Saturday, December 3, 2011

Some amazing photos of our crazy world

A selection of images from Reuters that I think are stunning, moving and tell us a lot about our crazy world. 

Eveline Constance Heijkamp, a 22-year-old Occupy Amsterdam demonstrator, prepares for her wedding to Gijs Peskens (not pictured) in a tent on the Beursplein in Amsterdam November 19, 2011. Occupy Amsterdam demonstrators have set up tents on the Beursplein since October 15, 2011. REUTERS/Cris Toala Olivares


Drivers, some of whom were carrying fuel for NATO forces in Afghanistan, sleep on top of their trucks at a fuel terminal in Karachi November 26, 2011. NATO helicopters and fighter jets attacked two military outposts in northwest Pakistan, killing as many as 28 troops and plunging U.S.-Pakistan relations, already deeply frayed, further into crisis. 
REUTERS/Athar Hussain


A protester throws a tear gas canister, which was earlier thrown by riot police during clashes along a road which leads to the Interior Ministry, near Tahrir Square in Cairo November 22, 2011. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh


Switzerland’s photographer Denis Balibouse files his pictures under a full moon sky from Mont-Cenis Pass Road in Lanslebourg during the Grande Odyssee sled dogs race January 19, 2011. This picture was taken with a long exposure. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)




Zukhro, an employee of the city zoo, walks with Vadik, an 18-month-old male lion, on the territory of the zoo in the capital Dushanbe, January 20, 2011. Employees take the lion from its cage to have a promenade along the territory two times a week while holding a piece of meat to attract Vadik’s attention so it walks nearby. (REUTERS/Nozim Kalandarov)


Lightning flashes around the ash plume above the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano chain near Entrelagos June 5, 2011. (REUTERS/Carlos Gutierrez)


A plane flies through the “Tribute in Lights” in lower Manhattan in New York September 10, 2011. (REUTERS/Eric Thayer)


Youths pose near their bonfire in Ballykeel housing estate, in Ballymena, Northern Ireland July 11, 2011. Northern Irish Protestants traditionally light bonfires on the 11th of July to celebrate their culture. (REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton)

Policemen and residents run as waves from a tidal bore surge past a barrier on the banks of Qiantang River in Haining, Zhejiang province August 31, 2011. As Typhoon Nanmadol approaches eastern China, the tides and waves in Qiantang River recorded its highest level in 10 years, local media reported. (REUTERS/China Daily)


Aurora Australis or "Southern lights" are seen in this picture captured by astronauts on the International Space Station with a digital camera while they passed over the Indian Ocean, September 17, 2011. REUTERS/NASA

Hubble's panchromatic vision, stretching from ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths, reveals a vibrant glow of young, blue star clusters and a glimpse into regions normally obscured by the dust in an image released on June 16, 2011. The warped shape of Centaurus A's disk of gas and dust is evidence of a past collision and merger with another galaxy. The resulting shockwaves cause hydrogen gas clouds to compress, triggering a firestorm of new star formation. At a distance of just over 11 million light-years, Centaurus. REUTERS/NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

Pretty Paper Pieces... yes, even paper skates!



The Paper Attic exhibition showcased paper creations by Benja Harney.  Exhibited as part of the Sydney Design Week “A cabinet of curiosities: forgotten relics and dusty treasure from the attic”.


Very nicely done. Great exhibition space for these pieces too. I love the skates!

















Sunday, November 13, 2011

Pretty words...



How lovely are these words?

Isaac G. Salazar has been creating these for since 2009, he started simple, and is getting more and more elaborate. 

Gorgeous. 

You can find them to buy here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BookOfArt#

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Massive and amazing pen sketches.


Wow. When I first saw these (via Pondly) I was amazed, and then I discovered more and saw the scale that this chap is drawing at. Mind blowing. Gorgeously realistic. What a talent. 
Spaniard, Juan Francisco Casas uses ballpoint pens to create these portraits. 






Awesome. I can't even comprehend the detail. 


Wednesday, October 5, 2011


Linus likes to make people feel good. He photographs himself with props and arty paper cut-outs. Check these out. If you want more see his website.  

Linus & The Feel Good Factory is a one-man operation based in Hong Kong. 
Clever and witty and fanciful... see for yourself. 








100,000 Toothpicks and 35 Years: Rolling Through the Bay



How gorgeous is this?

Rolling through the bay is an abstract toothpick sculpture of San Francisco. Made from 100,000 toothpicks. Not only is it a gorgeous piece of art, it also has four ping pong ball paths that roll through different landmarks. 

The artist, Scott Weaver, spent 3,000 hours on it over a period of 34 years. He started building toothpick sculptures in 1968, when he was 8 years old. In 1974 he started a new sculpture and added the Golden Gate Bridge and Lombard Street, that was the start of Rolling Through the Bay.










Sunday, September 11, 2011

Acoustic Flamenco Metal - stunningly combined

I didn't know anything about Rodrigo y Gabriela this morning. Now I do. I love that about music, art, life!!

They are a Mexican guitar duo, who combine Rock, Flamenco, Jazz, Metal and Folk and have been doing their thing for a decade now. They used to earn a crust playing in hotels, and being metal fans, they had a repertoire that included Slayer, Megadeth, Testament. But no one would have guessed that. Not the way they play them.

They played in thrash metal bands together in Mexico, and spent the past 10 years mostly in Dublin (a great city for sure).

So here are Rodrigo y Gabriela, made up of Rodrigo Sanchez (lead guitar) and Gabriela Quintero (rhythm guitar)  playing Stairway to Heaven, and there's nothing cliché about it.





Jive, Mahogany, Ken and some 'snappy' poetry



I went to a slam poetry workshop on Sunday, part of the Global Poetics Tour and was introduced to the genius that is Ken Arkind. Here he is doing Maggie! A fantastic poem, that makes you realise what poetry can be. Fabulous.

Also had this incredible woman. Mahogany L. Browne, who blew me away. Something really funk singer going on and it's poetry. The beat, the phrasing, wonderful to hear.

And I also had the pleasure of hearing from Jive Poetics, another New York Slam Poet Champ (I say that like they're a buck a tin, so not the case, when I say 'another' I mean one of the three mentioned).

My absolute privilege to hear each of them.


And, I learned something. When you are in the know... you snap your fingers in the bits you like (guess that saves interrupting with applauding in the usual way). Learn something every day.




Saturday, September 10, 2011

Benjamin Skepper - Stunning Performance Installation







This guy is amazing. I love him!! He's a work of art himself. And his music is gorgeous. He's also very handsome - a cross between Johnny Depp and Prince, that adds to the whole delightful package.


Check this video out. What an outfit, love love love it. It's the performance installation for Museo del Novecento Milano Italy.

So this stunning and talented chap is Australian. He has a Japanese Mum and Australian Dad. He plays harpsichord, vacuum cleaner (ya), cello, all sorts. He started playing classical music very young. Was immersed in it from two years old, and by ten he was playing Mozart internationally.


His photo shoot for Rolling Stone (Russia). Devine! Dreams are made of this!!






Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Two of my fav people. Richard Dawkins interviews Deepak Chopra.

Now I can't ask for more than this; Deepak Chopra and Richard Dawkins talking about quantum physics.
A few disagreements, but great conversation between two very clever thinkers with very different points of view. It's an excerpt, so very short, though still a fascinating combination.

Something a little different... my yoga teacher Godfri Devereux

Found a few videos of Godfri - who I've studied with full time for many many months. I love his talks, and thought I'd share the videos here.  ;-)

Inviting us to challenge our assumptions.








Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Some pretty things

How gorgeous are these quirky characters? Drawn/painted on paper and wood. These are from (Kiwi) Alaina Hind’s illustrative series ”Escape from Lonely Wood”. They are totally gorgeous. Etherial, fanciful and utterly captivating. 







For more check out http://www.alainarhind.com/

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Graphic designer, songwriter, creative thinker who wants to do some good in this crazy world. Sharing inspiration from design, science, art & social well-being.