Georgiebird

She's TOO Good.

2011-11-16T22:30:00.001+13:00

Irina Werning. Back to the Future II. According to her website the next round is on its way. Therefore, if you live in Istanbul, Baghdad, Beirut, Iceland, Cairo or Eurodisney you should email her at backtothefuturepics@gmail.com with your photos so you can be part of this shit. If you like what you see, take a peek at the original series, and this, and this.

Lisa Crawley - You Won't Be There

2011-11-16T12:12:00.001+13:00

I took some photos on the set of Lisa Crawley's latest video You Won't Be There, directed by Nikki Castle. Taking its inspiration from the 1960s film The Girls on the Beach starring Lesley Gore, the whole thing was shot on film and looks spectacular. Her album launch tour kicks off tomorrow night at the Montecristo Room here in Auckland. Tickets (if you wanna).

Skeletons in the Closet

2011-11-16T11:54:00.001+13:00

Klaus Pilcher. Behind the scenes of Vienna's Natural History Museum.

Street Photographer Vivian Maier

2011-08-24T10:44:00.000+12:00

Street photographer Vivian Maier via words out of the mouth of my friend James (hi James).

Her story is just as amazing as her photographs (a private person, she took photos purely for her own sake and was undiscovered until a box of her negatives was purchased at a storage locker auction. She has since exploded in the photography world, receiving write ups on the NY Times and slots on CBS and the BBC). Definitely worth the read.

Hours and Hours and Hours

2011-08-24T10:10:00.000+12:00

Nom Pourflickr via BOOOOOOOM (again).

People Holding Things

2011-06-25T17:14:00.000+12:00

Stuff In(dia) My Hand

2011-06-23T17:22:00.000+12:00

Stuff in My Hand Part II. Indian steeze (dutty nails and cool things).

Street food in Delhi.

Breakfast in Jaisalmer.

Feather in the Sam Sand Dunes area.

Lollies (that tasted like sulphur) at the top of Shimla's Monkey Temple Mountain.

Replacing fluids on Christmas morning - thanks to (?) peanut masala enjoyed on Christmas Eve.

IT'S A DOUBLE BANANA! WHAT DOES IT MEAN!?!

Ice-cream in a box at Agonda Beach.

The world's smallest banana.

Desi Beats corn chips in Mumbai.

A handmade fan bought while sitting in a Mumbai taxi.

The tail of a lizard in Jaisalmer.

The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

2011-06-23T17:21:00.000+12:00

These images are from Charles Darwin's book The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals published in 1872.

I was shown them as part of a Biology paper I took at uni a couple of years ago and haven't forgotten them. I found them here in the Wiki Commons. Pretty great.

Tiny Ruins

2011-05-31T17:46:00.004+12:00

Tiny Ruins. She's just released an incredible album that's been getting equally incredible write ups. I was lucky enough to take some photos of her (Hollie) for the release. Here are the ones that she has decided to use:

You can find Tiny Ruins here, here and here and you could also read this review by Alice Galletly for Werewolf if you think that you might like reading good things (I'm pretty sure you do).

Test Runs

2011-05-31T17:36:00.000+12:00

I recently invested in a Nikonos IV-A underwater film camera. Fucked if I know how to use it properly yet. But I'm getting there.

1920 Mug Shots.

2011-04-10T10:46:00.000+12:00

"Convicted of bigamy and theft. By the age of 24 Alice Cooke had amassed an impressive number of aliases and at least two husbands. Described by police as 'rather good looking', Cooke was a habitual thief and a convicted bigamist. Aged 24. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964."

"Convicted of selling liquor without a licence. Alice Clarke was an entrepreneur who took advantage of restrictive liquor regulations, which forced pubs to close at 6pm. As a "sly grogger" she sold high-priced alcohol from a private residence. Clarke's arrest came only weeks after the legislation was introduced. Aged 42. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964."

"Alma Smith worked as an illegal abortionist in the northern NSW town of Tamworth. A young woman, who later died as the result of a botched abortion, identified Smith as the abortionist. Smith denied knowing the woman but was convicted and sentenced to five years gaol. Aged 34. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964."

"Charged with stealing a fur coat. Teenager Annie Gunderson was charged with stealing a fur coat from a Sydney department store called Winn's Limited, in 1922. Police records do not indicate whether the fur she is wearing is the stolen item. Aged 19. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964."

"Convicted of murder. Mrs Dorothy Mort was having an affair with dashing young doctor Claude Tozer. On 21 December 1920 Tozer visited her home with the intention of breaking off the relationship. Mort shot him dead before attempting to commit suicide. Aged 32. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964."

"Convicted of stealing. Eileen O'Connor first appears in police records as a 'missing friend', or missing person. She is eventually arrested for stealing a wallet and is described by police with the odd epithet 'inclined to be weak'. Aged 17. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964."

"Emily Hemsworth killed her three-week-old son but could not remember any details of the murder. She was found not guilty due to insanity. Hemsworth was to be detained in custody until judged fit to return to society - it is unknown if she was ever released. Aged 24."

"Prostitute Ettie Sultana worked in northern New South Wales and in the Queensland cities of Brisbane and Toowoomba for most of her career. She had multiple convictions for prostitution, theft, drunkenness, swearing and vagrancy. She was sentenced to six months with hard labour. DOB: 31 December 1885."

"Convicted of murder. Eugenia Falleni spent most of her life masquerading as a man. In 1913 Falleni married a widow, Annie Birkett, whom she later murdered. The case whipped the public into a frenzy as they clamoured for details of the 'man-woman' murderer. Aged approximately 43. Part of an archive of forensic photography created by the NSW Police between 1912 and 1964."

"Convicted of using an instrument to procure a miscarriage. Janet Wright was a former nurse who performed illegal abortions from her house in Kippax Street, Surry Hills. One of her teenage patients almost died after a procedure and Wright was prosecuted and sentenced to 12 months hard labour. Aged 68"

Incredible 1920s Sydney Police mug shots. Photos and quoted text from Historic Houses Trust found via All The Mountains.

INDI-YEAH!

2011-03-25T17:44:00.000+13:00

Here are some more photos of animals doing 'weird' things.

Like a monkey drinking a coke on Elephanta Island.

One monkey eating a carrot while another monkey breastfeeds.

A monkey with a harelip.

Some dogs sleeping on a car.

A dog sleeping in the snow.

A dog sleeping at the foot of a shrine.

A cow on a beach.

AND finally a cow doing something I really didn't understand but which none of the locals were worried about in Varanasi.

I hope the captions have been informative.

Have You Heard of This Place?

2011-03-25T17:19:00.000+13:00

I think it's called the 'Taj Mahal'? (Thanks Al and Finn for the poses).

One More Thing

2011-03-07T18:23:00.000+13:00

Dogs also wear clothes and eat chapatis.

Just In Case You Didn't Know

2011-03-07T18:18:00.000+13:00

In India, goats wear clothes and camels love other camels.

Varanasi Floodplain

2011-03-04T12:34:00.000+13:00

It's time to share. These photos were taken on the floodplain opposite the Varanasi ghats on the Ganges River. Varanasi was one stop on a two month tour around India which as a whole was incredible. It was completely overwhelming, endlessly fascinating, a shitload of fun and generally the most photographable/photogenic place I've ever visited (srsly, I took 2000 photos). Apparently the desert-like sand flats get completely flooded during Monsoon and the people that live on the floodplains only do so for part of the year.

I have mixed emotions about the first photo. On one hand I'm happy that I took it; these beautiful children with their decorated horses in the middle of nowhere was one of the most stunning sights I'd ever seen. But (and it's a huge but) I ended up having to pay them. Which according to responsible tourist guidelines is a pretty irresponsible thing to do. Mainly this is because it can encourage begging and a better way to contribute to local economies is to pay for a service or buy a product. Also, more personally, one thing I picked up on and felt throughout India is that this kind of exchange necessarily reinforces another kind of duality between tourists and locals. It's a really huge topic and I don't know enough about it but I think because of the (huge) financial disparity between us and some locals we met it was extremely difficult to always act within ideological boundaries. Which also led to a little bit of guilt. But, that's just part of traveling I guess.

I've uploaded some more photos to my flickr and will share some more on here soon. If anyone is planning an Indian adventure feel free to get in touch, any excuse for me to talk about the trip is a good thing.

Cool Rainbows

2011-03-02T11:46:00.000+13:00

Long overdue photos! Djeisan Suskov of Cool Rainbows and other various cool things. We took them up at the Auckland Museum last October in front of the Rudall Hayward audio-visual exhibition. Which is also cool and worth looking at.

Whose turn is it next?

Romance

2010-11-15T10:44:00.000+13:00

This gives me goosebumps. I've got know idea who these people are. Found via I like this blog.

Stuff In My Hand

2010-09-23T11:05:00.002+12:00

My never ending craft project (approx. 11 months overdue).

The reality of our flat's mail situation.

My friend Dave made us these delicious Cinnamon Scrolls. Soon to be featured on his new cooking tumblr.

Annelise provided me with the means to fund my trip to India.

I'm thinking about getting rid of this. Unsurprisingly, I haven't used it as much as I thought I would.

Cute Kid Almost Strangles Kitten ...

2010-09-13T13:41:00.001+12:00

... Photographer Thinks It's Funny.

Guys! It's a human baby holding a cat baby. I'm pretty proud of myself (oh and my cousin for having such an adorable babe).

Little Monster Studio

2010-09-09T15:42:00.001+12:00

Here are some photos I took of my friend Dave Parker, the producer behind Little Monster Studio. It was a pretty great shoot, mostly because Dave was a dream to work with. I imagine he would be equally great to work with doing his actual thang: producing dreamy music.

Hey Dave, should I be your publicist too? I can bulk the blurb out if you like.

Nukes

2010-07-23T11:12:00.000+12:00

Images from the series "Killing Time" by Daniela Edburg.

On the 3rd of August at 7pm I am going along to this debate about Nuclear Disarmament at the Auckland University Business School.

The moot is "This House Believes the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons is a Pipe Dream". Speakers for the affirmative are Treasa Dunworth, Akif Malik and Curwen Rolinson. For the negative: Max Harris, Jacinda Arden (tbc) and Lyndon Burford. Sponsored by the Peace Foundation, UNYANZ and AUSA International Affairs Officers.

Let us all go together, hold hands and chant "into the earth, into the sky, hoof and horn, hoof and horn, all that dies shall be reborn..." Alternatively, we may discover more practical suggestions brought up over the course of the debate.

You say tomato...

2010-07-15T17:14:00.001+12:00

Whilst on Waiheke we stumbled into the Red Cross Shop. Ben tried on what he liked to call a shirt. Me and Alice believe it's more of a dress. He didn't buy it.

Photo by me.

G.O.A. (Getting Outta Auckland)

2010-07-15T17:02:00.001+12:00

Waiheke Goodness. Thanks Alice, Robyn and John for the great hospitality. Thanks Cass and Ben for the great vibes too.

Photos by me.

Fort Life

2010-07-02T18:33:00.002+12:00

When Cass and Alice invited me around to spend time in the fort that they built I imagined that they had probably upturned some couches and laid some blankets down. I was still pretty excited about the prospect. Little did I know they had made THE BEST FORT IN THE WORLD!

I'm talking a fort with paintings, flying bird decorations, lamps, hats, cats, garlic bread (fresh from the oven), mulled wine, fairy bread, Gillian Welch tunes and of course, Alice and Cass for company. Holy moley. They're the best. Winter nights are made for forts.

Misty wasn't so happy with the fort situation.

Wanda Jackson

2010-06-22T23:55:00.002+12:00

Wanda Jackson at the Powerstation, Auckland.

I missed shots of her (1) licking her finger and (2) spraying water on the crowd (palm to forehead).

Also! The opening act, Heart Attack Alley.

Photos by me. AND if you're interested here is a gig review from her Wellington show.

Internet Memes

2010-06-17T09:31:00.000+12:00

Weird internet memes never fail to bring the lols out. Sad Keanu is the latest:

The Canterbury Tales/Procraz

2010-06-16T21:16:00.002+12:00

I am currently in the middle of what I like to refer to as a period of exam induced 'Syndrome of Horror and Intense Terror' or S.H.I.T. for short. So when the opportunity arose last week (read: I went to the trouble of inviting people over) to watch Pasolini's version of 'The Canterbury Tales', I jumped at the chance to undertake some good old fashioned procrastination. Of course it was procrastination masquerading as study cos we were all writing our final essays for our 'Middle English Popular Literature' paper. But it was procrastination all the same.

The more I learn about this Pasolini guy the more I'm prone to think he was a mega-weirdo (I haven't seen '120 Days of Sodom' and I don't think I really want to). All I'm saying is that this post could have been a LOT more penis heavy. Seriously, weird nudity all over the place.

Hope you like the screen shots.

Bed Jumping Number One

2010-06-10T21:11:00.003+12:00

Ever since Sarah over at Yes and Yes posted a hilarious selection of people jumping on beds I've been wanting to take photos of this ridiculous pursuit. So, ladies and gentlemen I present you with 'Bed Jumping Installment One' featuring (funnily enough) someone also called Sarah.

I have also just enacted a new rule. Anyone who comes over and wants a cup of tea must first have their photo taken jumping on the bed. Yes Grandma, even you.

Thank You Rosabel

2010-06-07T01:10:00.000+12:00

Thank you Rosabel for giving me Selleck Waterfall Sandwich. All my Tom Selleck dreams have come true. I hope you enjoy:

Fan art has got to be the coolest thing in the whole world, no?

Disgrace

2010-06-04T18:03:00.002+12:00

BP logo redesigns by Draplin Design Co via Grain Edit.

Just to put it in perspective:

Handy graphics provided by If It Was My Home. Petrol is so damned depressing.

These Kids Today, They Have No Shame

2010-06-04T16:16:00.004+12:00

Today I celebrate, because today I have achieved something that I've been hoping to do for ages. I have coined a new word.

Photagraphy n.
The process of producing images with the express intent to put them on Facebook.

We all know them, the people that post 8 million photos of themselves in practically the same poses, with practically the same people, doing practically the. same. thing. every. weekend. What would Facebook be without their photo albums? For that matter, where would we be without the webcam self portrait? The outstretched arm shot that captures emo fringes and squished up cleavages? Or the classic cell phone in mirror shot? The world would be a poorer place without these photos. I think we should celebrate them. Failing that, let us mercilessly make fun of them.

Lemme be honest, I would hazard a guess that my Facebook photo usage is probably with the top 20 percentile of my friends. I am aware of the saying "people in glass houses should not (watsit?) take photos of themselves and post them on Facebook". I'm down with some self-portraits. Sometimes it's necessary (traveling alone). Sometimes it's arty. But sometimes, sometimes you should NOT post these photos on Facebook. Please. Take my word for it.

It's an interesting thing, this photo sharing business. A friend's photo album is called (something along the lines of ) "We Like to Take Photos of Each Other and Then We Know We Had a Good Time". Yes. Exactly. It was nice to take those photos and then it was nice to comment on them. We're social animals. We were maintaining social bonds. We can think of it as a cyber social grooming session. Just like these pretty pictures:

link, link, link,

p.s. for all you nerds, this paper by Ellison, Stenfield and Lampe is worth a look. Basically they say Facebook = opportunity to gain social capital. They also say it provides "greater benefits for users experiencing low-self esteem and low life satisfaction". Gulp.

Snaps From the Weekend.

2010-05-31T20:11:00.001+12:00

Autumn rainbows and frolicking. Good weekend.

Photos by me (through sunglass-lenses).

Oh Snap

2010-05-20T22:40:00.001+12:00

Me: Where you been all my life?You: Hiding from you.
Me: Oh snap!

Sorry my attempt of using 'oh snap' in a sentence is somewhat lacking. Don't hold that against these beauties found over at the Oh, Snap photo blog.

Photos by Keith Davis Young, Jeff Devine and Elena Holkina. Cool, eh?

Double Vision

2010-05-18T09:34:00.000+12:00

These pretty (clever) photos are all from Charles Bergquist's photo series, "Double Vision". All of the images are two photographs fused together by the energy of an exploding star (I made that last bit up). And I told another lie, the last photo is just a regular one image photo, except it's not because it's my friend! Al is playing drums for The Ruby Suns in the US at the moment (check out their myspace). It was a bit of a surprise to see a familiar face in this corner of the interwebs but if there's one thing I like in a photographer it's good taste in music, I'm looking at you, Andrew Bird set.

India

2010-05-16T11:00:00.003+12:00

I've been planning a trip (for about, uh, 18 months) to India and Nepal. When I say planning, I mean I've got this folder on my computer jammed packed with Indian goodness. Like photos of tree hut hotels, trekking routes and weird festivals. Which is better than the last big overseas expedition I made to Europe where the only research I did was to flick through a Lonely Planet, which is pretty much the worst way to go about it. I still had an amazing trip but at least this time round I've been hoarding inspiration. I think it has something to do with discovering blogs and flickr streams. If anyone's got any suggestions I would be so, so happy to hear from you. Time frame is November-January.

My friend Lily took these amazing shots on her recent Indian adventure. Beautiful, huh?

Tiny Rainbows

2010-05-15T15:37:00.001+12:00

Going Away Party, House Gig, Finish Recording Celebration. I think that's all? I liked it whatever it was, Tiny Ruins and Cool Rainbows played in the shop on Thursday. We are lucky folks. Anyone else wanna play?

SarcMark.

2010-05-15T09:36:00.002+12:00

I have discovered something magic, something joyous, something I neeeeeed in my life. Something that is only going to cost me US$1.99 and according to the folks at Open Sarcasm, my socialist soul. What I'm talking about is the SarcMark. It's a new punctuation mark that is meant to help people signify more clearly when they are trying to be sarcastic. Just what I've always needed (insert sarcmark here).

No, I actually, I do think it's quite a good idea. Just think of all the cool places you can use it. (But only ironically, cynically or with a dead pan expression, otherwise you've missed the point.)

Example One:

"This guy is so cool I want one of these (insert sarcmark)". Oh no! I think I just failed miserably, cos I actually really like this (do NOT insert sarcmark).

Example Two:

"Oooh my head... (insert sarcmark)." But again with the fail cos it was already pretty obvious that the person was being sarcastic wasn't it?

Hmm... Maybe if you need to use it, you probably aren't being sarcastic enough. Therefore my advice to everyone is to up the level of sarcasm and it will solve all our problems.

Love Letter to Auckland

2010-05-14T08:15:00.001+12:00

Dear Auckland City,

You are pretty shitty, but sometimes you show me that you're not that shitty. Thank you for looking like this the other day.

Love from Georgie.

Took Some Photos, Eh.

2010-05-10T18:46:00.002+12:00

My friends got married and I took their photos!

I'm generally pretty cynical when it comes to marriage and weddings. Overly formal wedding photos usually make me want to have a little vommy in my mouth and I like to pretend I'm anti the establishment, man (am I doing a good job selling myself as your potential profesh wedding photographer? Email me!) BUT, in saying that, I'm also the first person to cry when the bride walks down the aisle and I actually get lots of warm fuzzy feelings watching people getting married. One thing is for certain, it was pretty gosh darn nice to see these two friends so happy at their wedding.

So here are some of the black and white photos I took as "the photographer". There are about 1000 more where these come from, which if you're really lucky I will share in regular installments for the next 15 weeks... Not really.

The second to last one cracks me up big time. When Emily and I were talking about what she wanted we decided to aim for casual snaps of (mostly) unposed, genuine moments. One thing she definitely didn't want was veils blowing in the wind. Um... we got veils in the wind.

Can't Believe I Forgot to Bid on These...

2010-05-05T09:36:00.002+12:00

"Sexy Black Hot Piano Sporty Trackpant". Who wouldn't want some "Extremely funky and very chic cool tie up front trackpants! Very trendy on and the perfect gym, jogging, running, yoga, pilates. Very soft stylish fabric and very flattering on. Nice long straight legs and cute piano design."

I just set up tumblr account. It seems like a nice intermediary between blogging and twitter, lets see if I keep using it or not. If you've got a tumblr let me know so I can follow you. I feel like I should try to make this blog a little more sewious aka I'll post all my raps over here. When I say raps I don't mean raps, I mean words.

I love blogspot 4eva!

Pets

2010-05-04T19:29:00.000+12:00

Marlena Shores! That is all.

40,000

2010-05-03T01:05:00.003+12:00

Here couple of snaps from this weekend's anti-mining march. The figures vary from 30,000 - 50,000 protesters but whatever the number I think it was pretty clear that normal New Zealand is against the idea of mining in our National Parks (except that one guy with the "more gold, less parks" placard, he's obviously not so interested in conservation and heritage but, you know, he's probably a dick). Has everybody made their submission?

Wilco

2010-04-26T19:18:00.001+12:00

Wilco. Playing tomorrow. Auckland. I will be there.

In other news, if anyone is looking for cheap practice space in Auckland we have a place available in Eden Terrace. It is seriously cheap as. Or if band practice isn't your thing and you are after a place to hold your next knitting circle, yoga meet, movie marathon, book group, cosplay interaction, tornado chasing meeting or robot war convention (etc...) we can accommodate.

If you are interested email me (at my new proxy email address) georgie b bird at gmail and I will get back to you.

Indecent

2010-04-26T08:53:00.000+12:00

Is this pic inappropriate? Check out the comments on flickr.

Daniel Naude

2010-04-20T20:29:00.000+12:00

This guy isn't a lady babe (as per my last post) but if I were to describe his photos I would be equally as gushing. Thanks M. Dash for posting these gems.

Babes I Like

2010-04-20T20:15:00.004+12:00

The following babes are both from Auckland. I like them very much and I think you might also like them.

Babe number one is the charmingly charming (enchantingly enchanting) Miss Lisa Crawley. She's not only an amazing musician and song-writer, she's also a pretty top human being. She has just released a beauty of a video for her song 'These Friends of Mine'. You should check it out:

UPDATE: Lisa is John Mayer's opening act for his Auckland and Wellington shows.

Babe number two is the ridiculously talented and smart and brainy Mimsy Cable. She was the smokin' lady voice in the now disbanded band (funny that), The Shades. She's currently the leading lass of Mimsy Cable and the Family Tree which she neeeeeds to make a myspace for. For now you will just have to be contented with this picture of her taken at my birthday last year, the theme was 'Your Face'.

The Museum of Modern Tweets

2010-04-16T08:58:00.006+12:00

How come no one told me about these? Thanks Debonaire for being a source of cultural goodness. When she posted them I said "just the right mix of high brow and pop culture for art crack whores like me". I hope that comes across as a compliment to Odessa Begay, the illustrator behind Tweet Museum.

Easter Nostalgia

2010-04-01T20:11:00.010+13:00

My long time friend and new flatmate Sarah just blogged about our last Easter. I got the warm fuzzies inside and couldn't resist reposting.

Jordy was suitably impressed.

Happy Easter my friends!

Holy Guacamole

2010-03-29T09:44:00.012+13:00

I found this blog when I was looking for photos of Cueva de los Cristales aka the Crystal Caves in Mexico. I have no idea what the author is saying but I sure can appreciate their sense of wonder at this crazy, crazy planet.

Drowned Rat

2010-03-18T09:24:00.005+13:00

Poor Lily, she's absolutely petrified of having a bath. Photo by me.

Obamarama

2010-03-16T19:10:00.010+13:00

Oh my, I love it when people on facebook post precious, precious gems. Bad Paintings of Barack Obama? Yes please! Thank you Ben.

Yes, that is a taco on his head and yes, those are red roses exploding from the water he has just parted.

In other, less exciting news. I've changed the name of the blog from 'The Art of Being In Between' to just 'Georgie Bird'. When I started the blog I was referencing Naomi Klein's idea of ironic consumption.

In 'No Logo' she quotes the Hermenaut Zine: "Going to Disney World to drop acid and goof on Mickey isn't revolutionary; going to Disney World in full knowledge of how ridiculous and evil it all is and still having a great innocent time, in some almost unconscious, even psychotic way, is something else altogether. This is what (Michel) de Certeau describes as "the art of being in-between," and this is the only path of true freedom in today's culture. Let us, then, be in-between. Let us revel in Baywatch, Joe Camel, Wired magazine,and even glossy books about the society of spectacle [touché], but let's never succumb to the glamorous allure of these things."

BUT... this blog is more along the lines of "sum of the things I lyk" so Georgie Bird it is then.

Long Lost Houses

2010-03-16T08:39:00.010+13:00

I just revisited this captivating series of photographs called 100 Abandoned Houses. For real, I can't believe how amazing this project is. The photographer, Kevin Bauman has been taking photos of abandoned houses in the Detroit area for over 10 years. According to his statement there are over 12000 houses like these in Detroit.

He also states, "I had always found it to be amazing, depressing, and perplexing that a once great city could find itself in such great distress, all the while surrounded by such affluence ... How could an area that was obviously once a wealthy enclave in the city become an example of the downfall of American cities?"

Originally found via Unruly Things ages agooooo.

Farewell Friend

2010-03-07T15:57:00.006+13:00

Check it out! It's a giant burger cake. No not a cake in the shape of a burger, it's a giant burger with birthday candles on it. It was made for a friend's going away pot luck dinner. I was so proud of myself. It will probably end up on Handmade Gone Wrong but I had a giggle.

Latest Acquisition.

2010-03-04T11:02:00.005+13:00

Welcome to my life Baby Deer Salt and Pepper Shakers.

Twee as hell. But you know, I'm okay with that.

Lily

2010-03-03T13:54:00.007+13:00

Lily the Chihuahua x Foxy (hilariously referred to by breeders and other 'Best in Show' types as Taco Terriers). Despite the ill-proportioned head-body ratio she's not a bad dog.

Magic Library

2010-03-03T12:04:00.008+13:00

These images were from the 2005 Chris Cobb exhibition called "There is Nothing Wrong in this Whole Wide World". Together with a group of volunteers, Cobb rearranged 20,000 books in the San Francisco independent Adobe Bookstore by colour. Holy bejebus!

Cobb says: "Even though there is so much to be unhappy about in this world, we should try to create something amazing and beautiful and interesting despite all of the problems."

I think Louis CK would agree. You should check out "Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy". It's a bit of a youtube hit.

I also found this:
A lot more doable; Chotda's version of the colour coded bookshelf is pretty cool and so is her pug.

Books are so sexy.

Birds of Paradis

2010-03-01T18:46:00.007+13:00

To continue the good vibes:

These two images are from Birds of Paradis which is a flippin' styley blog. Now found via Monatomic Gold tumblr too.

Poo-tee-weet?

2010-02-15T11:51:00.004+13:00

Read it.

Dear Friends (Real Life and Internet)

2010-02-09T10:13:00.004+13:00

'I've Got Your Back' - Keetra D Dixon via Crooked Brains.

Tiny Ruins

2010-02-08T10:07:00.007+13:00

If there's one thing you should do today it is listen to Tiny Ruins.

I warn you, she is a beauty. My favourites, in no particular order: 'Holes in My Pockets', 'The Priest With Balloons', 'Bird in Thyme', 'Knights of the Road' and 'The Death of a Russian'.

Pass it on.

Powerhouse Museum Collection

2010-02-07T14:27:00.009+13:00

Early Australian Photographs via The Powerhouse Museum Collection of Flickr.

Philip Poupin

2010-01-26T12:33:00.010+13:00

I was thinking about the photo of Willie Apiata VC in Kabul, Afghanistan. Everyone seems to have an opinion over whether or not it should have been published and if John Key did the right thing etc...

All I really feel permitted to say is boy, that photographer (Philip Poupin) can take a mean shot. All of these are from Afghanistan:

In his own words "I, as everyone, need to remember to behave better the day after. Because we all have a tendency to forget, I try to make people remember by showing them photographies." So instead of trying to put down in words the immensity of the War in Afghanistan I'm just going to pass on the pictures. Is that okay?

Amy Brown - Willyfest and Other Greatest Hits

2010-01-17T15:32:00.007+13:00

Dear Amy Brown,
I think you might be a genius.
Love Georgie.

Less Self-Conscious and More Farmstock

2010-01-15T10:19:00.008+13:00

I tagged along to Farmstock just before Christmas. As the name suggests it was music on a (kinda) farm. The proceeds went to Tearfund. That's nice ain't it? There was a tractor and a BBQ plus a field of long grass to take faux-romantic portraits in. It was good.

The Subterranes played at just the right moment of Twilight:

Jerry loves sausages and the camera loves Jerry.

The camera loves Susan and Cass and they love the camera.

Early Shamans

2009-12-15T10:13:00.004+13:00

A little gem I found browsing Life Images. I can't get enough.

P.S.

2009-12-08T10:11:00.005+13:00

I should say it was the art of Holly Coulis featured over at BOOOOOOOM! this morning/last night (who knows, it's the other side of the world) that got me thinking about my paint-by-numbers loss all over again. They kind of have the same type of quality as a vintage PBN don't you think? (I mean that in the most awesomest way ever).

The New York Times has called her past work "overly amateurish" but I disagree, New York Times, I disagree.

Paint by Numbers

2009-12-08T09:31:00.008+13:00

I have recently noticed old paint-by-numbers around the place and have picked up a couple from op shops for one or two bucks. So when I saw a collection up on Trade Me the other day I eagerly watched it only to see them go for $60-80 each. Farck. This got me thinking and then that got me googing. Look here at this collection, it puts mine to shame.

These photos are of the Wheeler's house which I found via Mint. Ellie over there asked Dan Wheeler some questions about his families collection of vintage paint-by-numbers, which numbers over 600. He says his wife "found a couple paint-by-numbers, she/we loved the 'art but not art' quality, and the cost which was cheaper than wallpaper to cover cracking plaster walls." I agree, there's something about the 'art but not art' of these old paint-by-numbers that appeals to me too. They're unwanky in the way that I find all those old handy crafts unwanky. Someone just did them because the wanted to, because they enjoyed it. You can't get much more unoriginal but they're not high-brow and they embrace it. Thank you Universe for the Wheelers.

In Radiolab We Trust

2009-12-03T10:01:00.016+13:00

I saw this over at Drawn! this morning. In Radiolab We Trust is a set of illustrations by Jez Burrows, Meg Hunt, Frank Chimero, Nicholas Felton and Impactist for sale for 20 pounds with all the proceeds going to Radiolab. Keep that shit coming Jad and Robert.

I figure that Radiolab, illustrations, blogs and buying things are pretty much my favourite things to do on the internet right now so how could I resist? Go on, do it too. You love Radiolab.

Mimu

2009-11-29T19:02:00.004+13:00

Cat Yoga: it's the next logical step after 'Dancing With Cats'.

If Drawings Were Photographs

2009-11-25T14:48:00.008+13:00

These are not drawings from photographs. No, no, no. These are way cooler than that. These are Rob Matthews attempts to take Tom Edwards illustrations and create photographs. Hahaha. I lol. Rob and Tom are the people behind It's Nice That. Apparently there is a zine coming out that will be full of these. I think they should extend this idea further and take over the world. Maybe they could start with a flickr pool?

Found via My Love For You. I mean, seriously, it's the coolest blog in the world.

Microscopic Photography

2009-11-21T19:59:00.009+13:00

The 2009 Olympus Bioscapes Digital Imaging Competition finalists are pretty impressive. Jan Michels image of a water flea was the overall winner.

These three by Heiti Paves, David Domozych and Chung-Ju Rachael Wang are my personal favourites:

Found via The Daily Mail. Science is so pretty.

No Photography Allowed

2009-11-17T13:46:00.013+13:00

My little rant on Sunday got me googling and look what I found:

Hehe. Nils Jorgensen is a street photographer who makes me giggle. I love the sense of humour that comes through in his photos. I found these ones on his flickr stream called 'Gallery and Museum Visits... (No Photography Allowed)'. He also has an interesting blog of street shots which is worth taking a look at.

I've just started becoming brave enough to take photos of strangers and this has given me some serious inspiration. The way some of his subjects interact with their environments is genius. This is some next level shit for me.

Narcissistic Overload

2009-11-15T12:06:00.013+13:00

I made it to the Kusama exhibit that I posted about before. The work completely overwhelmed me, it felt like I was in some kind of alternate dream world. It also reminded me of the scene in Willy Wonka where the kids get let loose in the chocolate factory/sweet garden paradise.

One thing I don't understand is the gallery's insistence that you don't take photos. I can understand that flash photography can ruin other people's enjoyment of the exhibit. But for an exhibit that is dominated by mirrors and invites narcissism why is that it's not allowed? More broadly, why is it that it is often prohibited to take photos in galleries? Is it some sort of copyright issue? The art that really moves me usually works to involve viewers as participants. Good art, for me, asks for some sort of response and I personally feel that the 'no photography' rule is one way to exclude the viewer from participating. But this is turning into a huge rant. I will stop now. Exhibit = amazing.

Fuzzy

2009-11-07T17:55:00.005+13:00

I finished all my assignments, planted some veges and then typed 'dog' and 'wig' into flickr. I'm a bad person:

Images of Fuzzy via Mintymix

Early Color Photography

2009-11-04T10:14:00.013+13:00

The Library of Congress (LOC) website have an online exhibit showing the work of an early twentieth century Russian photographer, Sergei Mikhail Prokudin-Gorskii. He experimented with his own version of color photography, shooting three black and white frames in quick succession, each with a different color filter (red, blue and green). When he presented them he layered all three on top of each other to create a color slide of sorts. The whole process is available here.

All of the images are of Russian life between 1907-1912 when Prokudin-Gorskii was supported by Tsar Nicholas II to survey the country. Here are a few digital versions that I found on the LOC website:

Spewing Essays

2009-10-28T11:33:00.005+13:00

That's what I feel like I'm doing at the moment, spewing essays.

November 9 2009

2009-10-09T16:34:00.008+13:00

Twenty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Apparently Berlin has been celebrating all year. The latest performance which took a couple of days to act out featured two giant marionettes reuniting in Berlin after been separated for years by the wall. Beautiful? Yes.

Images of the Berlin Reunion via The Big Picture. I would like to know more about this Royal dde Luxe Street Theatre Company.

Little People

2009-10-08T09:26:00.014+13:00

I don't know what it is, maybe it's the fact that they are so gosh darn little and are placed in such big cities that I start rooting for the underdog, or maybe it's the grand understated-ness of the whole concept, but I love these 'Little People'.

There's a certain genius to the way the photos are set out on the Slinkachu blog as well. The extreme close ups and then varying perspective shots take me on a bit of a journey (did I just use the word journey??? Next I'll be talking about vibes). For serious though, I can't help but think they are real when I look at the close ups.

Yayoi Kusama

2009-10-04T11:03:00.024+13:00

To celebrate it's reopening, Wellington City Gallery has been engulfed by the hallucinatory work of Yayoi Kusama.

Image of Wellington via Wellurban

The exhibition will be running until February, so I have enough time to make my pilgrimage to view the embodiment of her visual fantasies in person.

Etsy Perve

2009-09-25T14:10:00.018+12:00

Elizaveta's creations are amazing. I came across them a couple of months ago and still feel actively inspired by them.

Some current pieces available in her shop:

Some past favorites:

Excuse me, I'm off to bedazzle my shoes.

Sit vis nobiscum

2009-09-25T12:47:00.008+12:00

May the force be with you and your crazy costumes:

Ernie Cline - Fanboys.

Anthony Georgis

Ah fandom, one of my favourite guilty pleasures. Not saying that I used to read Harry Potter fan fiction or anything, I'm a serious student of literature...

Skin

2009-09-24T20:46:00.013+12:00

Today in my lecture for post-colonial literature we got given a sneak peek of the new film Skin that is coming out later this year (or early next). It tells the rather extraordinary story of Sandra Laing, a black girl born to white parents during the period of Apartheid in South Africa. Don't judge it by the trailer, which is much more overstated then the film itself.

I don't know, maybe it's just because it is fresh in my mind, but when I saw these works by Devin Troy Strother posted on My Love for You is a Stampede of Horses (link) earlier today, I started thinking that they explore some of the same issues.

One thing is for sure, I love his work. I think this guy is a genius. A visual symphony. I'm in to it.

Library of Congress

2009-09-16T09:53:00.009+12:00

The Library of Congress is on flickr. Lots of historic snaps have been uploaded including this iconic beauty:

“Migrant Mother” by Dorothea Lange.

Sebastian Mlynarski

2009-09-15T09:22:00.010+12:00

Haunting and mysterious or quirky and fun. This guy takes my kind of photos.

Take a look at his website. Found via Free People.

Could Be Me

2009-09-08T19:56:00.010+12:00

If you haven't already you need to.

"Could be me" is a project exploring possibility of one artist occupying another's space. It is a visual adventure and an interpretation of the same sentence by different artists worldwide . (taken from the site)

Jon Macnair

Holly Exley

Andres Yeah

The site has about a million submissions to feast on. It's amazing the scope that the project has covered. Found via Pikaland (great site)!

Hair Hats

2009-09-08T19:15:00.008+12:00

Quirky? Check.

Nagi Noda extraordinaire.

Superbomba Fantastic

2009-09-04T09:15:00.025+12:00

Superbomba's Photostream changed my life. Krisatomic featured the stream a wee while ago and, like them, I lost track of time looking through every single one of the photos.

A friend of mine was talking about how facebook heightens your voyeuristic tendencies, Superbomba is like that times a million for me.

PS I had that inflatable dragon water toy when I was little, not that Nana though.

Psychadelic Kittys

2009-09-03T16:06:00.014+12:00

A friend of mine is kitten/puppy/cute furry little animal mad. I initially bought her a vintage top with two kittens on it but was quite annoyed to spy a rather large stain on it when I got it home.

This is what I ended up doing:

I embroidered (long stitch maybe?) the background and popped it in a frame. I think she liked it, I'm never sure if my quirky taste in crafts translates to other people as good tacky or bad tacky. It's all the same to me baby. Sorry about the bad quality pic - I snapped a quick one on my web cam. Note to self: charge batteries!

Other stitch inspiration:

Subversive Cross Stitch

I love the idea of a "Fuck You, Get Out of My House" sign stitched in such a traditionally warm way. Amazing.

The Beatles Piñatas

2009-09-02T12:30:00.006+12:00

I am about to embark on making a bunch of piñatas for my birthday celebrations. I was thinking The Beatles circa Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Watch this space.

I love you Ringo, John, Paul and George.

Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre

2009-08-31T14:16:00.012+12:00

Wilhelm Staehle's work is utterly superb. He gives me one of those "wish I'd thought of that" feelings.