At the aMBUSH Gallery
The Rambo Connection
Addressing Field Naturalists
Jo and I spoke with the Murrumbidgee Field Naturalists about the development of Red Earth Ecology
Closing soon
Last chance to see my exhibition Soundscapes at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery this weekend
Political representation
The other week I ended up at Jacqui Lambie's website and asked her to not support the proposal to ban mobile phones in immigration detention centres
I've written to many politicians and mostly get no reply.
Anyway, it's heartening to see someone swayed, particularly in light of the decision by NSW's (so-called) Independent Planning Commission to allow Santos's Narrabri gas field project after receiving 23,000 submissions against it.
According my mother, Bernard Collaery recently addressed a rally of his supporters to say that if our descendants learn of what is transpiring in the closed court [where he’s currently defending himself] that they are going to be "godsmacked" when they realise who is running this country.
David Lynch has a right to children
For family movie night this week I picked Mulholland Drive (2001)
I expected they were going to hate it.
So it was a surprise when they all seemed to enjoy it and we spent some time discussing what it might mean.
Bad love in the Riverina
Sharing another of the Wiradjuri stories recorded by Bill Gammage and discussing how the moral is similar to a famous story written by Shakespeare
Zoom is a threat to patriarchy
Okay, so the title of this post is kinda joking but seemed like good clickbait to lead into some observations
Last night I joined a communications circle and it was interesting to hear many of those attending saying how Zoom surprised them in overcoming the absence of a physical space.
I resisted Zoom for a long time but am now beginning to see that it has some benefits, although it wasn't a great substitute for actually attending a life-drawing class.
So there are two things that I've been thinking about with Zoom and how they both level the metaphoric playing field in terms of changing social interactions.
The first is that it forces people to listen to each other.
I haven't seen a Zoom argument yet, but wonder whether it's possible to shout down someone you disagree with?
The second is that laptop speakers and mobile phones are terrible for those deep, masculine voices which would normally evoke authority and promote physical dominance.
Thinking about these two observations led to some amusement for me in thinking that Zoom might have a bigger impact on society than decades of equal opportunity policies.
I've heard some observations from women over the years that they'll be in a meeting and put forward an idea, only to find there's no response until a male in the room says the same idea.
It makes me wonder if Zoom can change this phenomena.
And that Zoom life-drawing class, it did get me drawing -- so maybe it worked?
Wiradjuri legend about the moon
Historian Bill Gammage recorded a Wiradjuri legend, which discusses the night sky and offers an insight into caring for Country.
Grape expectations
I bought four packs of sultanas to compare and contrast
The results varied greatly.
Those shrunken little Black & Gold brand fruit had bold flavour like a Shiraz wine for the intense acidity.
The Australian Sweet Vine fruit from Aldi were swollen and juicy in comparison, but the flavours weren’t as strong alongside the others (maybe I’d call it a Merlot).
That Turkish brand were nuanced and kinda mellow in comparison (like a Cabernet.
While the Woolies homebrand seemed to balance the sweet flavour in a fruit that was not too dried (like a blended wine, I guess).
Red Earth Ecology video
My partner Jo runs and ecology walk at Burning Seed, which is the NSW regional Burning Man event.
This year we've decided to create a series of videos that visit the site through different seasons.
Dry Paddock
Bought this painting by Elaine Heffer, who won the Paniz Prize last year
This painting came to me via my exhibition at Wagga Wagga Art Gallery.
Music reaction videos
There's a tradition for music-lovers to dig through the crates, but I think one aspect missing from the discussion of reaction videos is how a generation of kids have almost the entire history of recorded music available to them
I wonder if reaction videos are to music videos, what reality television is to dramatic television? It seems as though these strip away the surreal imagery to provide a real(er) human face for music.
Then again, the whole rise of reaction videos suggests to me there are a lot of lonely viewers looking for a sense of connection. The Williams twins (shown in the video above) often have an unguarded and sometimes emotional reaction to some of the material they encounter.
A couple of times recently my son has asked if I'd heard a particular band or track when I was his age, and I have to explain how seeking out new music involved weekly negotiations with a shop assistant to have them put on albums in a shop when I might only have money to buy one a month.
I wonder if reaction videos are to music videos, what reality television is to dramatic television? It seems as though these strip away the surreal imagery to provide a real(er) human face for music.
Then again, the whole rise of reaction videos suggests to me there are a lot of lonely viewers looking for a sense of connection. The Williams twins (shown in the video above) often have an unguarded and sometimes emotional reaction to some of the material they encounter.
Leeton Chinese takeaway
There are three Chinese restaurants on the main street in Leeton, so I thought it'd be interesting to compare and contrast their meals
These two dishes seemed a good choice as one is something of a standard, while the other offered scope for interpretation.
Prices varied, from $31 to $38 for both dishes.
Before starting our meals, I weighed each package and was surprised to find that the cheapest meal was also the largest.
The cheapest restaurant was most popular with my kids, while the most expensive restaurant was characterised by complex flavours. (Particularly the sweet and sour had a distinct citrus flavour, while the chicken had a richness that reminded me of oyster sauce.)
The compare and contrast exercise was a satisfying activity for my family.
We all really enjoyed the roasted cashews, with that ingredient providing a distinct comparison in its presentation in each meal.
Each restaurant offers a distinct value proposition and I think that speaks to the ability of three Chinese restaurants to operate within a kilometre or so of each other.
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