A comment on life, death, beauty and decay

'Mr Potato Face!' - The concept takes on a whole new meaning in Ginou Choueiri's latest art instillation. Rather than use canvas, Choueiri has chosen to depict hundreds of portraits on none other than the humble potato!











'I chose the potato to portray human faces because of the many striking parallels. Not only is their skin porous like ours, but their skin texture and color is very similar... Potatoes grow, live, and then decay, mirroring the ephemeral existence and fragility of our own human nature.'

Wow and I just thought they were tasty to eat!

And the winner is...

The winner of 5 packs of CAFFE L'AFFARE'S FAIR TRADE HOT CHOCOLATE goes to - JAMESS!!
In reply to our question 'tell us which flavour is your favourite, and how you like to have it?' He submitted this...

'Smothered in snow crystals and the heavy memories of a trek best forgotten, the slight, crippled traveller staggers down the hill towards his cabin. The pine needles that quilt the dead earth are too cold and frozen to be anything but painful upon his frostbitten, bible-black feet, but he meanders on. Clinging to the branches that have become his life support on the downhill battle, he spies the flickering fire of his cabin. Reborn with the desire to once more drink from the mug of Dark Hot Chocolate he knew would await him, his flailing corpse of a frame stumbles the remaining metres to the door. Clutching at the doorknob, the aroma hit him instantly. Its intensity enveloped him, wrapped him up and warmed him like no blanket, duvet or throw could. His hot chocolate awaited. He was home.'

Thanks to all our other entries! It was hard to deny this boy a prize, as his answer was much more creative than our question! Jamess, keep up the adventure trekking and happy drinking!

....a bed to rest my head....

When I was nine my mother took me trekking through the mountains in Thailand. When we reached the pinnacle of our trip we came across a tribe and it was here that we were destined to stay - for a day, to rest our head. And it was here, this very moment in time, when I came face-to-face with the luxurious western notions of comfort that I so naively accepted as 'normal' and 'fair.' Shocked I remember feeling when a mattress, but 3 cm high was given to us and sad when I witnessed the others reside onto cold and disheveled slats. However as a nine year old (brought up in the west) these reactions were expected and certainly aroused a life long obsession with cultural inequality, developmental theories and world poverty. Note: The point of this post is not to sound like a begging beauty queen, but to introduce you to another obsession I there developed. Practical, tranquil, sanctuary or to sleep...Just how do others like their bed, I wondered.... how do they choose to rest their head?

EPAULETTE presents....

This Thursday LA DJ troupe Mad V and Koncept , aka The Villains, are hitting NZ for one show only. (This is an Auckland stop, so everyone else check grab a seat now!) Their remixes of “Daft Punk – Around the world” and “Hot Chips – Ready For The Floor” both hit #1 on the Hypem charts and ViceRecords dubbed them a "party machine, revving up tracks like Bloc Party’s “Hunting For Witches' into full on bangers."  With support from Daniel Farley, DJ Lotion, Meltron, Oscar Nutt and Voguing Dance Troupe...this is going to be one hell of a night, so get yourself a ticket and take Friday off now! 
Bacco Room / Toto's (53 Nelson Street) $15 Pre-sales

Thats me on the right wearing glasses

It never ceases to amaze me what weird and wonderful sites I seem to come across...and this one made me chuckle. Yes it's a relief to make fun of other's families and what better way to do it than publicly across the net?!Let's face it, families are awkward and if yours is dead set on having it's pic taken year after year, chances are there's an image of you somewhere here!!     'Say cheese and smile!!!!'

And this is why your mother never left you in the kitchen..

More awesome/disturbing images here. Great site!

Tightening of wallets, but what about our belts?

I've often heard it uttered amongst the streets of our fine 'cultural capital', that there aren't enough cheap eats. Cheap being the operative word...sure there are myriad fine dining restaurants, but we're talking loose change here, between 3 to 6 dollars max! Well I've come up with a short, yet comprehensive guide to the paupers dining in Wellington....Take your pick!
Welcome Takeaways...
The great thing about Welcome is that no matter how discerning you think you are, at 3am this is the only place to be (and nobody gives a shit.) The Chick Burger has somewhat of a cult following amongst dedicated party goers and if you can forgive the somewhat 'curious' hygiene practices you can fill yourself up for a measily $3 to $5. Yes admit it, we all recognise this guy!
The Cosy Cake Kitchen...Yes the interior is not flash, but at $3 for a sandwhich why bother!? I was introduced to this joint on a rather poverty stricken Tuesday, and my lord- this place is like the good old Chinese run bakeries of days gone by. Cheap, colourful and with no 'how are you' or 'what can i get you' but a good old fashioned wham-bam-thank-you-mam. Cozy cake, you're great!
Satay Kingdom.... Yes tried and true ( yawn yawn yawn) you still can't beat it on quality and price. Seriously $6 for Roti Chanai? And a burger for $3!!! This place has provided many a meal and vegetable intake during the colder, poorer months. Sometimes a bit bland, but meh. Oh and go for the vegetarian option. Like welcome, I wouldn't vouch for their hygiene practices. The less meat, the safer!
AND
Last but not least is the new SOUP joint just below the tacky beast that is the city bungy. 5 bucks for a large cup of home made soup and a roll, this is a great place to nip by when it's cold.

Note : You may have noticed this paupers guide to Wellington excludes two of the most obvious. Mr bun ( of which I have witnessed somebody finding a tooth in their pie. No jokes!) and Offbeat, which has, despite maintaining quality, just jumped over that $7 bench mark. Now there are NO excuses to starve or live off noodles this winter. Wellington go eat!

A window of vision!

I'd love to lie and pretend I didn't have a day job which paid the pills, but I do..for as long as I can remember ( whether it was in school or in uni) retail has been my income. Luckily I've always worked in interesting shops and subsequently been exposed to new labels, ideas and visions.
I've also come to appreciate the value of a 'good window.' Eye catching and 'original' are two values which resonate strongly, and when a shop achieves this, I always appreciate their effort!
Enter: Children Of Vision - a new boutique nestled amongst the cafes and galleries on Auckland's K rd. C O V is the brainchild of designer Jimmy D and stocks brands such as Romance was Born ( Sydney), TV ( Melbourne), Andrea Crews (Paris) and many many more....

But back to the point of this post - check out the pics of their latest display 'window'

Children of Vision...get it? get it? Check out their goodies HERE

SLAP CHOP

My friend Brian showed me this. He's a rapper, so I trust his musical opinion...

Wellington's most anticipated fancy new band....

It's Monday..and my hangover is just started to cease, but none the less I'm still looking forward to the weekend! This Saturday The Kitchen Sink is hosting an 'Ultimate Reality' Party at Mighty Mighty! Featuring Mr. Hayday, Diana Rozz and Gold Medal Famous...it's going to be sweet exciting!
Why? It's an ULTIMATE REALITY party duuhhh, but ALSO...it's the highly anticipated 'Diana Rozz's' first ever show!

You may recognize these three faces ( all are former Holiday with Friends members) ...and rumour has it this three piece is set to stifle complaints Wellingtown may be lacking in any 'decent bands.' ( You musn't go out enough!) Anyway...I'm excited, it's going to be great...and let's be honest, who doesn't want to see more of these girls??

Oh and DR are set to play at the Fluro Issue Nine Release Party early June. More information leaked soon!!

Monster talk

2.5 hrs until the 48hour film festival begins!I'm soo excited/nervous/tired/afraid my brain will turn to mush....and so I'm doing a little research. I just came across these cute monsters...they know exactly what's going on!

To dress up, or not dress up...that is the question!

According to the bible ( or as some of you may know it, wikipedia) 'Dress Up is a game engaged in mainly by children...it helps strengthen their imagination and often resembles who they'd like to be.'
The act of dressing up surely is a puzzling one and the fact that it's such an ingrained cultural past time has me scratching my head even more...
Are we trying to re-live our childhood through doing this? Does it 'spice' up the mundane regularity of partying with old friends? Or does it...like wikipedia suggests, ignite our creativity and feed our tired imagination? I really can't decide.
Putting on a fancy dress sure gets me in the mood to dance, and putting on an outrageous hat does provoke a certain flair and cheek, but having to turn up with everyone else dressed as an 'animal', a 'zombie' or a 'superhero' really does little to excite me.
However I'm wary of parading around this view. ‘Loosen up a little', 'get amongst it' and 'put on this batman cape' you'll tell me, but truth is, these days at least, I'm just not that into it.
Maybe I've been to too many parties where everyone stands around looking at their 'effort,' perhaps I've always made to much of one ... or maybe I'm just a bit of a prude who doesn't like getting out of their ' zone.' Who knows?
To dress up, or not dress up.... I'm totally and utterly confused.

Beware of the Zombie's this weekend..

Oh Lordy. So this Friday our ram-shamble team will gather to devise a plan of action for the 48 hours we have....to produce a film! Yes last minute we have submitted (and devised a team) who hopefully have what it takes to be, New Zealands Next Top...Film Wankers?I really do hope so. I've done this once before, but with an advertising team who provided food ( let me sleep) and even gave me a whole new wardrobe.This time we will be 'creating' on absolute peanuts, but like the tag line insists ' creativity costs nothing.' Thank goodness!!
Luckily I hit up a burger joint today who is going to hook is up ( phew)...and hopefully, we will be able to beat ( or realistically compete) with the 100's of teams who will also be taking to the streets.
The finalists will be screened 27th May at Embassy Theatre. If you're keen to get a seat, buy a ticket fast as they always sell out and are well worth it. Watch out NZ - the nation is going to be littered with sleepy zombie's!!!
Now who knows how to work while they sleep?

It's fashion week in Syndey, Darling!

The ambition of any designer is to 'break new boundaries' and 'shock and excite the audience .' This week is Sydney Fashion week and by the end of it I'm sure there's going to be a hell of a lot of stories to tell. One clip which so far has intrigued me is that of iconic Melbourne label Dizingof. For the introduction he used interpretative dancers and as you will see below....the result is certainly eye catching!!!!

Follow more FW news HERE

Does anyone recognise these three lads in the new Hallensteins Ads??

LOL. WE DO!!!!!!!!

Miranda July...

There are some people who are just so damn talented you can't help but watch them in awe. They're not good at one thing, but five and not only produce great work, but get worthy recognition too!!!

Miranda July is such a girl. In 2005 she wrote, directed and starred in her first feature film Me and You and Everyone We Know, she won the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award for her collection of short stories, and in July 2002 created the participatory website, learningtoloveyoumore.com with artist Harrell Fletcher.

Last year she also produced an installation work 'The Hallway.' This features a series of thoughts which are displayed down a 125 foot hallway and feature English one way, Japanese the other.

Strangely compelling, thought provoking and utterly random ..Miranda July, I think I heart you!!!

A 'culturally relevant' blog????

THIS IS SOME OF THE MOST INTENSE COMMENTARY I HAVE READ ON THE ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITY OF BLOGGING.
THE INTERNET IS CHANGING US...HOW ARE WE USING IT? DO WE CARE? DO YOU?
IS HIPSTER RUNOFF IRONIC? INTELLIGENT COMMENTARY? OR SELF PERPETUATING BULL SHIT??

READ MORE HERE....

( ASIDE: Wikipedia says 'Many bloggers, particularly those engaged in participatory journalism, differentiate themselves from the mainstream media, while others are members of that media working through a different channel. Some critics worry that bloggers respect neither copyright nor the role of the mass media in presenting society with credible news........One consequence of blogging is the possibility of attacks or threats against the blogger, sometimes without apparent reason......)

WHAT ARE BLOGGERS GETTING THEMSELVES INTO?

'So what's it all about then? IT'S A RAVE DAVE'

When we drink at our house my flatmate Abby likes to show us YouTube video's that remind her of London. We don't mind. It makes us feel rather exotic...

Last night she was on a role and I realised she must have been there during the height of 'neon rave'...and lovin it!



Although the phase has surely passed ( yes we are all into monotones and shades of grey...) this clip reminded me why bright leggings and fluro dresses were such a craze and swept the world. Oh come on.....I know you like it too.

The Flaneur

Auckland photgrapher Lydia Cowpertwait has just begun a cute new fashion blog....

Oh how great it is to find another interesting place to trawl on the wonderful world that is the web.

FROM THE STREETS OF PARIS

Heidi Neubauer-Winterburn has been documenting the recession by photographing sale signs in Parisian store windows. It's not much of an 'upper', but her pics are insightful and she has a good sense of humour too...

"Everything is on sale but love!"
'........to which I say: surely you are joking! I have absolutely seen women walking these streets on the arms of men who speak to the contrary'
View more HERE