Thoughts are like fishes

Back to work

Another panel that grabbed my attention today, this one from Boy in my Pocket.

Most of me is very grateful that I won't be returning to an office tomorrow but a small part, probably some part of my consciousness that has been colonised with the morals of our society, does feel that I should be working full-time as that's expected of me.

Gingerbread Girl

Read Gingerbread Girl this morning and I really like this panel above. It reminds me of a line Sharon Stone told Rolling Stone (no relation!) that you shouldn't sleep with anyone with more problems than yourself.

The graphic novel itself was engaging, beautifully drawn and a clever twist on the mystery format. One of those narratives that take the familiar path of genre fiction and use it to tell a new story. As usual, I don't want to give away anything so I'll stop here and say READ IT!

Tales of Woodsman Pete

Just been reading Tales of Woodsman Pete with Full Particulars by Lilli Carre this morning. It's full of whimsical short stories about Pete and Paul Bunyan and it's the first comic I've read by a woman this year!

This detail has been one I've returned to a few times and giggled. Reminds me of a girlfriend I once had who stole a pair of my underwear and I wish I'd mounted her.

First day of school

Whistle not to be blown after 8.30pm

There's something of a circuit bent style to the dashboard of the Leeton Lions train.

Sketchbook diaries

Previously I mentioned my eldest likes James Kochalka's work -- well, now Oscar is joining me in keeping a sketchbook diary.

When I was reading the Sketchbook Diary volumes I thought I noticed some improvement in the style of visual storytelling and that's what I'd like for both of us.

Sketchbook diary

James Kochalka is a name that seems to jump off my bookshelves at present, which seems appropriate as I can imagine it as the sound of a spring-loaded leaping toy.

Through my patronage of Top Shelf Comics' annual sale I've amassed a small collection of Kochalka's work without realising it. It wasn't until I started reading his Sketchbook Diaries that I noticed he also wrote the graphic novels my son has been raving about.

Now I've read four volumes of Sketchbook Diaries and I'm inspired to start penning a small comic each day too. I'll see how I go in 2013 and might share here if I come up with something good.

P.S. I'm surprised to discover Kochalka has just finished his sketchbook diary.

Sounds of 2012

One of the highlights of 2012 has been getting involved with the Disquiet Junto project, who this week posed an interesting exercise.

I've selected 12 five-second segments of recordings from throughout the year based on when different files were exported (which seems to be a bit different to some of the links below).

Here's some context for each section:

January
The year opened with me procrastinating on finishing my album For 100 Years, which ended up being released in July. On the day of internet protests about the SOPA I remixed a video which Google had alerted me to because it had something resembling Bassling in the title. It gave me a big buzz when the guy I remixed saw it.

February
This track was my third attempt at remixing Waipukurau Park and had been mostly completed in December when I edited the video but my files show I worked on it around this time although it probably wasn't finished until closer to July.

March
It's been maybe three years since my cousin Chris died but I still think about him often and this track is one example. Early in 2012 I had the idea of recording an EP of solo bass and I'd been thinking about Chris because he helped me buy my first bass and encouraged me to play it.

April
This comes from a short mix of Skunkhour tracks I put together around the time I posted about the mix of INXS tracks I made for the project, which is cooler so I'll post the video I made for it here.

May
A recording of a jam on circuit bent gear and guitar pedals that I titled as an Outkast cover on Youtube.

June
Another jam with circuit bent gear and guitar pedals, as well as bass and theremin.

July
2012 was a milestone year as a musician for me and this was a great month with the release of my fourth, fifth and sixth albums.

As well as a great article on my album in a national magazine, I was invited to improvise with some great Wagga Wagga musicians.

August
Finally able to distribute the mammoth three-hour immersive audio recording of 'the wires' I'd finished in 2010. Dunno what people will make of it, I deliberately didn't master it so that it'd be background noise but that's probably part of how I experienced this otherworldly instrument.

September
A recording of a Fisher Price clock using my new contact mic.

October
This Dinosaur Park remix was one I mastered for...

November
Another 100 Years, an EP of remixes I released to coincide with my exhibition, which followed on from the album. The track heard here is actually the first park remix I made at Waipukurau Park in 2011.

December
Seems I'm back in a slump again but hope to finish my For 100 Years DVD. The audio here comes from one of the remixes I'm working on using the DVD cover/instrument developed for the release.

'90s Anecdote Generator

I was

trying to get away from a scientologist
eating at a Hare Krishna joint
having a dinner party
reading about lipstick lesbianism
drinking chai at a warehouse party

with

that early raver
that sometime corporate lawyer
that drug dealer in school
that 'wigga' kid
that grunge band

who I haven't seen since they joined a

church
defence force
university
public service
gym

when

a porno got stuck in the VCR
they found a heavy metal t-shirt in the couch
we heard Kurt Cobain had died and started crying
'heroin chic' was fashion
I saw a laserdisc

and they said

"Eat my shorts"
"I'd buy that for a dollar"
"Not that there's anything wrong with that"
"The Truth is out there"
"Not!"

Then

they dropped their video store card
they told me they rollerbladed
a nearby payphone rang
I found a $2 note
my floppy broke

IT Crowd piracy warning

Ai Weiwei in a Manger

From B3ta.com

More passion for music

Clever clip, kinda picks up on an earlier post about the passion of musicians.

The Blue Nun in Piskor's Wizzywig

Had a chuckle while nearing the end of Ed Piskor's Wizzywig last night when I spotted this quote from a sample used on the Beastie Boys' Check Your Head -- my favourite of their albums for the way it mixes up their interests in punk, hiphop, Buddhism, etc.

The quote appears in the interlude track The Blue Nun, which samples On Wine: How To Select and Serve by Peter M. F. Sichel and Sondra Bianca. Found this short interview with Sichel while looking for the track on Youtube just now.

Ed Piskor is currently preparing a comic on the history of hiphop.

Craig Thompson's Blankets

Having been impressed with Habibi, I moved straight onto Thompson's earlier work Blankets.

It's a sentimental story about young love but I found it interesting as a way to get a sense of what motivated Thompson to create Habibi, assuming it's semi-autobiographical. There's a similar story of unrequited love, references to a religious text and many wry observations beautifully drawn.

The style of the drawing is a bit different than Habibi, a bit more Charles Burns maybe. Dunno, that's not really a fair comparison since Burns has a very different aesthetic, like the dreaminess in the following panel would probably involve insects.

Work Nude Day

Today is Work Nude Day, which is great because it's supposed to get to 30C degrees.

Craig Thompson's Habibi

Just finished reading Craig Thompson's book Habibi and I think it might be the best book I've read this year. It's one of the few where I wished it wouldn't finish and there was a richness to it that really elevated the graphic novel form.

The story follows the lives of two former slaves, one a girl forced into marriage and the other a boy. Their relationship becomes complicated, they're torn apart and find each other again -- yeah, I'm trying to avoid spoilers here so let's settle on it being an epic love story of sorts.

It's set somewhere in a timeless Middle East and I was quite conscious of the 'orientalism' in the representation of Arabian culture but in many ways the book seems a response to 9/11 and the fear of Muslims which followed and it's written by an American who is trying to help others understand an old culture. The book isn't really about any of these themes but that's the context in which it appears I guess.

This interview with Thompson is a great read after the book because he faces orientalism and other arguments while explaining his motivations and interest in the story.

The storytelling is great, particularly the way Thompson develops the lead female character Dodola, and the discussion of the Qur’an and calligraphy. All of these threads are woven together with the most awesome artwork and it reminded me of this panel from another great graphic novel Alice In Sunderland about the way that comics are actually richer than many texts through using multiple forms of representation.

Do yourself a favour and buy a copy of the book. I'm surprised to find it can be delivered worldwide for less than $30AUD and am resisting the urge to buy a heap of copies for friends and family this month.

Floppy mail

One of my banks has started sending out entertaining direct mail marketing, which isn't normally the sort of thing I condone but I've started opening their envelopes to see what they're up to.

Today this package made to look like a floppy disk arrived and I marveled at the embossing used to create the look of the disk. Shame to see them waste so much money posting this crap out to people but I guess it succeeded in interesting me for a few minutes.

Cheetahs on the Edge

Cheetahs on the Edge--Director's Cut from Gregory Wilson on Vimeo.

Cool self-portrait

Jimmy's End

As a fan of Alan Moore I feel obligated to share this new work. It's very Lynchian but features many of Moore's preoccupations, like the tarot. Great design and lighting, it's moody and menacing.

Another self-congratulatory blog post

Wow, seems like only earlier this year I was posting about my 500th entry here. This is the 600th.

Goatse hairstyle

Freaky Japanese girl with a Goatse haircut.

facebook.com/us

FACEBOOK - just stop it. Stop it.
We've been through enough: Facebook ads, Timeline, an overhaul of the DM system, friends with endless streams of baby and CrossFit updates.
And now this - the Facebook couples page.
Before you start pointing the finger at your loved-up friends, it's happened already. It's not a choice, it just is.
If you a) have a Facebook account and b) are listed in a relationship with your Facebook-account-owning paramour then you have a c) Facebook couples page.
Don't believe us? Log into Facebook, then type 'facebook.com/us ' into your browser.
The horrifying result is a scrapbook of every status, photo, interest and mutual friend you share.

How ~~cute~~ disgusting.

This News Limited article was my introduction to Facebook's new 'us' pages for couples and at first I thought it was a bit much to have the leading social media site collecting my correspondence with my partner.

Then I remembered how incensed I used to feel about every new feature they introduced. So I got over it.

Because once I'm over the fact something is new and therefore different -- like 'How dare they change?'! -- it isn't a big deal and sometimes it's even helpful.

Just last night I found myself typing in facebook.com/us to find a link I'd left for my better half and it made me realise this is actually going to be very useful. I won't have to trawl through the posts on my partner's page, feeling like a cyberstalker, everytime I want to find something we've shared online.

And, of course I should've remembered, News Limited love attacking Facebook because they hate social networks after losing squillions on MySpace.

Foley style

Another great pop single this year is PSY's Gangnam Style and, while my kids have been crazy about it, I much prefer this interpretation of the video by a foley artist.

My kids like this Sponge Bob version:

Call me maybe

Beaut unofficial filmclip using chat roulette for Carly Rae Jepsen's pop tune, which some are picking as the single of the year.

Mixed response

'Tis nearing the season and -- WOW! -- I'm surprised at the mixed response to Christmas in my Facebook feed this morning.

One second a day

One of my TV Production alumni put this video he's developing on Facebook earlier today and I think it's cool.

For 100 Years in The Irrigator

My local newspaper The Irrigator has a great pic with their article on my exhibition at The Roxy Art Space this month. Read about the For 100 Years multimedia exhibition at their site.

I seem to have given the newspaper the wrong link to the album For 100 Years and the EP of remixes And Another 100 Years, click on these titles to find them.

WeiZen Ho at Uncovered

Recently I've been working on the video I shot at Uncovered:uncovered, the night of short performance curated by The CAD Factory at Wagga Art Gallery in September. One of many highlights was WeiZen Ho and you can see a couple of her contributions in this video.

Son of the Southern Cross

My partner has had this flier on the fridge for most of the year. I think it arrived a week or so after this Ned Kelly replica knife flier.

It only came down because I was sick of people asking if I was buying one.

She likes the copywriting and phrases like "authentic reproduction" are quite funny when you think about them. The notion that this ring is "one symbol a man can rely on" is also silly -- I think I'd prefer to rely on my debit card!

Galactic mash-up

Thinking of stars here's a mash-up made using a video by NASA and a tune by Antonio Sanciolo, who tells me this was the imagery he had in mind when he wrote the song. The idea to merge the two was a direction from BoingBoing.net

Horoscopes

While I had a laugh at the above graphic when I first saw it appear in my Facebook feed, I actually quite enjoy horoscopes.

It's not so much that I believe in them as being accurate predictions of what the future holds, although there have been many times when I've found them to present details that eventuated.

And it's not the idea that the movement of astral bodies moves our own bodies because the moon moves the ocean and we're mostly made of water.

What I like about horoscopes is the short-hand they provide for talking about personalities, character traits and generally providing a sense of narrative in my life.

Yeah, it can be silly but so can life and I like the way it'll sometimes force me to reconsider my views or offer an alternate way of interpreting an event.

Not getting into this barney

Few pics from my exhibition

And Another 100 Years

Foreking business

Funny name for this business, wonder how they answer the phone?

Slipped on my way to the pool

Small video big pleasure

The Cad Factory artists Vic and Sarah McEwan have collaborated with local students from the Greater Kengal Small Schools Network to create a unique and cutting edge contemporary performance event on Friday 26 October at the Tootool Silo.

One highlight of working on the CAD Factory's recent production was seeing my footage of the Small Voices Made Loud... rehearsal used on the local news.

Bee hind

Out now!

You should look for my interview in the October issue of Audio Technology.

Or you can read it on your tablet FREE at www.audiotechnology.com.au/tablet

Self-control setting

Yay! Finally found my self-control

Bloke Peas

My friends' Enemy

Here's a clip from my friends Heaven the Axe, who are a seriously hard rocking group now based in Melbourne but were formerly an acoustic duo in Wagga Wagga who gave me a lot of support, including playing at the launch of my first Bassling LP SHAKES -- see a pic here.

Technological mandala

I like this mandala by Leonardo Ulian.

Buicklayers line

Pretty sure this is meant to be bricklayers line but maybe there are perverts out there who like to be tied to old cars with pink string!

Coming soon to a silo near me

A video I shot with kids from Yerong Creek Primary will be shown as part of this night of short performances, which I'll also be capturing on video. Yep, I'll shoot a video of my video -- how postmodern is that?!

Great Presets remix

Think I like this more than the original, which was also my experience with the Green Velvet remix of their last single.

Got a copy of a book

Every family has their eccentricities but mine has more than its share. And they also love books.

At the end of last century when I finished university, my aunt gave me her copy of Herman Hesse's Magister Ludi. And I mean her copy -- she'd actually photocopied the book and had it bound.

Actually it kinda makes me want to read the book, since it's obviously something my aunt enjoyed enough to arrange her own copy at a time when it wasn't easy to secure one.

Tinkler SNAP!

It's digital

Do it for the fun!

What a thrill to spend your spare time actually building your own color TV!

Channel numbers that flash right on the the screen!

An on-screen digital clock!

Home entertainment electronics and digital circuitry that could lead to extra income, full or part-time.

If this weren't an advert in Playboy from the '70s, I might actually feel sorry for the girlfriend pictured above who looks like she has little to do aside from making coffee -- which I gather is a euphemism.

Recent workshop at Narrandera Library

The video workshop at Narrandera Library went well with eight attending. There was a lot of interest in digital photo manipulation, so I'm hoping to offer an introduction to free software because it'd be a great way for people to learn techniques and they could walk away with the tools to keep going.

The picture above comes from the Narrandera Argus, who also ran an article about my album and upcoming exhibition. Is it a fashion faux pas that I'm wearing the same outfit in both my photographs in that edition?

Portrait from Burning Seed

Almost forgot about this beaut portrait I was given by Sophie, who might've been about 10 years old. She hung out with my daughter and we made a few trips around the site together, dancing at the Alien Welcoming Committee and playing drums at Trash Mansion.

I was stoked to get this portrait because my hair was looking very good that day!

More Burning Seed

One of the ideas that's been on my mind since Burning Seed is the potential for the event to be a rite of passage.

Rites of passage are thought to be a part of socialisation, combining an event with a process of conveying a fundamental concept about the society in which it operates. Arnold van Gennep described rites of passage as having three phases, including a pre-liminal phase (separation), a liminal phase (transition), and a post-liminal phase (reincorporation).

Burning Seed obviously has the part where people are separated, through the camping at a ticketed event. I think the principles of the event, which I discussed earlier, convey a number of interesting experiences around the sense that an individual has a talent distinctly their own which they can offer -- and this might be a liminal phase.

However, I feel the reincorporation aspect as people leave the event and return to their everyday lives needs something to underline the insights gained from Burning Seed. I've got some ideas and wonder whether it would be possible to give a more meaningful and sustained experience from attending.