Flipfactor. The Human Part.

Kari Hotakainen's book The Human Part is a compelling tale of an older woman selling her life story to a writer stuck for ideas. Both ferociously funny and dark, it's easy to see why this book has won Finland's Runeberg Prize and France's Prix du Courrier International. It's made me laugh hard, sometimes in shock. Absolutely lovely.

Roaming. Sample Test.

Shootin' Gallery: Blue. Paddington. Sydney. Walls.

Roaming. Masked Avenger.

Shootin' Gallery: Darlinghurst. Faces. Murals. Sydney. Walls.

Spin. Stay Young.

With the year drawing to a close, it's time to start loosening up, to brush aside what was not to be, and to celebrate what was great this year. So here's a Mixtape kicking of with Stay Young by INXS, a track with a name everyone should heed and aspire to. It's been stuck on repeat and blasting in the studio over the past few weeks as a new project gets ready for release. In the meantime check out some of these tracks.

Stay Young — Inxs
Bullet — Franz Ferdinand from their latest album Right Words...
Song 2 — Blur takes me back to fun nights at Duckie in London
I'm Just Me — Diamond Rings hailing from Canada with a late 1980s video
Broken English — Marianne Faithfull
Motorway — Little Boots
Bicycle — Memory Tapes
Sugar — Garbage from their brilliant Not Your Kind of People
Lower The Heavens — The Donkeys
The Big Boss Groove — The Style Council
Hooting & Howling — Wild Beasts impress again

Roaming. Calm Before The Storm.

Shootin' Gallery: Blue. Newcastle. Skies.

Flipfactor. Colors Looks At Art.

The summer issue of Colors is all about Looking At Art. Coming with a set of stickers so that you can make your own cover, this is one fun issue. Inside you'll find a brief history of the Mona Lisa, learn what work of art has been stolen most often, which artists use shit and who pays for their art to be made. Guardians, Andy Freeburg's photographs of sitting gallery assistants in front of prominent works of art, is compelling; I love it. It's another inspiring issue from Colors.

Roaming. Fairyland At Redhead Beach.

Shootin' Gallery: Gnomes. Newcastle.

Roaming. Far From Home.

Shootin' Gallery: Newcastle. Statues. Women.

Good Art #31. Shaun The Sheep.

I've a guilty pleasure. I love Shaun the Sheep making me a rather big kid. It's the work of claymation wonders Aardman, the creators behind Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run. Each episode clocks in at about seven minutes and follows the fantastical adventures of Shaun, fat sheep Shirley, the farmer,  Bitzer the dog and a host of other less regular characters including the sometimes rude three pigs. Hearty chuckles are guaranteed in this well-crafted animation.

Roaming. Red Carpet Treatment.

Shootin' Gallery: Amsterdam. Netherlands. Red Carpet.

Glossy. Lobster Surprise.

Dating from May 2012, this clever cover of The Rotarian has won awards with simplicity and playfulness combining in this striking design. I can't help but think of Salvador Dali when I look at this red crustacean.

Roaming. Segway Spin.

Shootin' Gallery: Amsterdam. Netherlands. People.

Roaming. Surrealist Form.

Shootin' Gallery: Amsterdam. Netherlands. Robots. Window Shop.

Spin. Demand The Impossible.

Jenny Wilson's fourth album Demand The Impossible is another accomplished offering from this Swede, who I have to say, has never disappointed. Smart words and smooth sounds matched with vibrant visuals ensure repeat plays. Well worth reading is an intriguing interview with Jenny on 405 that details inspirations for the new album. To get a taste check out the banging The Future with its disturbing clip or listen to the album in full on Press Play at the NY Times.

Roaming. Koning.

Shootin' Gallery: Den Haag. Green. Murals. Netherlands.

Glossy. LSD Life.

Life Magazine as we knew it started out in 1936. In its time it produced groundbreaking, and at times controversial, covers that would influence future publications. For me, Life has become linked to Alfredo Jaar's insightful work Searching For Africa where the covers of Life are all lined up in an effort to find Africa on one.

Roaming. Spoonbill Ibis.

Shootin' Gallery: Birds. Callaghan. Dead. Newcastle. White.

Roaming. Danger.

Shootin' Gallery: Deterrents. Newcastle. Orange.

Good Art #30. Some Drawings Of Humans.

Simone Rosenbauer introduced me to Melissa Howe's enthralling project Some Drawings of Humans, and I'm hooked. I love these little drawings. Started while in New York, Melissa first photographs her subjects using a traditional portrait pose, the photograph later used to make these character filled drawings. Many are musicians, including one of Patti Smith. Cool.

Roaming. Fresh Horizons.

Shootin' Gallery: Graffiti. Look. Newcastle. Statements.

Flipfactor. Moby Duck.

The review I read for Donovan Hohn's Moby Duck in The Guardian said it was a pretty good read. Other reviews have been equally favourable with Tony Wheeler of Lonely Planet saying “This is a great book.” It's riveting, astounding and at times disturbing making it an amazing book. Thanks to Moby Duck my weekend has passed by in a puff, my head exploding with wonder, new found knowledge and fresh thinking. Can you ask for more than that from a book? I've got a new interest in the ships that pass my window here in Newcastle, and I'd gamble on saying this book is the best I've read so far this year

Art Martha. Fast Food Hell.

If you're in Newcastle this weekend, be sure to check out Ryan Fitzgerald's exhibition at Darcy & Rose just off Hunter St Mall. The show features breathtaking portraits and gut churning images of iconic Australian fast food items, think the stodgiest meat pie you've ever seen and the phallic, though here it's more turd-like, Chiko Roll. Over the past year or so Ryan has been perfecting a wet plate collodian method of photographing his chosen subjects using an 8x10 camera, and while the food is disturbing, the results are anything but. The show ends Sunday November 3, you'll be rewarded visually for checking this terrific little exhibition out.