Found. Dougal & Zebedie.

On my last search for Midweek Social games and prizes I stumbled upon a Magic Roundabout version of Rotadraw. I thought it would be great for a drawing table, however vital pieces were missing meaning that idea was ditched. What I did find inside the box were these two drawings of Dougal and Zebedie. Cute huh?

Popcorn. Mall Mole.

Most of Westfield Sydney is now open for business after a dribble of store openings from earlier in the year. Much ado has been made of never-before-seen-in-Sydney stores making their debut, with perhaps Zara being the most eagerly awaited. I took myself to Zara and was astounded by the frenzied shopping activity taking place there. Check-out and  changeroom queues were very long and people seemed to be grabbing whatever they could. It seemed as if the world may be ending and if you didn’t buy something now you’d be left naked later. I heard a woman ask a couple of random young men if the sizes were accurate. They seemed confused by the question but answered nevertheless saying that the sizes did seem accurate effectively sending the woman off in spin to grab even more clothes for a presumed army of men she had waiting at home.

I ventured deeper into the megamallopolis intrigued by how dark and cavernous it seemed, yet glamorous all the same. People bustled about from floor to floor eager to see what was on offer - same old same old for the most part. Shoppers were certainly buying - except for in Maggie T where a rather bored sales assistant was glued to the phone with not a customer in sight, and perhaps there hadn’t been one all day. I pondered why Leona Edmiston appears to have signed a lease for a broom closet while the normally cluttered JB HiFi seemed to have taken a more minimalist approach, or they hadn't unpacked everything yet. I wandered aimlessly for a while longer noting that a good number of husbands were sleeping in the few comfy seats situated around the galleries. Time to go and wonder whether bigger is better. Westfield Sydney has sucked up and transformed the former Centrepoint Centre, Imperial Arcade and Skygarden leaving the poor old Glasshouse (above) alone and lonely; barely a soul walked its boards that day.

Flipfactor. Applicant.

I can relate to Jesse Reklaw's process of digging around in skips and recycling bins for magazines and other treasures. Jesse is an American cartoonist who found an archive of PhD applicants in a skip, complete with photographs and comments from professors and employers. Applicant is the resulting book, sample spread above, and a bargain at $3. It provides food for thought on the notion of privacy in the 21st century, sometimes amusing and at other times verging on frightening.

Roaming. It Takes All Sorts.

As I innocently walked along a Newcastle street today I noticed a parking meter in a bright yellow raincoat. Intrigued, I photographed this parking meter in its scarecrow guise, chuckling at the absurdity of it all. The mood was broken by a rather rude bogan chap in a ute, obviously the scrarecrow creator, who wound his window down and hurled abuse at me, as if I was going to book him. He didn't give me a chance to explain myself as he continued his tirade. When he finally worked out I wasn't a parking officer, he rudely muttered 'It takes all types I guess', to which I replied, 'Yes. Yes it does.' He screeched off in a huff which made me think he probably reads The Daily Telegraphgaff.

Roaming. Paved.

While buying my rhubarb the other day I overheard a woman speak of seeing whales. Unable to march promptly to the beach I saved my journey for today. Sadly no whales but lots of ships, at least twenty. While out I met a rainbow-bearded busker with more tambourines than anyone on stage at a Village People concert. He played a tune and talked fervently about his life in his Castle of Kindness where he practices his art. I continued on feeling pleased by my encounter with this friendly fellow.

Art Martha. Preserved Disintegrations.

Pete McLean is stepping out with a show at The Front Gallery in Canberra late July. For a while now Pete has been collecting all manner of animal skulls and bones, which he sands and grinds then prints onto fine Japanese papers. The results are stunning. Find out more about his work on his blog Art Out & About.

Roaming. Novocastrian Beauty.

I'm years away from being local, but regardless Newcastle is cool. Lots of interesting things happen in this surreal little town. I often find myself double-taking to understand what it is I've just witnessed on the street, and on-line there are many projects to discover like my latest finding: The Novocastrian Files. I love the Guessing Competition and the current one is hard, still open after four months or so. I can't say I've seen that red kangaroo anywhere, but I shall be keeping my eyes out for it. I'm wondering if it may be Wickham...

Spin. Very Exciting.

The Rapture's new track is currently available to stream on Modular's website. How Deep Is Your Love is a cracker of a track channeling disco, rock, the Bee Gees and Italo house. I've become one of those annoying neighbours who hit repeat with volume cranked. The term rapture relates to religon, originally used to describe being lifted or raised out of oneself by some divine power, but recently the term has become confused with ecstacy. Fast forward to 1981 when Blondie released their new wave track Rapture, which was arguably their last great single. It even featured Debbie Harry rapping - and it works. In 1995 Soiuxsie and the Banshees released their final studio album called The Rapture to critical acclaim. In 2011 The Rapture continue a great line with a new album landing soon.