basket weavers

I haven't discovered what kind of spider makes these yet. But they're everywhere at the mountain property. They make basket webs. Spiders are very cool. I want more spiders at my place.

ears and eyes

Sister Jane and Punk Monk Propaganda, endeavouring to make music gigs that caress more than just the ears. When asked by Alternative Media Group, who Sister Jane are, drummer Joe Driver's thorough response was: 

We veer wildly between sultry smoking-room soundtrack blues… and something more closely resembling a tripping social science teacher on a freewheeling fun ride at one of those accident-waiting-to-happen fun parks that only opens during school holidays. Ton of Fun in Forster/Tuncurry springs to mind. 

They're our favourite band to jam with because their psychedelic vibe is a perfect marriage with the re-invention of the 60's and 70's liquid light show; their music simply deserves it. 

This is from A Shrill Chuckle Of Irrepressible Delight, for Sydney Fringe Festival in September, at The Annandale Hotel. This is Sister Jane's hit Outer Suburbs of the Soul. Man, I get this in my head A LOT! Sorry the sounds not great; wasn't shooting using fancy video equipment.

Killcare

Alex and I spent most of our childhood holidays at a beach called Killcare, on the Central Coast. I grew up a short trip from about 5 different beaches, surrounded by Bouddi National Park but it was Killcare that I always called 'my beach.' 

Soon after I started seeing Alex, I discovered that this place held special significance for him also. Before our wooing process ever begun. In fact the very first time I met him, we sat in Hyde Park, under his favourite tree and exclaimed in excitement about sharing this special thing in common. These were the days when MySpace was still a big part of our adolescent socialising and I uploaded a bunch of photos of the Killcare rockpool for Alex to look at. He used to holiday there with his family at a house they owned there and I probably built sandcastles or explored the rockpool parallel to him unawares of what the future may hold for us. 

I didn't see Alex for about a year after that but I still consider it the beginning of our love. Since, we have visited Killcare beach together and taken yet more photos of the playground of our childhood summer's and the paradise we yearn for as we live inconveniently far from the sparkle and sentimentality of 'our beach.' 

Killcare has been many things for me over the years. Picnics with the horse riding club as a child, or with family friends, or just family. A certain Meg Peg (who since moving a suburb from me in High School quickly became my best buddy) knows that many an afternoon during high school was spent at Killcare instead of studying, especially during the HSC. It was a place for therapy. I've been there at midnight kissing a boy, I've taken psychedelic drugs there, I've been abused by North Shore dickheads there, I've walked kilometres through the bush to get there, I've seen the developments pop up and change, I've collected sea shells and cut my foot open on oysters, I've walked many different dogs there and I've relaxed there with the one that I truly love- Alex.

The above photos are from one such expedition with Alex, back to our beach. I think the ones chosen here are all taken by Alex though. They were meant to be made into a pretty zine but the cost of good quality colour printing to do the photos justice was too much for us. I dug them out whilst exploring the external hard drive last week and have been getting nostalgic and impatient to get back to Killcare again.

wombat territory

Wombats are proud animals. They don't just leave their waste anywhere like it were meaningless or dirty. They do their business on podiums- on rocks, bits of bark, sticks and whatever they can find to elevate their neat little doodies. I always imagine in my head them backing up, beep beep beep, like a truck onto those tiny rocks. 

Unfortunately most of the wild wombats I have ever seen have been roadkill or about to become roadkill (standing in the middle of the road looking into car lights). When we go bushwalking I look into every hole in the ground I see and it is my dream to see a wombat asleep in a hollow log. 

A few weeks ago, whilst out bush, Vic and I sat in the dark atop the hill that backs the cabin and listened to the sounds of the night- rustles and soft thuds. Vic mused that she wished that when I turned the torch back on there'd be a wombat standing right there, looking at us, cute and furry like Womby the wombat toy. I'm not sure I share her wishes- wombats can be quite aggressive and as proven by their poo podiums, territorial. But I do love wombats!

kaleidoscopic

I'm lying in bed. sick. and cheering myself up with pretty photos Alex and I have taken. Here are the insides of some of our kaleidoscopes. I think Alex took these photos for a zine we were making.

wormwood'd (2)

The October Wormwood has just passed and with it comes the sad news that there will probably only be 2 more. I guess Sydneysiders are accustomed to their favourite gigs and art events being shut down just as they're getting attached or further down the track when it has become an integrated part of their lives. Wormwood has given consistently rad psychedelic and garage music on a monthly basis since early this year and for free. Thrown in with live DJing (how nice it is to continue rocking out in between sets to craftily selected tunes), live doodling and portrait drawing, hair art (yeah you coulda gotten a cool X or something shaved in your hair last time- I got a triangle..) and we have tried our best to offer some delectable delights for the eyes with our liquid light projections. 

Anyyywayyy, this was my second go at liquid light and I feel I have earned my scouts badge. After some home tutorials from the wizard Alex, I am starting to really understand how it all works. My favourite technique is the galaxy technique with swishing blue-greens and bright bubbles. Alex and I projected form the sky onto the faerie tree whilst Kate wowed inside. We also brought with us a magical film with clips from the secret creek when we took a retreat a few weeks ago. Swaying tyre swings, gargling waterfalls and meditative reflections- next time we might treat you to the amazing frog sounds emitted from the film. 

So now you know, the rumour is only 2 more Wormwood:: absinthe and psychedelia extravaganza's to go. Come play.

in the mountains..

In case you wondered what we do when we're "in the mountains"- we work hard by day and we relax luxuriously by night. with cats.

alex goes acoustic

I'm glad someone is getting good use out of my old guitar.


I helped Ruby take the last photo.

avacado scrumpers! muahaha!

Don't you believe we should be able to walk out our front doors and have a selection of fruit and vegetables to choose from? i hate supermarkets.

Peruse the map to find wild food for the taking and add to the map if you know where there are edibles in your locale!

honeybee honeybee.

'If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.'- Einstein

I love bees. I want to feel them crawling on me- not like those videos you see of people with every inch of their bodies covered in swarms of the critters but I like to feel them dance on and off my skin tip tapping and bouncing here and there. Sadly bees only exist tentatively threatened by virus' caused by destructive agricultural practises such as the use of pesticides. We must give bees thanks for 1/3 of the food we eat. Their pollination ensures we have delicious foods- can you imagine a world without avacado? pumpkin? oranges? 

More from SBS blog.

More from TED.

There is a mobile bee hut set up outside MCA at the moment, for the In The Balance; Art for A Changing World. Apparently on Saturday (when I'll be away..boo) you can go and have a picnic and a chat about the native stingless bees and eat some pikelets with their honey. Sydney collective Makeshift (navigate around their website- it's very cool) are the food activists/artists behind it all. Read about the project here.

City brilliance

Usually i couldn't give a hoot about these hunks of metal in our city- but thanks to the Sydney Statues Project as part of Art and About Sydney 2010 artists they stand out brilliantly against the amass of dull colours and monotonous traffic. I like to stay clear of the city if I can help it, but I thoroughly enjoyed my walk from MCA to Surry Hills the other day and it's thanks to these guys. Maybe now there will be more public drive to beautify our city beyond these redundant, bland symbols of the dead.

Statues that received a much needed makeover include:
Porcellino the boar outside Sydney Hospital, Macquarie St
Captain Cook in Hyde Park South
The Shakespeare Memorial in Shakespeare Place
Prince Albert in Macquarie St
Queen Victoria in Queens Sq, outside QVB


photo: alexander papasavvas