaming soda.' Boy, was the egg fruit on my face. From now on, i am checking the lemonade fruit tree daily.

i interviewed KROZM. yeah, i did.

2010-06-21T23:11:00.000-07:00

Find full interview with video clips on thevine

Melbourne based film production collective (and oh so much more) KROZM are Christopher Hill and Lachlan Dickie. Affectionately referred to as Geronimo and Jesuswind, their Myspace lists Chevy Chase, sea voyages and market food under influences; their relationship status is set to swinger and their mood, virginal. Oh, the irony.

Creative live wires, they’ve been busy constructing otherworldly stage designs and live visual sets for big name bands, dabbling in high-end surf cinema and securing representation with US heavy weights Mighty 8. They also boast an over-achieving back-log of distinct film clips: Cut Copy, Architecture In Helsinki, Sarah Blasko, Van She, Children Collide and the Midnight Juggernauts are just a few KROZM clients to date. The recent release of the Juggers 'Vital Signs', directed by KROZM, has taken the collective heart rate of music buffs sky high (mine included). Mereki Beach asks the inescapable question; are KROZM the epitome of cool?

--

So...are you?

Maybe in an alternative universe... perhaps one where we ride gold segways down the boulevard high-fiving everyone we pass.

Surreal characters (usually sporting an alternative to the traditional human head) and non-linear narratives seem to play a part in most of your work, and I hate to get all 'Total Recall' on you, but there seems a certain 'futuristic' element running throughout. From where does this aesthetic spawn?

We definitely both grew up on a diet of science fiction and fantasy films so obviously those things are going to influence some of our aesthetic choices. I guess we are also both dreamers and optimists for the future, so when we put our heads together it's easy for us to just run with our imaginations to create worlds of our own. I think we like the idea that what we create has a more timeless feel to it. Not necessarily futuristic but an alternative to the past and present. There is also the fact that we are in 2010 'the year we make contact'. So from some perspectives we are actually living in the future.

How important has 'who you know' versus 'what you know' been in your professional progression? And, how much shit did you have to do for free before you started being able to eat your profits, so to speak?

It's been a bit of both. In the beginning whilst still at university we made a bunch of video art, short films, short animations etc. A lot of our friends who saw our work were musicians so it was an obvious progression. They needed videos made for basically no money and we were looking for any excuse to make something. We've been lucky that the bands we began working with have had the same progression in terms of artistic choices. It definitely helps if what you know is similar to what the people you are working with know.

As for making money from music videos lets just say if we solely depended on them we would nourish ourselves entirely on carrots. However we do get bigger budgets than we used to but we usually just get overly excited and think up more elaborate ideas.

Did you always want to make music videos or is it the filmic form in general that excites you? If so, what other cinematic adventures can we hope to see from you boys in the future?

Again it's both. We both have always had a passion for music videos as we also come from musical backgrounds. But as directors obviously our ultimate goal lies in the feature film arena. Music videos are great as you generally have a lot of creative freedom and the short turnaround time means that you are constantly progressing onto new ideas. However we are often talking about feature film ideas and the itch is definitely growing. I am not sure what plans we have for the immediate future... but we'd definitely like to venture out into a more narrative direction.

Your clip for Jet's 'She's A Genius' was completely massacred by someone who obviously wasn't a genius. There is no question here, just commiserations.

Thanks, yeah every month we light a candle for that one. It's very strange because even Jet themselves dislike the 'massacred' version. Still not sure why some edit house trainee was allowed to mess with the edit of that one. All we can say is that sometimes the 90's MTV executives and band managers like to pull strings that they no longer know anything about.

There's a surprise moment with a dickie-knee-style replica of our bike riding character pushing past a security guard that always gives me a laugh though so it's not all bad. We've always wondered who directed that bit.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Yes, personally I've seen one. I wrote a short story about it for my narrative class at uni and to keep with the music video topic it actually features the video for Metallica's 'Enter Sandman'.

Happened when I was about 13 years old. My sister and I were staying at my fathers place. It was an old farm house on a huge property in rural NSW. Anyhow it was about 12:30 at night and I was sleeping on the floor in the lounge room. My sister was asleep on the couch behind me and my father had gone to bed about 30 minutes before. I was, of course, up [with] eyes glued to the latest videos on Rage. Anyhow I had just watched Metallica's 'Enter Sandman' and had switched off the TV feeling somewhat satisfied, I was lying there staring out the glass doors to the grassy hillsides surrounding. It was then that I spotted this glowing light appear over the crest of the hillside and then slowly make it's way down the hillside, somewhat like the glowing light alien at the start of Starman. It continued down the hill growing in size. I was hypnotized and before I knew what was happening the light had become a glowing orb which had somehow come right through the glass door and was hovering above me.

I can only describe it as a large clear glowing bubble surrounded by static blue electricity. I was petrified with fear and lay there trying to yell for my father. The sphere just hovered above as if staring at me. Finally I choked out some sort of yelp and the sphere shot off down the hallway and disappeared. My father, woken by my yelling, rushed into the room. I explained what had happened. Surprisingly he took me quite seriously and simply said 'Yes I know. That's nothing compared to what I have seen in this house." He then went to bed. The next morning he told me of the numerous strange shadowy spectres and glowing lights he had seen in the house. Apparently months later when my father spotted one of the shadowy spectres he plucked up the courage and simply said 'what do you want'. The spectre just said a name. My father than found out from the owner of the house that one of the previous tenants that had rented the house had hung himself in the house after his girlfriend had left him. The name the spectre had said was the girlfriend’s name. According to various ghost hunters and mystics the glowing sphere thing is the common description of spirits seen at haunted locations.

Now I'm just waiting to see an alien and a bunyip, then I can retire.

It's great when film is truly utilized as a medium and uses this advantage to create realities and worlds that only exist otherwise in dreams or, in your case, old farm houses. KROZM seems to do this well. Is this part of your creative philosophy/ ideology?

Definitely. That’s the basic premise of most art. We find a lot of ultra realistic hard ass gritty stuff completely boring, unless someone has a fantastical tale to tell which happens to be real. Generally Lachlan and I like to play with reality. We like to ask the question 'what if?'

And how about artistic integrity... it seems you're doing pretty well in that department thus far, but the way you're headed, Fitty Cent's gonna be asking you to make him a clip with a Hollywood budget in no time at all. Do you guys have to like the project you're pitching for or do you accept that commercialism is just a part of the world we live in?

Artistic integrity is purely subjective. If 50 Cent asked us to make a video for him we'd say yes. Why not? We'd probably ask ourselves the question; What if 50 Cent is dressed as a teenage Japanese school girl and is riding a flying narwhal through the desert? Wonder if that would work as a music video for a mainstream hip-hop artist?

It definitely helps to like the music you’re making the video for, however we also like it when people give us complete artistic freedom. Sometimes these things don't come hand in hand.

Collectives seem to be all the rage these days, with groups like Collider and KROZM forging an independent path for up and coming creatives who don't want to be tied down by the man. Do you think we can expect more of this? And do you believe this means a positive expansion of creativity in film-land?

When we started out the Australian film industry seemed fairly barren and inhospitable. So we built ourselves a little campfire, called it Krozm and huddled around it for warmth. This has definitely allowed us to continue to develop our own voice and it's nice to discover that people have appreciated what we have managed to do on our own, with pretty much no support from the film industry around us. I think the very conservative film market in Australia is indeed expanding creatively and it seems that the only way this is happening is by people creating things independently.

What does your workplace look like?

Laptop, desk, lamp, a row of hard drives, a bed, a shelf of books, a window, a pile of clothes on the floor. Or sometimes an armchair, a plasma screen, a pile of VHS tapes, a kitchen, a dining table, a scenic picture of some mountains, a fishtank and some indoor plants. From the outside it looks quite similar to the Epcot Centre.

It seems impossible to find images of you guys on the Interweb. Are you really that bashful or are you trying out that whole Daft Punk/Bloody Beetroots/Batman/Tuxedo Mask mysticism thing?

From the beginning we decided that Krozm would be an anonymous thing. Although we did take one press photo a few years ago which involved us dressing up in some home made costumes and posing in the park. Lucky you didn't find that one! There's probably some on-set photo's of us floating around on the net but I usually duck out of the way when someone's taking a photo on set.

Some people say Lachlan and I look like brothers. Others say Lachlan looks like Wes Anderson's younger brother and apparently I look like Chris Martin from Coldplay. Personally I fail to see the likeness though.

Mereki Beach

Pedestrian.tv liked our cutsie.

2010-06-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

Kissing Checklist on pedestrian.tv

mini-diana #3.

2010-06-17T21:05:00.000-07:00

Dreamy.

2010-06-16T02:35:00.000-07:00

Awoken from my mediocre slumber I am ready to live the dream at 2010’s ‘The Dreaming’. For those of you who are not familiar, The Dreaming is a seven-year old Indigenous music and culture festival situated in Woodfordia. Found cradled in a valley that forms a natural amphitheatre in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland, this same site will also be home to this years Splendor in the Grass festival. The Dreaming showcases traditional and contemporary Indigenous Australian and International Aboriginal talent and aims to highlight it's cosmic array of powerful delights. Treats like this seem few and far between, so I revel in the opportunity to attend a festival unlike the over-sold, corporate events with which I have sadly become all too familiar.

I arrive at the festival on its third and final day, having driven just 45 minutes south of Noosa Heads. I practically skip towards the front gate and am embraced by an archway of native Bunya Pines. I’m thrilled to see many of today’s performers but also well aware of the forthcoming onslaught of dreadlocked John Butler wannabes that are sure to be lurking amidst the crowds. I was born at home, underwater in a dad-made birthing pool in a very small town about 20 minutes outside of Byron Bay. Point here, I am probably more prepared than most.

I spend the first half of my experience wandering aimlessly through the naturally magnificent site, which curls around, this way and that, all roads slipping into one another. I find myself sitting cosy in a gypsy-esque café, sipping on dandelion root coffee (yeah, I know how to fit in). I kick back and let my senses feast. I watch everyone from flower children and bare-footed adventurers to middle-class couples and stars of the Aboriginal mainstream - otherwise referred to as the ‘Faboriginal’ - stroll by (Warwick Thornton, director of Samson & Delilah amongst the first). The sound of drumming in the distance is seemingly ubiquitous as is the scent of fresh Winter hinterland and Chai tea. It’s time to culture up and get my dreamin’ on.

I meander across a quaint wooden bridge and trickling stream to become a fortunate witness to the Narasirato Pan Pipers. I have been honoured by their presence once before and know that they are from an extremely remote village in the Solomon Islands, so remote in fact, that one of the young Pan Pipers had never seen a car before visiting Australia earlier this year. They are playing and dancing in traditional dress; inspiring a sea of colour who are enthusiastically throwing their bodies around in what seems like all 360 degrees of direction. Beside me a father cheerfully jiggles up and down, his son hanging acrobatically upside down from his shoulders as he giggles infectiously.

I mosey between marquees, galleries and lounges to catch a glimpse of comedy shows, photography exhibitions, storytelling circles, film screenings and African drumming.

As with any festival, there is so much on offer that it’s hard to squeeze it all in. From morning yoga circles to flower and coconut weaving workshops to African, hoola-hoop, krumping, hip hop and body percussion dance classes!

Festival fashion is always a highlight for me and this one really takes the flourless lemon and poppy seed cake. There are crocs with socks, men with piggy tail plaits and poncho’s, tie dye flares with rainbow kaftans and patchwork everything with mismatching anything. There are head socks holding back dread locks and a young woman who is definitely wearing Noddy’s felt hat. It’s all there for the eyes to enjoy and the mind to massacre.

Before I know it, twilights peachy sky bruises and I am checking out one of the yurts for sale, I begin to dream that this could be my new bedroom, my new life. I move on (phew) and shortly afterwards, spend a small amount of time watching an old Aussie Aboriginal woman singing about hope and making cheeky wise cracks in between songs.

I miss Brisbane based “Dubmarine” who I’m told are ‘un-miss able!’ (sure showed them) to perch my very white ass which is wishing more and more that it were of a darker tone - ‘if I were black, I could dance/ sing/ play like that too’ I find myself thinking -, on a log seat surrounding one of the festivals many fires. Having recently been lit, I gaze through its freshly excited flames at a Kiwi boy wearing his baseball cap as if it were doing a very good job of protecting his left ear. I am snapped out of my borderline creepy fire stare by a soulful female vocal. There is a young Maori girl across from me who has started singing a rendition of ‘Killing me Softly’. Left-Ear-Lopez chimes in with the harmony and before long the whole campfire is singing ‘la, la la la la laaa, ohh, oh oh oh ohhh, na na naa, na na na, oh oh oh, ahhh, ohh, ahhh’ It’s an undeniable festival moment.

As I wander back through the site and across the main bridge I spy a colour wheel of projections in one of the open-air tents. The dancing images are not accompanied by sound but by a troupe of Islander Girls who are rehearsing for an up-coming performance. The girls long hair sways across their backs as their grass bustle bangs sensually at their hips command. I marvel in awe at this unlikely and silent piece of poetry in motion.

I break for a moment afterwards to eat my Potato Slinky - ‘it’s like chips on a stick’ - and over hear a man wearing a t-shirt boasting his own caricature say ‘I’ve just got to follow the light of the land’.

Then it is time for the Closing Ceremony. I plant myself like a reed in the riverbed and fix my eyes across the water to a sandy Centre Stage. The ceremony very eloquently blends Traditional First Australian culture with it’s contemporary. ‘B-boy’ styled dance crews set the stage afire with jelly legged movements which is followed by a small battle between the baggy panted juniors and their equally spaghetti legged seniors. An Elder gives his humble thanks and we disperse.

With mere hours of the festival remaining I scramble around trying to soak up as much of the warm atmosphere and hot talent as possible. In between checking out a double sax-ing, multi-drumming, funky bass outfit called Dave Dow and the Human Groove at the alterNATIVE lounge and catching an affecting female vocalist rap about cultural genocide at Nomads Palace, I somehow find myself lounging on a rock by yet another bonfire. Here, a friendly man strikes up conversation with me and before leaving he asks me if I know where boomerangs come from. He then proceeds to teach me, using a diagram in the dirt, that a real boomerang is actually the natural 90 degree angle created by a tree trunk, usually Black Wattle, as it turns into it’s root underground. I wonder to myself why this sort of interesting and historically significant information isn’t taught in our schools.

Next on the festival agenda is Leah Flanagan, a pint sized, Darwin based songstress. When I arrive, a double bass and a small ukulele accompany her. She soon trades that in for a jumbo acoustic guitar and continues to effortlessly croon her heart out. I later learn that she was operatically trained which helps to explain her cloudless tones and faultless vocals. It is an enchanting performance and re-energizes my growing lassitude.

My favourite find of the evening comes in the form of the ‘Dreaming All-stars Super Group and Friends’. Taking to the stage with fervor, the band blends up-beat melodies and killer guitar solos with a Japanese/ calypso/surfer rock edge. I find myself bopping and ‘singing’ along to the catchy chorus line, seemingly unaware that it is in their native tongue. This is undeniably cool stuff.

My mind and body are now on stimulation overload but on my way out I can’t help but stop by ‘Blak Tracks’ to catch one last performance. I arrive just in time to see my Islander mates with the grass skirts, now accompanied by their boy-versions, join a cheesy but energetic drum and bass group for a song. I can’t believe my luck! The smiling dancers fill the crowd with an indescribable warmth and energy. The only thing I can liken the experience to is the final scene of a bad (any) Freddy Prince Junior movie when the whole cast join in for that final song and dance number. Imagine if Freddy prince Jnr was more like a Fujian Will Smith but with MJ’s mad dance skill and it was New Years Eve, and everyone in the world loved one another. This was the vibe.

What a day! Or was it all a dream? Ha. I certainly float out of the festival grounds, big yellow lanterns lighting my way as I send thanks to the Jinibara people, who are the traditional Custodians of this Land. I decide that Woodfordia reminds me of somewhere faeries would throw their parties. I also decide that I am getting early bird tickets to next year’s festival, and make a mental note to Google ‘where is Freddy Prince Jnr now’. That night, I dream of a time in the not-too-distant future where Australia fully embraces it’s history and truly incredible culture. I also dream that I have a black booty.

makes me glad.

2010-06-12T22:01:00.001-07:00

crystals+cupboards.

2010-06-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

So i'm back at home for a little, living with mama and papa bear. Yesterday, Mum absent mindely asked me if i would like the big towel or the little towel and before i could answer, had already decided that 'you (i) can have the big towel cause you're a big girl now aren't you.' Ha. There is wild hibiscus juice in my fridge alongside organic rice milk, agave syrup and something non-descript that simply reads 'coconut today'. This morning my Dad grabbed the drill out when i complained, like the youngest child i am, that my coat hangers didn't slide into my cupboard with ease. My coat hangers now slide into my cupboard with ease. Today we had lunch amongst the 22 degree winter sunlight. We ate in 'the temple' that my Dad built. There is a large piece of amethyst buried under it's central beam. It's a funny life.

paris.

2010-06-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

image from my m.diana.

'One day, we're gonna live, in Paris, I promise, i'm on it. When i'm bringin' in, the money, i promse, i'm on it.'

dedicated to Brigid Canny.

rain to riches:

2010-06-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

As i bid my final farewell to Melbourne, it was practically raining sleet. I found myself actually running from the terminal across the tarmac and onto the plane. This was me adding freezing cold and wet to my already growing list of begrudges that included: possibly the worst hangover ever (post eggs benedict...what.was.i.thinking.), bruised legs and body (?) and a sad heart.

However, upon touching down onto the gleaming bitumen of Sunshine Coast airport, I may as well have been floating my way off the plane. I skipped into a pale blue sky of streaming sun beams and a mild 25 degrees. You know how sometimes it's really obvious that you've made the right choice? I will use Guy Bourdin to exemplify this transformation.

going away day/ garage sale.

2010-06-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

I have temporarily re-located from Melbourne to Noosa to spend some time with my parents and hang out with some sunlight before making the big move to NYC later in the year. I attempted to have a going away day/ garage sale. It wasn't the most successful event i have thrown to date. Ha. The temperature dropped to a cool 10 degrees and mid-afternoon the garage flooded (see ya laatteerrrr Victoria). Anyways, still had a few cute friends drop by, here is a taste of them:

mama & papa bear.

2010-06-09T21:48:00.000-07:00

I'm still winning some and losing some at the moment (shot wise), however these two pictures of my parents sum them up quite completely for now. A little of their time is spent in darkness, and other times are enjoyed in smiling, holding, loving daylight.

breakfast.

2010-06-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

I am only onto my second roll of film with my mini-diana so keep mucking it up, but i wanted to put this picture up because i love it regardless of its hard-to-decipher aesthetic. It is 3x BFF's having matching eggs benedict, let your imagination help you see that this couldn't be any cuter.

Love Festival.

2010-06-08T18:56:00.000-07:00

For my birthday this year, 25 years in the making, i decided to hold a 'Love Festival' at my family home in Noosa, QLD. Could i get more obnoxious, you say? Well, yes actually i could. 12 of my closest friends travelled all the way from Melbourne to attend my precocious event along with 6 from Sydney and about another 80 from Brisbane and around town. It was a delicious time filled with cocktails and musical delights and friends from forever ago. I have been shooting with disposable cameras of late so here are some snaps from my birthday and the time around it. Love Fest seems to have spawned into an on-going event, failry sure we are up to Love Fest #5 now.

merrr this looks a bit cute.

2010-05-24T00:41:00.001-07:00

look what...

2010-05-23T23:09:00.000-07:00

my super clever bestie Ashleigh-Marie made. Another friend, Sashi, makes a special guest star appearance. Snaps all around.

Thanks from 99designs: We are the champions from 99designs on Vimeo.

mini-diani #1.

2010-05-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

i had the first role of film developed from my new mini-diana lomo camera. Heaps of the shots are super blurry but the colours are just. so. delightful. My favourite are these two of my dad in Chapel Street bizarre.

barumba.

2010-05-12T03:36:00.000-07:00

Perhaps it's strange, but out of all the photos i've ever taken- this is probably my favourite. I took it whilst on a family holiday in Niseko, Japan. We stayed in the cosiest of cosy, two floor, wood cottages. Days were spent gliding through powder snow and by night we drank moscow mules in stainless steel mugs before tumbling home to eat brightly packaged supermarket finds. There are 5 members of my beautiful family and i suppose i see us as all having a place in this shot.

accessorize.

2010-05-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

goodbye summer.

2010-05-11T06:26:00.000-07:00

goodbye sunshine ciders.
goodbye warm night skies.
goodbye street-side kisses.
meet you all by toasty fires.

ha.

2010-05-09T04:23:00.000-07:00

Thinking Is Fun from Davis Silis on Vimeo.

gang of besties.

2010-05-08T22:47:00.001-07:00

they said it.

2010-05-08T22:32:00.000-07:00

these are a few of my favourite things.

2010-05-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

dad. mum. autumn. joti.

i reallyreallyreallyreallyreally want.

2010-05-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

marc by marc jacobs classic q hillier hobo.

xxx-mas/

2010-05-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

we had a christmas party a little while ago. whatever happened to carols and cake?

oh, ashleigh marie.

2010-05-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

2010-05-08T07:08:00.000-07:00

i think 'm gonna change from Arial to Courier New...yeah? Hmm, or maybs Courier New BOLD...yessss.

Kissing Checklist + beyond.

2010-05-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

Kissing Checklist from Ashleigh Marie Parker on Vimeo.

2xbesties & i made this. we are going to set sail on some more filmic adventures soon. we don't know what to call our ship. what do you think?

qqqqqqq-uuttteeeeee.

2010-05-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

i found these on a super kawaii blog called howsyourweekend

they were taken by Candace Filip from another cute site- landofcuteseas

i heart these pictures & hope to show + tell my very own cuteseas from my ADORABLE mini-Diani. soon. x

i found some friends for when i move to NY.

2010-05-05T15:53:00.000-07:00

2010-05-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

when a great moment knocks on the door of your life, very often, it's no louder than the beating of your heart. Boris Pasternak.

KROZM interview coming soon. be excited. b-e excited.

2010-05-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

cassette kids interview.

2010-05-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

last week i caught up with Sydney-siders Cassette Kids. they were nice. check out my interview HERE.

if johnny (mermaid) mackay dressed me.

2010-05-04T20:14:00.000-07:00

tonight.

2010-05-03T06:29:00.000-07:00

i, with the help of my Monday night Bibimbap posse, re-discovered some of my past. Enjoy or scornfully hurl abuse, either way- good time.

*Five's 'Slam Dunk the Funk' here in spirit.

movies not to watch.

2010-05-02T07:10:00.001-07:00

the informant!
evita
ps i love you

drunk girls. tokyo boys.

2010-05-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

i accidently tripped over this clip whilst searching for LCD Soundsystem's new Spike Jonze clip for Drunk Girls. i would say this was serendipitous.

DRUNK GIRLS - 東京ボイス from Musubi on Vimeo.

MTV.

2010-04-29T00:01:00.000-07:00

i spent the last few days helping out on an MTV event. It was the launch of their new Classics channel and to celebrate, they hosted a party at the Palace in Melbourne. Slash performed and his missus, 'Perla', even entertained with a little on stage routine after the boys had finished their epic set- i'm talking complete with Paradise City rendition and Angry Anderson cameo. Anyways, it got me thinking about big companies and big money. There is a billion reasons why this can equate to bad things, however, cash flow, when running in the right direction, can also equal the opportunity for endlessly imaginitive creative concoctions, see below:

MTV / Pride x 1000% / Furry's Posse from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

MTV / Power x 1000% / Soundquake from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

MTV / Sexy x 1000% / Feel Me from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

you used to be cool.

2010-04-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Jarred Leto
Claire Danes
Jude Law

YES.

2010-04-21T06:53:00.001-07:00

Today.

2010-04-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

i ran around the botanical gardens with Johnny.

made a banana smoothie with nutmeg on top.

found a picture on the internet that made me happy.

cooked tacos for dinner with Joti and Joshy.

recorded a gang vocal for Joshy's little song.

watched a Jim Jarmusch film.

drank peppermint tea.

this is the picture:

Guy Bourdin.

2010-04-20T21:39:00.001-07:00

Vincent Gallo.

2010-04-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

Love him or hate him, he's not like anyone else.

“If you’d like to send a nude photo of yourself and you were BORN a female, please do so. I would be happy though with a simple photo of your face. It is nice to see the face of someone who writes me. I will only accept JPEG attachments. I will try my best to answer all email that is not offensive or unreasonable. But please be patient.

WARNING: To all bitter or jealous or unemployed or frustrated or mean or nasty or under-loved or under-paid or under-hung men and butchy girls. Think before you write to me. THINK HOW SMALL AND SILLY YOU APPEAR WHEN ANGRY JEALOUS AND BITTER—WRITING TO ME LIKE A SCORNED FAN.”

- http://vincentgallo.com/

classic boy.

2010-04-20T02:00:00.000-07:00

don't look at me.

2010-04-20T01:49:00.000-07:00

look at me.

2010-04-20T01:48:00.001-07:00

Classic Kate.

2010-04-20T01:48:00.000-07:00